new company home
Our new home on Edward St. is due for completion of Phase 1 renovations early Autumn 2024. We gratefully acknowledge the support of Limerick City and County Council, the JP McManus Benevolent Fund, Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, College Players, Limerick Arts office and our colleagues in Limerick’s arts and community sector, all of whom have helped us realise this project.
Mike Finn’s newest play, The Rising of the Women, was a huge success when it was read in St. Mary’s National School, Bishop St. on July 4th, 2024. You can now listen to an audio recording of this play if you scan the QR code above or on our Soundcloud platform here: Stream The GAFF | Listen to podcast episodes online for free on SoundCloud
In 1956, legendary film director John Ford came to Limerick to film scenes for his film The Rising Of The Moon. This being his first film since the success of The Quiet Man, the new film was eagerly anticipated and the great man’s arrival in the Treaty City was the cause of great excitement. Amid the glamour and the clamour, two hundred women were recruited from the Labour Exchange to be extras. Their job was to portray worried citizens, anxiously reciting the rosary outside King John’s Castle while inside, a condemned rebel awaited execution at the hands of the Black and Tans. Midway through the first day’s shooting, the extras discovered that the buns provided for lunch were stale and that their pay was to be six shillings and eight pence rather than the promised ten bob. There was nothing for it but to strike! While they were at it, they also demanded porter to wash down thebuns! Having fearlessly confronted the great John Ford and the film’s producer Lord Killanin, the women demanded their issues were being seriously considered. The GAFF has brought together a truly seasoned cast of Limerick performers for the reading including Gene Rooney, Aidan Crowe, Georgina Miller, Padhraic Hastings, James Corr, Carrie Barrett, Carmel Duggan, Sheila Fitzpatrick, Megan O’Halloran and Mary O’Sullivan, with direction by Joan Sheehy, this production is truly Limerick story with a 100% Limerick cast.
Paint Punch is a unique community-focused, youth arts programme which has seen sixty young people from Kilmallock, Abbeyfeale, Ennis, Askeaton and Limerick City create impressive works of art by punching paint onto boards with boxing gloves. The programme took place over the summer months of 2024, in partnership with St. Mary’s Boys School, Abbeyfeale, Ballyhoura Development Company, Kilmallock, Limerick Youth Service, Askeaton, Limerick Learning Hub, Clare Youth Service, Ennis and the Local Creative Youth Partnership at Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board.
The idea of Paint Punch came from Artist Frank McCarthy who, while working with young boys in Abbeyfeale during a music programme, observed how they incorporated boxing into almost every aspect of their daily lives, through movement, music and conversation. While the same boys might not have been overly enthusiastic about painting in the conventional sense, the idea of using boxing gloves was met with great enthusiasm. The result has been extremely successful with demand for the programme coming from other youth centres. Frank McCarthy continues as active artistic lead on this programme with Manuela Hartlep in the role of project manager. The GAFF gratefully appreciates the support of RETHINK Ireland for enabling Paint Punch to be rolled out in five areas in 2024. Paint Punch was originally produced by the Local Creative Youth Partnership with whom The GAFF continues to work
