Qualla: An Grianan Theatre https://qualla.com/an-grianan-theatre en-us © 2026 Bendyline Wed, 08 Jul 2026 02:40:12 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/f/8/an-grianan-theatre-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: An Grianan Theatre https://qualla.com/an-grianan-theatre An Grianan Theatre: Introduction https://qualla.com/an-grianan-theatre/ Photo credit Photo by Paul McGuckin, CC BY 2.0. In 1995, a Labour politician offered Michael D. Higgins a lift to a Labour Party function in Donegal. There was, however, a condition. Before they drove on, Sean Maloney wanted Higgins, then Minister for the Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, to look at a particular field in Letterkenny called the Rectory Field. The minister did. He declared it the best site for a theatre he had ever seen and, the following February, approved a 1.5-million-pound grant to build one. That is how An Grianan Theatre came to exist - through a backseat lobbying campaign, a snap judgment in a wet Donegal field, and a name borrowed from a prehistoric stone fort on a hill twenty kilometres away.

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Image: Photo by Paul McGuckin | CC BY 2.0

]]> Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/f/8/an-grianan-theatre-wp/gcf8-an-grianan-theatre-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full An Grianan Theatre: Stony House of the Sun https://qualla.com/an-grianan-theatre/ Photo credit Public domain. The name reaches across millennia. Grianan of Aileach - the Stony House of the Sun - is a hilltop ring fort at Burt on the Inishowen Peninsula, built by the Northern Ui Neill in the 6th or 7th century CE on what may have been a much older Iron Age site. The theatre that borrowed ...

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Image: Public domain

]]> Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/f/8/an-grianan-theatre-wp/gcf8-an-grianan-theatre-stony-house-of-the-sun.mp3 0:06 2 full An Grianan Theatre: Comedians, Musicians, and the Best Room in Ireland https://qualla.com/an-grianan-theatre/ Photo credit Edibobb, CC BY 3.0. Backstage, in the green room, hangs a framed T-shirt signed by Glen Hansard, the Oscar-winning songwriter for the film Once and frontman of The Frames. He declared the room the best room in Ireland. The Frames play An Grianan regularly. Sharon Shannon played here in 2005. Isla Gr...

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Image: Edibobb | CC BY 3.0

]]> Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/f/8/an-grianan-theatre-wp/gcf8-an-grianan-theatre-comedians-musicians-and-the-best-room-in-ireland.mp3 0:06 3 full An Grianan Theatre: Festivals and Awards https://qualla.com/an-grianan-theatre/ Photo credit An Grianán Theatre from Letterkenny, Ireland, CC BY 2.0. An Grianan has hosted the Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann twice, in 2005 and 2006 - Ireland's premier traditional music competition, which brings tens of thousands of musicians and listeners to whichever town earns the year's hosting honour. It hosted the Pan Celtic Festival in 2007. I...

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Image: An Grianán Theatre from Letterkenny, Ireland | CC BY 2.0

]]> Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/f/8/an-grianan-theatre-wp/gcf8-an-grianan-theatre-festivals-and-awards.mp3 0:06 4 full An Grianan Theatre: A Quarter Century, and a Quiet Year https://qualla.com/an-grianan-theatre/ Photo credit DevelopedMadness at English Wikipedia, Public domain. In 2024, An Grianan celebrated 25 years since opening with a gala and an exhibition. The story it told was a story Letterkenny had not been able to tell about itself before 1999 - that a town in the northwest could build and sustain a professional theatre, draw international acts...

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Image: DevelopedMadness at English Wikipedia | Public domain

]]> Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/f/8/an-grianan-theatre-wp/gcf8-an-grianan-theatre-a-quarter-century-and-a-quiet-year.mp3 0:06 5 full