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Michael Dennehy from Cloughleafin, Mitchelstown with the eight plays he has written to date. Photo: Sandra Quinn

With eight plays under his belt and more to come, it is clear that drama is a passion for Michael Dennehy from Mitchelstown.

The plays, going from the first one 'Destiny of Fools' right up to the most recent ones, 'For Joy', 'The Gathering' and 'A Man Called Odd' which have yet to be produced and performed, they all go across a range of emotions and themes. 

The thought provoking plays are all multi-layered, giving depth to the characters, while also giving the audience situations and characters whom they can relate to.

"I'd say I've touched on every human emotion with all of the plays," he said.

Michael, who is from Cloughleafin in Mitchelstown is the principal at Glenroe National School and has also been running young drama classes for more than 20 years.

"I've always liked drama, since I was a child," Michael said, adding that when he wrote his first children's plays, he realised that drama was a great way to get children to come out of themselves and explore their creative sides.

"In a play, you get the full personality of someone shining through," he explained. 

While inspiration would come from moments in his own life, Michael said that all of the characters are created for the plays, but there would be 'a piece of him' in every play.

"I've always been an observer. When I'm out somewhere, I soak in the atmosphere and the whole setting and I think that makes it easier to visualise a play being produced," Michael told The Avondhu.

Michael said that while all of his plays would be comedies, some would bring in very dark and serious elements.

"Even with a serious play, you need a couple of laughs to bring a tinge of brightness into it," he said.

"They are all very workable and would sit nicely with any drama group," Michael said and it is also great for a local drama group to be able to support a local writer.

Speaking about 'The Man Called Odd' which has yet to be taken on by a drama group, this was written around the time the Queen visited Ireland and is based in Limerick. It tells the story of an entrepreneur who opens up a chain of British-style restaurants and it is comic, yet quite dark in places.

Another of the recent plays, 'The Gathering' was written over the summer and it will be produced by the Kildorrery Drama Group in December and is a play which Michael describeds as being 'thought provoking'.

Michael is currently working on another play which he reveals is a powerful tale of human struggle, incorporating threads of family politics and corruption. He hopes to have this completed this year.

To contact Michael about any of his plays, just call 086-2523959.

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