Writing Radio Drama

Join the Writers’ Guild of Ireland, in partnership with Coimisiún na Meán, on 13th November for an exciting event exploring the craft and landscape of Irish Radio Drama.

Hosted by WGI Chair Jennifer Davidson, the event will take place at the Morgan Hotel in Temple Bar. After light refreshments, we’ll begin with a panel discussion featuring commissioners and broadcasters who will share insights into the current landscape of radio drama. This will be followed by a networking lunch, and then a second panel with three leading playwrights in the field.

Tá áthas orainn ceiliúradh a dhéanamh ar an nGaeilge agus na deiseanna atá ar fáil léi san earnáil seo le haoichainteoirí Gearóid Mac Donnacha (RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta) agus scríbhneoir Caitríona Ní Mhurchú. Más duine le Gaeilge tú, tá fáilte romhat freastal air, agus tá fáilte romhat aoi le Gaeilge a bhainfeadh leas as a thabhairt leat. Seol ríomphost chuig [email protected] chun spás a chur in áirithe dóibh.

Members, register your place here.  [Please make sure you’re logged in if you can’t see the registration page]

The WGI would like to encourage members who belong to any group which may be underrepresented within society (for example on the grounds of ethnicity, disability, religion, socioeconomic status or any other factors), to participate in this event.

Schedule:

• 10:30 am – Coffee on arrival
• 11:00 am – 12:30 pm – Sound Decisions: Curating and Creating Radio Drama  – Philip Cooper (Coimisiún na Meán), Gearóid Mac Donnacha (RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta), Nicky Coghlan (RTÉ Jr)
• 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm – Lunch
• 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm – Drama on the Air: The Craft of Writing for Radio – Caitríona Ní Mhurchú, Joanne Ryan, and Elaine Murphy

Gearóid Mac Donncha

Gearóid Mac Donncha is the Ceannaire (Head) of RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta and has worked in the media for over twenty-five years.  He started off in TV sport as a commentator and producer, and in 2006 joined RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta presenting the station’s news and current affairs programming.  He held several managerial positions in RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta including Eagarthóir Stiúrtha Nuachta (Head of News) and Leascheannaire (Deputy Head of Station) before being appointed Ceannaire in 2017. Over the last few years the station has tried to develop Irish language drama productions with various stakeholders, but mainly with independent production companies with the help of funding from the Sound and Vision Scheme from Coimisiún na Meáin.  

Philip Cooper

Philip Cooper works in the Media Development section of Coimisiún na Meán and currently works as a manager on the Sound & Vision Funding Scheme. Philip has worked on Sound & Vision Schemes since 2007 and has extensive experience with all aspects of the Sound & Vision.

Nicky Coghlan

Nicky Coghlan is a Radio and Podcast Producer with RTÉjr. He taught Radio, Music Production and Sound Design at Coláiste Dhúlaigh for 18 years. But, since 2019, he’s been tasked with spearheading a new approach to audio for young audiences. In that time RTÉjr has launched almost 40 different podcast series, a blend of reality and drama work tailored to our youngest audiences. He works with independent writers and producers to oversee series and ensure that what’s delivered is of a world class standard, as well as making work in house. He won the Prix Ex Aequo, an international children’s and youth radio drama festival sponsored by the EBU, for his short play “The Emperor’s New Duds” and Gold at the New York Radio Festival for production of “Cereal” a series for ages 8-12 written by Carol Walsh. 

Elaine Murphy

Elaine Murphy’s debut play, Little Gem, premiered at the Dublin Fringe Festival in 2008, playing to packed audiences during its sellout run and picking up the Fishamble New Writing Award and a nomination for Best New Play at the Irish Times Theatre Awards. Transferring to the Traverse Theatre, it was awarded the overall prize at the Edinburgh Fringe: The Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award. Her short play Ribbons followed at The Peacock Theatre with Shush premiering six months later on the Abbey main stage. She has worked with Painsplough (UK) and Draiocht for The Dublin Theatre Festival and her radio play Ma won the PJ O’Connor Award and a Zebbie from the Irish Writers Guild. Her stage adaptation of the Maeve Binchy novel Circle of Friends opened to great reviews at the Gaiety Theatre in 2022. She is currently developing a TV series with Saffron Moon and is under commission with the Abbey Theatre. 

Joanne Ryan 

Joanne Ryan is an award-winning Irish writer and performer.  Her critically-acclaimed solo show EGGSISTENTIALISM premiered in Belltable and Dublin Fringe in 2016, was part of Culture Ireland’s 2017 Edinburgh Showcase and had runs in London, Liverpool, Cyprus, Malaysia and Australia. EGGSISTENTIALISM has won the Lustrum Award at Edinburgh Fringe, The Melbourne Fringe Tour Ready Award, The Sydney Fringe Critics’ Pick Award and was nominated for Best Performance at Melbourne Fringe. In 2018 it won the Stroller’s Network Touring Award leading to a 10-venue national tour in November 2019. Her radio adaptation of the play for RTÉ Drama on One won the 2023 Zebbie Award for Best Radio Drama Script. Joanne’s second play In Two Minds was produced by Fishamble: The New Play Company in 2023 as part of Dublin Theatre Festival and toured nationally. It won the 2023 Green Room Award for Best New Play and was presented at The Traverse Theatre as part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2024 and was nominated for The Mental Health Foundation Fringe Award. Joanne was awarded the Arts and Health Documentation Bursary in 2022 to make a radio documentary about the making of In Two Minds. She is developing a number of projects including a large-scale interdisciplinary promenade show that will be produced in partnership with a number of arts organisations in Limerick in 2025. Joanne is currently an Artist-in-Residence in Ormston House and a playwright on this year’s Mavens Playwriting Programme. She was Theatre Artist in Residence in Lime Tree Theatre | Belltable in 2022/23, Limerick’s PLATFORM 31 artist in 2022 and was a Six-in-the-Attic artist at Irish Theatre Institute in 2021. She works as a mentor to artists across artforms for Minding Creative Minds and teaches Professional Development for the Performing Arts to MA students at the World Academy of Music and Dance at UL.

Caitríona Ní Mhurchú 

An award-winning performer/theatre maker/writer, Caitríona most recently played Queen Atossa in Nuala Ní Dhomhnailll’s acclaimed translation of Aeschylus’s Persians/Na Peirsigh at the Abbey Theatre, Maria Callas in Master Class by Terrence McNally for Smock Alley/Once Off Productions, Micheál Mac Liammóir in Wáltsáil Abhaile at the Taibhdhearc and Martha Fleischmann in Edna O’Brien’s Joyce’s Women at the Abbey Theatre for Dublin Theatre Festival 2022. She performed her own show [in Irish and English] for younger audiences A Suburban Legend in The Ark in November 2022 and has just completed a national tour starting in Carlow Arts Festival 2024. Prior to that she played Lady Lavery and Sir James Craig in Fishamble’s The Treaty by Colin Murphy [London/Dublin], ‘C’ in Emperor 101, Performance Corporation’s live and mixed reality experience for Boco Loco, Canada April 2023, South by South-West Festival 2022 and Dublin Theatre Festival For Dublin Fringe Festival 2021 she co-created Minseach with dancer and choreographer Sibeal Davitt.

She was commissioned by Aisling Ghéar to write an online play for 7-12 year olds; An Botún. Transmission – for her own company Little Wolf – played Abbey Theatre/ Peacock Stage DFF 2020. Other recent work includes Nassim for DTF 2019 and the title role in Forever Yours, Mary-Lou at the Ustinov Studio, Theatre Royal Bath. Favourite work includes Lippy, The Seagull, 16 Possible Glimpses, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, The Sit, Guaranteed and the 10th Anniversary Celebration of An Oak Tree by Tim Crouch at The Traverse. She is a regular performer on Radio Drama and has made numerous appearances on television – RTÉ, TG4, BBC, BBC NI – the most recent including Fair City, The Bailout, Acceptable Risk, Ros na Rún, Scúp, Seachtar na Cásca. An Oireachtas award-winner, Caitríona has written extensively for children’s television and her children’s books are published by Cló Iar-Chonnachta/O’Brien Press. Her book Ó Lúibíní Lú was nominated for a Glen Dimplex Award. Her first radio play Memento Mori was a PJ O’Connor award-winner. The Little Penpal won Gold in New York Radio Festivals for Best Writing. Gadhar, a sound-story commissioned by RnaG 2019, was published in 2020. And Mise & Ise was commissioned by RTÉ 1 as a response to the pandemic. Caitríona is also a storyline writer for Fair City, RTÉ.
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