Review of Staged Folklore: The National Folk Theatre of Ireland, by Susan H. Motherway and John O'Connell

When a group of amateur performers came together in 1968 to imagine how they might channel their love of Irish culture and find a platform to share it with others, little did they know that these tentative steps would lead to the establishment of a National Folk Theatre that was supported at an official level and embraced nationally as a bastion of cultural production, presentation and preservation. Indeed, the endeavour Siamsa Tíre, established by Fr. Pat Ahern over fifty years ago, has become a beacon of sustainable cultural heritage and creativity that has embraced, rather than eschewed, tourism as something that might render performances inauthentic. A new book celebrating this Kerry institution charts the extraordinary journey during Ahern’s directorship (1968-1998) in smart and accessible essays that combine contributions from a star cast of scholars, practitioners and people directly involved in the history of the theatre. From its humble origins as a group of enthusiasts seeking to preserve their rich cultural, to the establishment of the National Folk Theatre in 1974, and onto the international stage where the company copper-fastened its brand and performance excellence abroad, Staged Folklore: Celebrating 30 Years of Siamsa Tíre offers insights into what was at stake, how it was achieved and why that matters.