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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
With deepest gratitude for all those who have helped bring this project into existence:
Dr. Ciarán Reilly of Maynooth University, historian of 19th and 20th century Irish history, specializing in the Great Irish Famine. An expert on the events underlying this story, Dr. Reilly authored major texts and essays upon which this project relies. Through countless emails and Zoom calls across time zones, he has given generously of his energy and expertise in explaining the complex history involved and bringing historical figures to life.
Roscommon County Council's Local Live Performance Programming Scheme and Ireland's Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports, and Media, for awarding Enchanted Croi Theatre the generous grant funding that makes the first production possible. Thanks in particular to Rhona McGrath for her steadfast support for Enchanted Croi Theatre and its development of this show.
The staff of the National Famine Museum at Strokestown Park, including John O'Driscoll, Sabrina Brady, Aidan McBride, Tony Aspel, Martin Fagan, and Oisin O Drisceoil, for supporting and hosting the first production of this show at Strokestown Park. In the middle of a major museum renovation, they generously incubated this production and helped in every way as it came to life.
The original cast and company of the first Enchanted Croi Theatre production of the piece: Julie Sharkey, Martin Gilligan, Anne-Marie O'Sullivan, Mary Claire Ryan, Grainne Hunt, Fia Rua, Blathnaid Daly, Gavin Sweeney, Cian Hoyne, Niall Brewster, Jules Stewart, Neil Fitzgibbon, and Amy Day.
Members of the Strokestown community for their warmth, friendship, and work on this piece, including Jonathan Cassidy and the Strokestown Town Team, Diogo Santana and Kieran Hussey, Gemma Flanagan and David Dolan, Mary Sweeney, Alan McDermott, John Levy, and Father Eamonn O'Connor.
Aleta Barthell, award-winning playwright and playwriting teacher at San Diego Writer's Ink. Aleta's classes provided a sense of accountability, and she gave wise, thoughtful, and sensitive feedback on work in progress. Thank you as well to fellow students in Aleta's classes for their generous feedback: Belle, Michelle, Susan, Lauren, Katie, and many others.
Mark Hollmann, Tony Award winner and musical theatre songwriting teacher, whose Dramatists Guild Institute class for composer-lyricists provided invaluable insights and facilitated connection with other artists.
Rachel Sarrano, Nicholas Kaminski, Joseph Osborne, Gary Kubota, Jason Eyester, and Robert Shard, a steadfast musical theatre songwriting community.
The many vocalists and instrumentalists who have been lending their talents to demos for the songs for this project: Una Ni Fhlannagain, Tony Cunningham, Leigh Jones, Audra Nemir, Omar Musisko, Jules Stewart, Dan Frechette, Jack Pennifold, Veronica May, Ted Stern, Sandi King, and Nicholas Kaminski.
Books used for historical reference:
Duffy, Peter. The Killing of Major Denis Mahon: A Mystery of Old Ireland. Harper Perennial, 2008.
Kelly, John. The Graves are Walking: the Great Famine and the Saga of the Irish People. Picador, 2012.
Kinealy, Christine. Charity and the Great Hunger in Ireland: The Kindness of Strangers. Bloomsbury, 2013.
Kinealy, Christine et. al. Women and the Great Hunger. Quinnipiac University Press, 2016.
Nicholson, Asenath. Annals of the Famine in Ireland in 1847, 1848, and 1849. E. French, 1851.
O'Rourke Murphy, Maureen. Compassionate Stranger: Asenath Nicholson and the Great Irish Famine. Syracuse University Press, 2015.
Reilly, Ciarán. The Famine Irish: Emigration and the Great Hunger. The History Press Ireland, 2016.
Reilly, Ciarán. Strokestown and the Great Irish Famine. Four Courts Press, 2014.
Scally, Robert James. The End of Hidden Ireland: Rebellion, Famine, and Emigration. Oxford University Press, 1995.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT STROKESTOWN PARK AND THE NATIONAL FAMINE MUSEUM: