Based on the novel by Maurice Walsh
(Exclusive rights from the Estate of Maurice Walsh)
Will an Irish Army soldier, recently returned from the war and suffering from shell-shock, manage to stop his beloved sister and their ancestral home from falling prey to a brutish interloper?
The Story…
Castle Gillian is the ancestral home of Gillian Morris, his daughter Mary and son Gill, who has recently returned from the war and is suffering from the trauma of shell-shock. Set in Ireland in 1946, the story tells of the family’s last-ditch struggle to hold on to their famous racing stable, which has become heavily in debt to the bank. A brutish and sadistic, local landowner, Garret Ward, offers to settle the family’s debt in return for a controlling interest in Castle Gillian and on condition that Mary agrees to marry him.
Sneak Peek From the Original Cast Album…
Who Was Maurice Walsh?
Maurice Walsh (21 April 1879 – 18 February 1964) is one of Ireland’s most beloved novelists and remains, if not Ireland’s most accomplished storyteller, the benchmark against which all subsequent generations of Irish storytelling is measured. To many, including Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), he was the greatest storyteller of his time.
He is probably best known for the short story The Quiet Man – a contained story from the separately connected short stories that make up the novel, Green Rushes (1935). The Quiet Man was made into an Oscar-winning movie directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara in 1952.
Published in 1948, Castle Gillian is referred to as the 3rd. of the four Ireland novels written by the author; the other three being, The Road To Nowhere (1934), Green Rushes (1935) and A Strange Woman’s Daughter (1954).
You can learn more about Maurice Walsh here.
Who’s Who in the Musical?
Gill Morris – A disillusioned young man just returned from war
Sylvia Gayne – His childhood sweetheart who lives with her father across the valley
Mary Morris – His younger sister, a horse trainer
Mr. Gillian Morris – His father, a drunkard
Garret Ward – A wealthy but execrable local landowner who wants to marry Mary & acquire Castle Gillian
Tyzack Lane – A Traveller and head of the Lane Family
Oonagh Blake – Tyzack’s wife
Jacus McGrath – Tyzack’s brother, an ex-boxer
Robin Morrison – A poor Scots drifter, and War veteran like Gill, on the road with the travellers
Dionysius ‘Dinny’ Lane – Tyzack’s grandson, who dreams of being a jockey
Timmy Tadg Shawn – The Morris Family servant
Joe Lane (a ghost) – Deceased son of Tyzack
Dan & Lant Shea – Stable Hands
Justice Ned Dowling – Local Magistrate
Superintendant – Senior Officer at the Caerline Constabulary