Fiona Looney – A Play On Thurles

Thurles Tipperary

Fiona Looney’s play written and recorded while living briefly in Hayes Hotel here in Thurles, Co Tipperary will take to the TV Air-Waves on Thursday evening next, beginning at 10:15pm.

Fiona recently tweeted ” Time to start shamelessly plugging #playnextdoor. My Thurles adventure and play, Pheasant Island, on RTE1 Thurs 10.15pm. Laugh. Cry. Hurl.”

This new RTE1 presentation entitled “Play Next Door” (New factual series) is somewhat shrouded in mystery as to what we can expect to view, but from what I can gather, three well-known authors were challenged to write a play under unusual circumstances. They are then each sent to live in selected Irish communities for a month, meeting the locals and observing life in their chosen habitat, before constructing a drama set in a selected property in which they are based.

Irish columnist, playwright, scriptwriter and media personality Fiona Looney was sent here to Thurles in Co Tipperary, where the location for her work was a pub that is no longer open for business, close to “Costcutters” supermarket (Formally known as L&N) in Friar Street.

According to RTE, (Latter which rarely broadcast these days outside the Pale, and indeed when they do, rarely in the forgotten quite rural backwater that is beautiful Tipperary.) we can expect a touch of the ‘Secret Millionaire’ to this new series, but without the large cheques.

Expect also an appearance possibly from one or two of our much loved award winning members of Thurles Drama Group, which is expected to survive the cutting room floor and which will give us the added incentive to forget “NetFlix” for just one night.

Fiona we trust has been kind to Thurles, situated as it is here in Hidden Tipperary and with apologies to the poet W.B.Yeats, we hope she has “Trodden softly, because you tread on our dreams.”

Pin a reminder up on your refrigeration door folks: RTE1 – Thursday January 9th at 10.15pm (22:15) – “Play Next Door.”