The GAA has often been described as the heart and soul of rural Ireland. In Donegal man Kieran Kelly's new play, we discover just what that means through the eyes of Danielle "Dodo" O’Donnell. Kieran introduces Jimmy's Winnin' Matches below...
"I honestly wasn't expecting that!" Or words to that effect. That was pretty much the reaction to the first staging of Jimmy’s Winnin’ Matches back in January. I loved that it caught so many people by surprise. Just like a game of football itself. You might expect one thing, a certain result or turn of events but then on the day, be caught completely by surprise.
Such is football; such is life.
I first approached Patricia McBride in An Grianán Theatre in 2021 with an idea about "a GAA play". At the time, I didn’t quite know what the story would be exactly; I just wanted to tell A Night in November style piece, but with GAA instead of soccer.
I wanted to explore the highs and lows of supporting your county with events in someone’s life mirroring the exploits of the team on the pitch. The "eureka" moment came when I knew it had to be told through the eyes of a female fan, watching her journey playing the game, the pressures that came with that and how they affected her.
I was standing on Hill 16 in 2012, right behind the nets as Karl Lacey kicked that high ball into the hands of the talismanic Michael Murphy, who launched a blistering shot to the back of the net; the first score of the game. Even though there was still the whole match to play after that, it was in that moment that we knew we could win it. "Oh, Jimmy’s winnin’ matches! Jimmy’s winnin’ games! Jimmy’s bringing Sam back to Donegal again!"
And when I think back to that moment now, I can only see it in slow motion. One beautiful, perfect moment. A lifetime of supporting Donegal in just a few seconds; the ups, the downs, the heartbreaks, all the "oh, so nearlys…" all in that one moment.
And thus came the idea of a life flashing before her eyes in slow motion.
You don't have to be from Donegal or to know anything about the GAA to be affected by the story of Danielle "Dodo" O’Donnell.
We are a proud bunch up here in Donegal. As a popular meme on social media states, "I’ve never met someone from Donegal who wasn’t outrageously delighted to be from Donegal!" And it’s very true. But what is it that makes that so? That was one of the questions I wanted to explore in the writing of the play. It was only afterwards, though, that I realised, this play is not about Donegal at all. The themes that I tackle in the writing are relevant to communities all over the country, whether you’re from Ballybofey or Ballyboden; Castlebar or Cahirciveen.
And it’s not just for GAA fans either. Two rugby supporting friends of mine came up from Dublin to see it. And the tears in their eyes at the end of the play, and the emotional hugs they gave me, convinced me that this is a universal story. You don’t have to be from Donegal or to know anything about the GAA to be affected by the story of Danielle "Dodo" O’Donnell. Of her love for her father and brother. Of her trials and tribulations, her mental health issues, her addictions and ultimately, her redemption.
As her brother Rory tells her in the play, "You want to know a wee secret about football though? The real difference between winning and losing?...You have to keep getting up again, every time you’re hit." Such is football; such is life.
The play struck a chord with people. Louise Conaghan’s beautiful portrayal; Patrick McBrearty’s expert direction; Niall Cranney’s stunning lights and sound. It spoke to audiences in a way they didn’t expect.
Just like the team lifting the Sam Maguire in 2012… nobody saw it coming.
Jimmy's Winnin' Matches is at An Grianan Theatre, Letterkenny on on the 24th, 25th and 26th August - find out more here.
