Written by Malachy McKenna, The Quiet Land is a poignant, bittersweet drama following two elderly, neighbouring farmers, Eamon and Nashee, who meet at a gate on a remote Irish hillside. Originally a radio play—which won the PJ O’Connor Radio Drama Award in 2014—it was later adapted into a successful full-length stage play.
The original radio play starred veteran Irish actors Barry Cassin and Kevin Flood. Together, they brought a combined 130 years of theatrical experience to their performances as the two isolated elderly farmers, Eamonn and Nashee. The stage adaptation of The Quiet Land starring Des Keogh and Derry Power premiered on August 17, 2015, at Bewley’s Cafe in Dublin. Following its initial run in late 2015, the production underwent multiple successful revivals and national tours:
The Quiet Land by Malachy McKenna was staged at the Kilkenny Home Rule Club (at The Barn Studio) during a highly successful Lunchtime Theatre run from August 4 to August 14, 2022. It was presented by the Barnstorm theatre company and was directed by Philip Hardy, with Brendan Corcoran and Gerry Cody as Eamonn and Nashee. Set in the “hidden Ireland” far off the modern motorways and ring-roads, Eamon and Nashee lean on a fence and converse in the low-key, shorthand code of near-neighbours. Historically, their conversations belonged to a gentler time—rich in subtext, dry wit, and long pauses where silence was as telling as speech. However, today’s conversation is far from gentle. Facing the bitter reality of modern rural isolation and ageing, the men have grown desperate. They find themselves confronting heartbreaking truths and deep loneliness, while struggling to make sense of a world that is encroaching on them. Their lifelong friendship is tested to its absolute limit as they are forced to ask themselves if things can ever be the same again on their hillside.
Malachy McKenna is a member of the Writers Guild of Ireland. He trained as an actor at the Focus Stanislavski Studio, Dublin, under the late Deirdre O’Connell. His first stage play, Tillsonburg, premiered at the Focus Theatre and won the Stewart Parker Literary Trust Award. It subsequently had several Irish tours and had its North American premiere with the Canadian Stage Company, Toronto, and has played in Rep in Arad State Theatre, Romania, on numerous occasions. The Quiet Land, first written for radio, was a Gold Medal winner with RTÉ for Best Radio Drama at the World Festival of Radio in New York in July, 2015, having previously been awarded outright winner of the P.J. O’Connor Radio Drama Award in 2014. The stage adaptation of The Quiet Land, having premiered at Bewley’s, has toured to critical acclaim through Ireland and Scotland.
The stones will speak
Accompanying ‘The Quiet Land’ will be a short film from 1974, ‘The stones will speak’, produced by Terence McDonald.
Over magnificent images of Irish natural beauty, featuring Ben Bulben, Achill Island, and Kylemore Abbey amongst other sites, voices of residents of the west coast tell the stories of their lives – dispelling romantic notions of rural life with tales of immigration, loneliness, and hard work. It comes from The Irish Film Institute’s Terence McDonald Collection.
The first sequence tells the story of an elderly man who recalls memories of cycling to football matches and dancing at the crossroads, but now he and his wife miss their children and grandchildren who have taken the winding road to the city.”The Stones Will Speak” is part of The Terence McDonald collection and is being shown in association with IFI Dublin . Special permission for showing this film was given by Peter McDonald.
Terence McDonald was a teacher, film historian, film collector, and pioneering amateur filmmaker. Born in the city of Derry in 1926, the films he made during his lifetime are diverse in genre and subject. They range from short comedies and experimental films to expository documentaries covering topics such as traveling and cross-community theatre, mental health services, and films that promoted Derry as a developing city looking hopefully to the future.
The Quiet Land runs at Thomastown Concert hall on August 13 and 14. Cast includes Brendan Corcoran and Ger Cody
