A Go Fund Me page set up to raise money for the next stage of the Brian Friel Centre in Glentie has raised almost €20,000.
The appeal was launched in early November. Plans for the centre have been gathering pace and it is hoped the latest fundraiser will progress the project.
The Go Fund Me page has a target of €50,000 in order to complete phase one of this unique and exciting project.
Brian Friel was one of Ireland’s greatest playwrights with his works performed all over the world from Broadway to the West End from the Abbey Theatre to the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Minneapolis.
But it is Glenties, home of his mother, and the surrounding Donegal landscape that has become immortalised in several of his plays as the fictional village ‘Ballybeg’.
It is therefore fitting that to mark his significant literary and dramatic legacy that a centre be established in Glenties to honour the life and work of Brian Friel.
Speaking about the new Centre, Brian’s widow Anne Friel, said “The Friel family are absolutely delighted that the Court House in Glenties will be home to the Brian Friel Centre. Glenties was a very special place to him”.
The Brian Friel Trust was established in 2017 to found a ‘Brian Friel Centre’, honouring his rich cultural legacy.
The vision and plan of the Trust is to establish a centre incorporating ‘The Laurels’ and ‘The Court house’ in Glenties.
The Laurels was home to Brian Friel’s mother and is the setting of his play ‘Dancing at Lughnasa’.
The Trust’s ongoing vision is to completely restore and renovate The Laurels as the Dancing at Lughnasa House and to establish the main centre in the nearby Courthouse.
Since 2017, the Trust has sourced the funds to buy The Laurels and has secured the integrity of the building, which had fallen into disrepair, including the roof, windows and outer walls which have now been weatherproofed.
Just down the road from The Laurels is The Courthouse, which the Trust secured from Donegal County Council last year.
Plans for The Court House, which were developed earlier this year by CHL Consulting and John McLaughlin Architects, include a vibrant, dynamic and creative interpretative visitor attraction, containing elements of the Friel archive – displays of photographs, letters, theatrical memorabilia, as well as Brian’s reading library and a performance space.
Friel said
Phase One is now complete at the cost of €110,000 with the projected cost of the entire project will be in the region of €5million.
Phase two has now been launched and with the support of a gofundme campaign will provide the vital next step for the completion of the entire project.
If you would like to donate to the Go Fund Me page please see https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-brian-friel-centre-glenties-donegal
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