Fishamble: The New Play Company donate latest archive to the National Library of Ireland

We were delighted to donate our archive covering the period 2013-2023 to the National Library of Ireland (NLI). This donation will be added to a collection of our papers for the period 1990-2012 that are already held by the NLI.

This latest donation spans the last 10 years of Fishamble: The New Play Company. It comprises draft scripts, production and rehearsal copies, flyers and brochures for plays produced by Fishamble between 2013 and 2023, including those by Rosaleen McDonagh, Pat Kinevane, Sebastian Barry, Sonya Kelly, Colin Murphy, Eva O’Connor and Deirdre Kinahan.

Speaking during the handover of the latest archive, Ciara Kerrigan, Assistant Keeper I - Special Collections and Office of the Chief Herald at the NLI, said: "The National Library is thrilled to acquire additional material to add to our holdings of Fishamble: The New Play Company Archive. Fishamble is renowned for producing groundbreaking theatre . It has championed new  and innovative writers and its global reach has cemented its place as one of Ireland’s most important theatre companies. Our deepest thanks to Fishamble for this generous donation."

Jim Culleton, the Artistic Director of Fishamble, had this to say about the partnership: "Fishamble is so pleased to donate its archives from the past decade to the National Library of Ireland, as one of the events to mark Fishamble’s 35th year.  We really value this relationship with the NLI, and this new addition will add to Fishamble’s Living Archive which is already kept in Kildare Street.  It will allow students and theatre lovers to continue engaging with the company’s work, long after the productions have ended."

Find out more about our partnership with NLI here: https://www.nli.ie/news-stories/news/fishamble-donate-archive