Famine dance show Fáinne Óir set for major Mayo relaunch

Fáinne Oir, the sold-out Broadway show written and produced by Mayo musician and composer Kathy Fahey, is set to be relaunched at Claremorris Town Hall Theatre before going on tour across the United States.

The performance of music and dance will be staged at the venue on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, November 9, 10 and 11 - and tickets are now on sale at townhall.ie.

Set during the Great Famine, Fáinne Oir is the story of loss, enduring love and the triumph of humanity.

Kathy has been working with an all-female team in developing the show into one that can tour the world with a group of professional dancers and musicians from Riverdance and other stage productions. It has a cast of 15.

The set designer is Louise Dunne, who has recently worked with Imelda May during her run of plays at the Olympia Theatre, Dublin.

The stage will be adorned with clay to help further capture the scene of the famine era in Ireland.

Ciara Sexton, who worked on the original staging of Fáinne Óir in 2019, is choreographer.

The narrator is Arthur McGauran.

Kathy revealed that, as well as several choreographical additions and scene edits, she has written a new piece of music for the revised show.

“I composed it in honour of my mother, Evelyn, who died in November 2021. It’s called ‘Evesong’, a waltz that is incorporated in a very poignant scene of the show.”

A promoter from America will be attending the show in Claremorris with the intention of bringing it on tour across the US next year, starting with the Irish scene in New York, Boston and Chicago, and then Orlando and other cities, hopefully.

“She fell in love with the video we produced during Covid and saw strong potential to take it on tour in the USA. We are keeping our fingers crossed,” said Kathy.

Kathy thanked Mayo Concert Orchestra and Voxfusion vocalists for their role in launching the show and bringing it to Broadway, in New York, four years ago.