Pupils adapt classic Cork short story for stage for Culture Night

One of Cork’s most famous writers, Frank O’Connor, would no doubt be thrilled to hear his humorous short story, My First Confession (first published in 1939) is to be staged as a musical – in a church.

It is one of the many free events taking place around the city for Culture Night on Friday, September 19.

And it’s not being enacted in any old church, but at St Patrick’s Church on the Lower Glanmire Road where O’Connor (real name, Michael O’Donovan) made his first confession and based possibly his most famous story on that formative experience.

The church is synonymous with the story which is narrated by a young lad, Jackie. He reveals his murderous thoughts about his crude grandmother at his first confession. The priest is highly amused but adopts a serious tone.

Last year, thanks to the work of Scoil Oilibhéir NS teachers Eoin Hegarty and Rosemary Daly, the pupils of the school performed a musical version of My First Confession at Glen Rovers’ Club Hall. A great success, it was part of the celebrations of the school’s 40th anniversary.

Diarmuid O’Donovan, who is on the committee of the Cork Cathedral Family of Parishes, was aware of the amount of people that went to see the show and suggested it be staged in St Patrick’s Church for Culture Night.

He approached Canon John O’Donovan (no relation) about the idea and was given his blessing. As Diarmuid says, churches are supposed to be about community and with dwindling numbers attending Mass, why not hold events in them that would appeal to families?

Formerly of the Echo, where he held a variety of positions including Circulation Manager, Diarmuid is personally interested in the musical take on My First Confession because of the connections he has with Frank O’Connor. The northsider attended the same school as the writer, St Patricks NS on Gardiner’s Hill. And he also would have attended St Patrick’s Church for the sacraments.

“When I was in St Patrick’s NS in the 1960s and early ’70s, the area hadn’t changed much over 40 or 50 years,” said Diarmuid. “It was just before the housing in Mayfield and the Glen were built. It was a very established old area.

“At school, we were constantly told that the writers Daniel Corkery and Frank O’Connor as well as the sculptor Seamus Murphy had been pupils there. They set the standard we had to live up to.

“We were made aware of the story, My First Confession. You imagined it in your head but you actually knew where it took place. Frank O’Connor, who lived in Harrington Square (in his younger years) would have come down Summerhill North.”

A cast of 30 pupils from Scoil Oilibhéir are taking part in the musical, which is an abridged version of last year’s script, edited by Eoin and Rosemary.

Diarmuid is enthusiastic about the unorthodox setting for My First Confession. “It’s a fantastic church with a history going back to 1832. It’s a lovely limestone building which has a crypt.

“The real heroes of this are the kids from Scoil Oilibhéir who have been rehearsing at weekends. Some of the kids left the school last year and started out in secondary school. They’ve come back to get involved in the musical. People will be hugely surprised at the range of talent.”

St Patrick’s Church is a place where traffic doesn’t stop anymore as there is a major junction in front of it. “But people are aware of the church. We know they’re not going in there in the way people used to. You would hope that others from around the city will come to see the show on the night,” said Diarmuid.

“The building is magnificent and part of Cork’s history. There’s no downside to this. It’s good for the people participating in the show, it’s good for the church and it’s a community thing.

“It would be great if we could use our churches for more events. At the moment, nothing else has been tried in the churches. I’d hope we could maybe organise lunchtime recitals in some of the inner city churches.

“I’ve travelled a bit and noticed last year that the Church of England Cathedral in Birmingham had a recital on a Friday. I went in and I’d say about 300 people were at it.

“I’ve seen the same thing in Glasgow. St Finbarre’s Cathedral (in Cork) has recitals once a month. It’s about making the churches more accessible to people, a place where they can take a break and think about things.”

The priest in My First Confession is kind towards Jackie and has a good sense of humour. Diarmuid feels the generally poor image priests have these days is “unfair. From what I see, priests have very little time to themselves.” With a very limited number of priests, they are constantly on call.

Diarmuid says a Christian Brother once said to him the order came into being to deal with problems, namely poverty and an absence of education, the two being intertwined.

“The brother said that if that problem has now disappeared, the Christian Brothers may disappear. But something else will emerge to answer new problems.”

My First Confession – The Musical will be staged at 5pm and also at 7pm on Culture Night, September 19, at St Patrick’s Church. Each performance is 45 minutes long.

The 20th edition of Culture Night takes place on Friday, September 19 across Cork city, all events are free. Highlights this year include:

Cian Sweeney - As If I Always Knew Presents: A Piano Meditation: The Cork musician puts on a unique semi-improvised piano experience that blends mindful presence with live music at City Hall. A variety of choirs will entertain on the plaza, a multi-panel art piece will be on display, and Millennium Hall sees a fun show called Squish, Stomp, Spin – The Magic of Stim.

Kaught at the Karpark: A celebration of Cork’s influential late ’70s/early ’80s punk and post-punk scene at North Main Street car park. Inspired by bands like Nun Attax, Microdisney and Stump.

Community hubs will be alive with activity, from Blackpool’s cultural talks, global food tastings and céilí, to Togher and Ballyphehane’s music, dance and craft demos. Mayfield will host an outdoor celebration of food, music and games, while Churchfield showcases international song and dance from Bolivia, Mexico, Ukraine and Ireland. Additionally, artwork from the Mahon Community Art project will be displayed at City Hall.

Cork City Library will host a wide-ranging programme featuring exhibitions, live music, theatre, readings, children’s storytelling and creative workshops. Highlights include the Rory Gallagher-inspired Kickback City exhibition, a performance of The Ancient Mariner, and music from Áine O’Gorman.

There are also Irish language activities, in association with an tOireachtas, including joining award-winning sean-nós singer Sorcha de Róiste at a workshop celebrating traditional Irish song, and Amhrán an Mara (Songs of the Sea), a celebration of maritime songs in both Irish and English.