FROM the heart of Enniskillen comes a vibrant new musical penned by local playwright and musician, Moya Sweeney, that shines a spotlight on the town’s extraordinary women.
Daughters of Ceithleann is a heartfelt tribute to the spirit and stories of a community, woven together with a touch of Irish myth.
“It is the story of the myth of Ceithleann, her life, how she was the wife of Balor who was this king of the Fomorians which is a evil tribe in Irish mythology and her role in his life right up until there was a battle where she was wounded and tried to swim home, she didn’t get as far and rested on an island and died there and that is where people would associated Enniskillen with,” Moya explained.
“There are parts in her story where she shows strength or determination or bravery and when I was putting all these stories of other inspirational women from Enniskillen like Joan Trimble, Joan Wilson or Emily Valentine, all these people who I have been reading about I realised that a lot of their stories aligned up with the traits that Ceithleann was showing.
“So essentially the show is the telling of Ceithleanns life but with stories of other inspirational women from Enniskillen dispersed throughout with song or spoken word and some folk music.”
Moya has played a big part in the local musical theatre scene through Fermanagh Musical Theatre and Enniskillen Light Operatic Society, whilst also having a strong passion for Irish folk music.
“I wanted to marry the two of them together and there is a lot of musicals that do that and have Irish music in it but the thing that didn’t sit entirely right with me is that none of them actually related to Ireland,” she said.
“A lot of them happened to use folk music but there was no musical as far as I was aware that had a story that was really strong to a place so then I thought I could put the two things I love together and try and write something for it.”
Moya has received support from Arts Council of Northern Ireland to let her put her all into creating the show which she has cast with local women.
“I wanted to select people who I have worked with before and I trusted with the material because obviously it is brand new,” Moya added.
“The folk I have asked to do the show are all either from Enniskillen or slightly outside Enniskillen but have done a lot of work in Enniskillen.”
The show is set to be shown on 14 and 15 November.
“There are a lot of moving parts between getting the venue finalised and getting musicians in to play the music and hiring sound engineers and sound technicians so there are a lot of bits to do but I am really excited.”