Ernest Blythe reflects on his career as he retires from his position as managing director of the Abbey Theatre.
Earnán de Blaghd (Ernest Blythe) was a journalist, a politician, a government minister, a republican revolutionary, an Irish language revivalist and managing director of the Abbey Theatre from 1941 until his retirement in 1967.
Reflecting on his achievements at the Abbey Theatre, he says
Nobody, I think, ever succeeds in doing all the things they set out to achieve.
Ernest Blythe recalls his time which has seen the discovery of new actors and new playwrights, the reconstruction of a new Abbey Theatre following the fire in 1951 and a growth in public interest in theatre.
He acknowledges that there are not currently writers of the calibre of Seán O'Casey or John Millington Synge, but says that the quality writers comes in tides and is optimistic for the future.
Even in the worst times, you can look forward to better times ahead.
For Ernest Blythe the highlight of his time at the Abbey theatre was the agreement of the government to build a new theatre.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 30 August 1967. The reporter is Pádraic Ó Gaora.
