Former Macnas director Páraic Breathnach talks about the Galway performance company that has delighted audiences with pioneering and innovative productions.
Páraic Breathnach, one of the founder members of Macnas, the Galway based community arts and theatre organisation is retiring as artistic director, after almost a decade combining creativity and hard work in equal measure.
In 1986 Páraic Breathnach established Macnas a unique type of theatre company with Tom Conroy, Ollie Jennings and Pete Sammon. Specialising in staging public spectacle performances, they came to nationwide attention in 1988, celebrating Dublin's Millennium year with 'Gulliver', the giant figure washed up on Dollymount Strand, paying homage to one of the city's best loved writers Jonathan Swift.
'Táin' had its premiere at the 1992 Spain Expo and featured in the Galway Arts Festival. The following year they shared the stage with U2 on their Zooropa tour, and they delighted millions of viewers when they performed during the opening sequence of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest.
Macnas perform during dress rehearsal for the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, Dublin.
Millions more around the world watched them perform as part of the MTV Music Awards in Paris. Along with all of that, the creative ensemble continued to captivate audience at arts festivals around the country.
Pastures new are ahead, and Páraic Breathnach is upbeat about the state of the arts in Ireland. It is our imagination that sets us apart, he believes. Macnas performances are not limited solely to entertainment. It is also about the effect they have on the minds and imaginations of the people who experience them.
Chun a gcuid samhlaíocht a chruthú, chun...saol níos spraíúil a dhéanamh dóibh fhéin...tá an dualgas sin atá ag an ealaíontóir.
Does a recent advertisment they made for The National Lottery go against their aesthetic principles? No, because artists, actors and people in the arts have to be able to make a living, Páraic Breathnach firmly maintains. Macnas may deal in the mythical and fantastical, but the company lives in the real world. Macnas are in the fortunate position to be able to employ people, and create employment for people.
Tá daoine fostaithe againne...nílimid i dTír na nÓg an t-am ar fad, táimid i dTír na nÓg an tsamhalaíochta, nílimid i dTír na nÓg economicúil.
This episode of 'Cúrsaí Ealaíne' was broadcast on 26 November 1995. The reporter is Marina Ní Dhubháin.
'Cúrsaí Ealaíne' was an Irish-language television arts programme particularly noted for its coverage of the visual arts. It was first broadcast on 2 October 1994 and continued until 2000. Presenters included Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin, Marina Ní Dhubháin and Harry McGee.
