Mary Hanley, manager of the Ramor Theatre for the last 16 years talks of her love for the beautiful building.

Mary to exit stage left from Ramor

Sixteen years after the Ramor Theatre opened its solid wooden doors, its reputation has been established courtesy of great acts galore and the countless patrons who have climbed the stairs to the intimate auditorium and enjoyed thrilling nights that will forever reside in their memories.

Manager Mary Hanley has been the person who has driven the direction of the Ramor, but now she is poised to retire in a matter of weeks, and have someone else take charge.
While theatre has been Mary’s lifelong passion, surprisingly it seems that this had little to do with her being handed the reins of the Ramor Theatre back in 1999.
“I was just lucky, I fell into it,” Mary cheerfully recalls over a cup of tea in the theatre's upstairs kitchen.
A Ballinasloe native, Mary had moved to Cavan in 1980 with her husband Sean, who had a job with the Land Commission, and then the Department of Agriculture in Cavan Town. Sadly Sean passed away aged just 38, leaving Mary to rear their three young children, Shane, Cathal and Ailish, alone. She was a clerical officer with the council at that stage, but an opportunity arose to take a youth drama project and as Mary says, “the hours I could work were conducive to what was going on in my life”.
Two years with the youth group followed, then stints filling in as arts officer, and then acting as curator with Cavan County Museum.
All the while a group of FÁS workers were making great progress on the building that would go onto define Mary’s professional future. Back in 1995 the old Catholic church was derelict and under threat of falling into ruin until Fr Tom McKiernan, who lived next door, and then county manager Brian Johnston instigated the drive to have it restored as an arts centre for the community.
She had always been involved in acting with amateur groups at home in County Galway, and had since studied a diploma in Drama up in Dublin, and she feels that while it wasn’t a factor in getting the job it proved invaluable in carrying out the role.
“You have to be familiar with, and open to theatre, and the arts, it's not just about theatre, it's about music, visual arts as well. You have to have a feel for it, it's not something you can look at coldly in terms of revenue.”
Her passion for theatre was immediately put to use on her arrival at the theatre, starring alongside Padraic McIntyre in the Ramor's first production of 'The Playboy of the Western World' Mary took on the feisty role of the Widow Quinn, while her daughter Ailish filled in as Pegeen Mike for an actress who fell sick.
“So we shared the stage Ailish and myself that year – and Padraic,” she says proudly. “That was the very first production here.”
The Celt is somewhat surprised by her admirable DIY approach.
“There was nothing organised, there was nothing formal, we had no idea what lay ahead. I felt we needed to have an opening production, as it turned out it was a great success and the start of something great. But we didn't know at the time. I had no vision really for the theatre at the time - the vision has really come as it has developed. A lot of people go in with a full vision of what's going to happen, and maybe it does all come together. In hindsight looking back I went in with no vision, and I'm happy with what turned out. I'm really happy, I've been here 16 years and to see the development of the work has been fantastic - that's been the journey.”
She laughs off a question of whether she harboured dreams of being a great stage actress, aside from filling in here in maybe two minor roles, she never graced the Ramor stage again. A role that she, again “fell into”, was as producer for the Ramor Players and Livin' Dred, from which she gets a huge kick.
“You get, to a large degree, to choose the show with somebody and to see it through from start to finish. It's not everybody who likes producing but I fell into that role and I love it.
“You have to be very familiar with the director you are working with –  you have to have a fairly good working relation ship because they have to be open to hear what you might like to change and you have to be open to listening to their point of view.
“Then if a problem arises with actors or any element of the show – that's your baby and you just have to deal with it.”
She insists she “absolutely” shares in the success of a show in the same way as the actors onstage.
“I get more out of it, because I wouldn't have any desire to go onstage at this point in my life - I'd have no desire at all, whereas you would get great enjoyment out of producing.”
The biggest success she enjoyed in that role was with Padraic's play, 'The Night Joe Dolan's Car Broke Down'. Having premiered in the Ramor, it's gone on to become a national phenomenon.
“We affectionately call it the 'Joe Show,” she says.
Did you instantly know you had a classic on your hands?
“Not for the first night or two because production is settling in, you never know how it's going to go down. After about three nights Padraic and I would have looked at each other and said, 'What's happening here?' It just took off from there, and had a life of its own, which we never expected. It's been an amazing success for Padraic and all the cast and John O'Grady is a fantastic talent – a super talent.”
Padraic isn't the only success story she has watched unfold over the years, she speaks very fondly of Aaron Monaghan.
“I met Aaron in Youth Drama, he was the first recipient of a scholarship from Cavan County Council to a summer school, and he was in junior cert at the time – he went off to that summer camp and he came back absolutely enthralled with drama, and I firmly believe that that set him on the road, it's such worthwhile project at that time – he's gone on to great things. He's been involved in Livin' Dred with us here and he's a great friend to the theatre.
“And then there's a young guy who lived in the bank building beside us, Alan Bradley – I've known Alan since he was first year in secondary school – he used to come in and out here and work for us. He went on to study drama in UCD and he's in London now. He's doing very well for himself.”

Big names

Night after night Mary is at the theatre ready to greet the patrons as they filtered in to watch some great acts. 
“Looking back I've had the Tommy Tiernans and Des Bishops. The only artist that I didn't secure and would have loved to was Christy Moore. I was very close to getting him once - very close. We almost had a date pinned down, but it didn't happen. So he's the only artist I regret we didn't have here, because I've had all the others. “Looking back on it I've had Tommy Makem, Liam Clancy, even people who are gone now, we've had the Furey Brothers, we've had most of the big names Tommy Flemming, Nathan Carter – we've had all of those in our time.”
Amongst the musicians she pays special tribute to Johnny McEvoy and Sean Keane (He's unique – his voice is unique, but his personality as well - everyone who came to his shows so enjoyed them for that reason).
In terms of drama, she enthuses:  “We've had some fantastic productions with the best actors you could meet.”
Asked for one performance that stands out and she names all of the impressive cast of last year's production of Kings of Kilburn High - the last professional production she was involved with - but singled out one of its actors Malcolm Adams.
“Amazing. I could watch him every night and be blown away by his performance. Malcolm to me is the most under rated and fantastic actor.
“That was a great production for me to finish up on last year.”

Deliver

In compiling the programme for the season ahead, she's conscious of meeting audience expectations.
“You have to be honest with people who'll ring up and want to bring a show, and say 'That won't work for my audience here, so you have to know your audience, and you do have to deliver work to your audience.
“The response I've got from performers is that it is a lovely intimate venue, and the response they get at the end of the night from that audience is all important to them. So if you don't deliver that audience then you have failed in some way to the artist that's performing.”
She admits that she has “absolutely” booked performers and acts which she doesn't like.
“It isn't what I personally like that has to come into it. If I'm producing a show, it can come into it, but if I'm taking in work for my audience then I have to think of what my audience wants, and not what Mary Hanley wants.”
Ramor audiences have shown a great appetite for locally produced drama. Despite the minimal financial support from the Arts Council – she counts the lack of inroads made in achieving greater grants as one of her regrets - it is the home produced drama which she will look back on most fondly.
“Creating good theatre work – that's what I would hope would be the legacy here. I would hope the Ramor Players, Livin' Dred the Nomad network that I was a part of – all in which we created theatre would be sustained and would carry on. Because I think theatre is really important in an age of technology and kids, and everyone, sitting down in front of TVs, that is really important that you have live entertainment or live interaction on the stage.


future

As we enter the Am-Dram festival season, the passion for theatre county-wide remains obvious, but will future generations be as absorbed in this art? Will there be an appetite, or is this a dying trade?
“I have no idea really. I think any of the young people who we work with in Youth drama, who get involved – love it, and get a lot out of it – not even acting but confidence in themselves and that ability to  interact with other kids – you'll find it in sports and theatre, so it's a huge part of young people’s development, and if they develop it at that stage then they will continue to love it. All the indications are with festival and venues that there is an audience for young people – I probably had an older age profile here, but there's certain shows where you would have a younger audience which is great. Hopefully it will carry on.”
With retirement looming, Mary says that aside from visiting her son in Hong Kong, she has no plans.
“I'll still be involved in theatre to a degree – I'll still trick around with it. I can't see it disappearing out of my life now after so long, but I've grandchildren, so just taking a bit of time ”
Mary knows that leaving the iconic building for the last time will be emotional.
“I love the building, I mean, you can get the sense of a building.  I loved being here even sometimes when staff would be gone in the evenings and I'd be here doing bits and I always felt so comfortable here, and I loved it, just loved the building, loved being here, and hate to go.”
She's actually had something of a dress rehearsal for her departure in recent weeks. Mary's friends and family were invited one quiet Sunday afternoon for a special performance of the 'Joe Show'.
“That was an emotional day, a really emotional day. I kind of got it out of my system then, which was lovely. I really enjoyed it, it was just an amazing experience, and that was it. Now I'm sure I'll be emotional again the last few days, because I love coming to work, I love the building, I love the work I do, so definitely it'll be emotional but you move on.
“I actually think that you come to a stage where it's time for new blood, new ideas and that's really important.”