Kildysart GAA are hosting the comedy play called "The Pull" in the Community Centre on Friday 29th April at 8pm. This show has been held up and down the country but the Kildysart performance is the first time it's ever been held in Clare.
The Pull is a lively comedy set in the fictional town of Ballybore, where, bizarrely, the local GAA club claim to pre-date the foundation of the GAA itself by some 130 years.
“The Stone Kickers of Ballybore were around long before the GAA,” according to John Corless, “and it is believed in the area, that the founders of the GAA sent spies to Ballybore to witness this new sport and report back and that Gaelic football was developed as a result of the hours of painful endeavour by those famous but forgotten man (and indeed some women).”
Things aren’t quite right either in the modern day Ballybore. “Ballybore GAA club are €1,150 in debt – a not inconsiderable quantum, and on top of that the club is held in very low esteem locally,” according to John. “The club sets about trying to solve both problems and accidentally decides to pull a truck around their home town to raise money and get themselves in the Guinness Book of Records.”
In the midst of the panic and the unconventional attempts at fundraising, there are a number of other sub-plots for the audience to enjoy. Audiences will be treated to the four cornerstones of Irish culture – sport, politics, romance and religion and many may recognise the characters created by the Half Solid team.
The Pull is suitable for all ages and runs for two periods of approximately fifty minutes. (There is no need to change sides at half-time.)
“We are touring all over Ireland and it will be great to stage it in conjunction with Kildysart GAA,” added John. “We’re looking forward to a great night.”
“Kildysart have been a very prominent club in GAA history over many years. Ballybore can only dream of such glory,” said John but the authors are keen to emphasise that any similarities between Ballybore and Kildysart clubs are entirely accidental.
** John Corless is a well-known poet and playwright who has an MA in Creative Writing. He is the author of two poetry collections. ‘Are you ready?’ was published by Salmon in 2009 and ‘A Single Mission’ out this spring. His plays include A Great Consolation, The Customer, Getting It Straight, Fog, Invitation to Dance, The Interview, Special Training and The Visitor. His radio plays include Postcard, Number Crunchers and Cool Together. He is Director of the Claremorris Fringe Festival of Drama.
** Liam Horan is a former Gaelic games correspondent of the Irish Independent, and creator of the popular Championship Man series on RTE Radio One. Liam performed in The Pull for the first three years of its highly-successful run.
** Eamonn O’Shiel is a fairly new addition to the team. This is his first season with Half Solid having previously performed on stage with Rasper Players, EndNote and others. His TV and Film credits include work for Alive Inside Pictures and Flynn MacAodha Films.
