"My mother, Agnes Sullivan, wrote a book many years ago…" This is how Kevin Sullivan began his email to the Documentary On One.

No ordinary book but a memoir from a fascinating life on the road. It was written by a woman who only had primary school education but who observed the Ireland of her time with great detail and wrote about it vividly and entertainingly.

Agnes' family were 'showpeople’. They travelled the country with a mobile theatre, known as a ‘fit-up’. They would pull up at a crossroads in rural Ireland and put on a 2-hour programme every night. It would include musical numbers, comedy, raffles, amateur talent shows and, most popular of all, three-act dramas.

This documentary doesn’t just hear from the late Agnes, through her book, but also her children and grandchildren too. Her children were on the road with her and her grandson is still on the road as a circus performer.

As Kevin recalls in his email: "It was, without doubt, the most exciting time of the year when the fit-ups came to town for many a provincial village or town."

Narrated by Kevin Sullivan

Produced by Ronan Kelly

Agnes’ book: "The End of the Strolling Players"

First broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1, 2PM, Monday 27th October 2025

An Irish radio documentary from RTÉ Radio 1, Ireland - Documentary on One - the home of Irish radio documentaries