Living on an island with Fergus Cleary

Well known Donegal actor, writer and raconteur Fergus Cleary debuts his new play, The Island Wake, at The Balor today, Friday (November 3rd).

It tells the story of a an Englishman who arrives on a remote Irish island wanting to experience a real island wake. There’s only one catch – nobody has actually died, so the islanders take it upon themselves to arrange it (a wake that is, not a murder – although that could be pretty funny too).

As a child, Fergus paid many visits to the island off the west coast of Ireland where his mother was born and reared. It was a totally different world from the mainland – for starters it didn’t have electricity until 1999, so the islanders had to make their own entertainment with the art of song and storytelling a treasured skill.

Drawing on these childhood memories in The Island Wake, Fergus paints a picture of an island paradise with beaches aplenty free of traffic and other modern dangers. Fergus takes these memories, and along with many humorous stories and sayings from the Island folk, deftly weaves them into a captivating tale of island life and wit, at once funny, entertaining and nostalgic.

Fergus Cleary’s The Island Wake is at The Balor Arts Centre, Ballybofey on Friday, November 3rd at 8pm. Ticket information from the Balor Box Office on 074 9131840 or online at www.balorartscentre.com