Patrician Hall
The Patrician Hall is a cultural, arts and entertainment venue in the village of Carrickmore, County Tyrone. It was built by the Roman Catholic Parish of Termonmaguirk under the Diocese of Armagh as a means of using it to raise money to build Roman Catholic sector education facilities in the form of a primary and a post-primary school. This parish hall was named after Saint Patrick (that year being the 1500th anniversary of his death), and the venue played host to many national and international stars including Liam Neeson, Roy Orbison, Val Doonican, The Wolfe Tones and The Dubliners. It was also very popular on the Irish Showband circuit throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. .[1] The venue continued to be used up until the millennium by local groups for events and fundraising.
photo by Kenneth Allen
Renovation
After 40 years of constant use the venue fell into disrepair, so the building was transferred on a leased basis from the Parish of Termonmaguirk and the Diocese of Armagh to a local voluntary community group in order to become eligible for public funding. After a 'farewell' concert in 2003 it closed for 18 months for major renovation work, with much of that work and funding again coming from local volunteers as well as public bodies.
It reopened in 2005 with facilities including state-of-the-art lighting, sound and technical specifications; retractable seating, bar and food service, event and banquet.[2] The venue continues to be used for a multitude of purposes and by a wide and varied section of the community. It is the community of Carrickmore who own and manage The Patrician.
Since its re-opening artists such as Francis Black, Johnny McEvoy, Philomena Begley, Ronnie Drew, The Wolfe Tones, Phil Coulter and Shane MacGowan have played there. In 2006, The Patrician was featured in a BBC documentary regarding the Field Day Theatre Co. and Stephen Rea, actor of stage and screen revisited the hall to take part in this. In 2007 the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, paid a visit as part of a tour of County Tyrone and unveiled a plaque in recognition of the new venue.[3]
Mid Ulster Drama Festival
For 9 nights at the end of March The Patrician Hall hosts the Mid-Ulster Drama festival, which showcases the best of amateur dramatics from groups throughout Ireland. The Mid Ulster Drama Festival has been running since 1964 at The Patrician Hall. The first adjudicator was James Boyce. The festival has continued with only one interruption in 2001. It was up and running the following year with Donn McMullin as the adjudicator. Next year the festival will be celebrating its 50th year. The dates for next year are Friday 21 March until Saturday 29 March and the adjudicator will be Donal Courtney.