Mayo's TF Royal Theatre gears up for busy period after lockdown
By Tom Gillespie
FORTY years ago teenager Webster McNeely cut his teeth as a DJ in the Travellers Friend Hotel in Castlebar.
Now four decade on he has again teamed up as a promoter with Pat Jennings to bring top class shows to the TF Royal Theatre.
With the lifting of Covid restrictions it's full steam ahead at the 2,500-seat theatre.
Many of the acts booked two years ago have now rescheduled new dates, such as Kokaline (March 5), Paul Young (March 11) and Conal Gallen (March 19).
Later in the year international acts such as Leo Sayer (August 25) and Gilbert O’Sullivan (September 3) will be in the county town.
Webster, a tailor by profession, told me: “It is lovely to come back to the TF when we are coming out of such a strange time.
“I started here 40 years ago when I was 17 or 18 doing gigs with Pat Jennings. It has really gone full circle. I was a DJ, putting on nights, organising nightclubs, bringing in acts. It is where I got the hunger for promoting and I have done it ever since.
“I have done it for years, on and off here in the TF. I have done it everywhere in Castlebar and around Mayo.”
He admitted: “While it can be very stressful I love it. I ran a nightclub, Panama Jack’s, here with Pat, Tony Donigan and Mattie Neary for 10 years. It just clicked and half the country used to come here every week.”
Continued Webster: “We have a lot of shows coming that were booked two years ago and they were cancelled because of Covid. For example, Kodaline, they are here on March 5. They were supposed to be here two years ago and that’s the way it is with them all now.
“There is a comedian, Bernard Casey from Kerry, here on February 26 and he is one to watch.
“We have Tommy Tiernan with his Tomfoolery show with two sold-out shows here on February 11 and 12, with full capacity of 2,500 each night.
“Thankfully we are back to normal again. A lot of acts have been postponed - Paul Brady and Andy Irvine, the Showband Show, High Kings and Dara O’Briain, which is moved back to the end of June.
“All the acts are on the Royal Theatre website. There is a lot of stuff we were unable to put up which we can rectify now with full opening.”
Webster hopes the people of Castlebar will again support the TF Royal Theatre, the fourth largest venue in the country, which employs a staff of 70, adding: “We really hope that the town gets behind us because the town needs the Royal Theatre. When we sell out with a capacity of 2,500 the spin-off for the town is enormous - taxis, B&Bs, bars, and restaurants.
“Then if we sell-out a stand-up show it is 4,000 people.
“This is a huge asset for Castlebar.
"We are so used to having big names in our town. It is normal for Castlebar to be used to having big entertainment names.”
During lockdown Webster put on a lot of outdoor shows for Cora Mulroy, as well as video work with bands, adding: “It was a rough two years where I was not allowed to do my job.”