THE PLAY

The Play

Coláiste Éamann Rís Secondary School, Turners Cross Cork has a very active Drama Club and students are encouraged to become involved and learn about all aspects of producing a play. 

The students became aware of the Hegarty Family when Jim Hegarty visited the school to share the story with them and present copies of “The Hegartys of The Laurels” to the school library.

So, when the Drama Club were looking for a play for their next production, they thought of the Hegartys as the ideal local family to showcase.

When the students mentioned the idea to Maurice Dineen, he offered to show them the screenplay for the upcoming Film and then allowed it to be adapted for the stage.

The Production

The Drama Club students and their Teacher Miss Niamh Fanning worked on the script together and created a wonderful narrative for the audience . Before too long auditions were held and a very talented cast and crew began rehearsals.

The play was a labour of love for over a year with the students researching their characters, designing and making period costumes and building a set similar to the film set. 

Before the Film was shot in “The Laurels”, Maurice arranged for the Drama Club to visit the house with Jim to see where  a lot of The Hegarty’s story took place.