Richard BodinIt’s happening: Wreckquiem officially launched and entered its final phase. The full cast has arrived in Limerick and begun rehearsals. They are now working tirelessly to shape up the play and prepare the set for its premiere at the Lime Tree Theatre on June 25th. On June 3rd, 2025, a small crowd gathered in the Strand Hotel’s restaurant in Limerick, to mark the occasion.
A Play with a Purpose
As you probably know by now — because I won’t shut up about it — the play is set in a record shop targeted by a property developer. Dessie’s Disc is the last piece he needs to complete his plans for a brand-new mall and hotel complex. The play is about music, of course, and the essential role it plays in our lives.
More importantly, Wreckquiem is a tale about small independent shops and the vital role they play in the life and social fabric of local communities. In a world where cities across the globe are starting to look the same — same franchises, same malls, same hotels — these little shops struggle to survive. And when they disappear, a whole way of life disappears with them. Producer Ella Daly explained how the Third Space theory applies in urban planning. “We all need places like this, as humans, to gather, work things out, look away from what’s immediately in front of us, spend time together, and invent things…”
The Team Bringing It to Life
Written by talented playwright Mike Finn (Pigtown, Bread Not Profit), Wreckquiem is directed by Andrew Flynn (The Ferryman, The Cripple of Inishmaan). Pat Shortt stars as Dessie — the grumpy shop owner — alongside Mark O’Regan as the promoter, Pat Ryan as Paulie, the loyal music-savant customer, Joan Sheehy as Maeve, and Sade Malone as Chantelle, the young student mitching school.
A Musical Blessing
After a few words of welcome from Mayor John Moran, playwright Mike Finn introduced his new play and cast with great enthusiasm. He was also thrilled to welcome a very special guest to officially launch the production: Jim Lockhart of Horslips. The musician spoke about the story’s emotional core and how music ties so deeply to memory. He was proud to see Horslips included in the narrative, with a few mentions of the band and their lyrics.
Cast Reflections: Wreckquiem and the Music of Our Lives
Over the course of the evening, I managed to speak with a few members of the cast about their impressions of the play — and the role music plays in all of our lives.
What made you decide to join the Wreckquiem adventure ? The people ? The story ? Both ?
Mark O’Regan: About a year and a half ago, I got a call from Mike: he had written a play and wanted to have a reading. He sent me the script, and I was very taken with it. I thought it felt very pertinent, very topical. It was kind of irresistible. I liked it from the beginning and I like it even more now.
Sade Malone: I’d worked with Andrew Flynn, the director, before. We did a play called Sive together about a year and a half ago. He came to me with the project, gave me the script, and from the minute I read it, I was really excited. It just jumped off the page. An opportunity to work with Andrew again… Good writing… I just thought it was a perfect recipe to get involved in.
Pat Ryan: Mike gave me a call there in February to know if I was free during the summer. I said I was. And he said: « would you like to come on board for Wreckquiem? » It was as simple as that. I know Mike since I was about 20 or 19. I have worked with him on Pigtown in 1999, or Bread Not Profit in 2019…
Joan Sheehy: I have worked with Mike for a long time. We worked together for Pigtown, Bread Not Profit, and other community plays, like The Rising of The Women recently. I was part of the original Wreckquiem reading when Mike wrote it for Fishamble nine years ago. I did everything I could to be available for the public reading last year, because I love the play so much I didn’t want them to find someone else and miss my shot when the play finally opened!
Andrew Flynn: This is a piece that was workshopped for about two years and most of the cast here were involved in the workshop process —with the exception of Sade. So they were right for the roles, they knew the play. I had worked with Sade before, she’s amazing. They’re all brilliant actors.
Do you agree with Dessie’s words: «Without Music we’re nothing » or « there is a soundtrack to everything in life? »
Sade Malone: Yes, I completely agree. That is what’s so beautiful about music: It doesn’t really judge. People say there’s bad music… But I don’t think that’s the truth. I think all music is important to all different people and I think it transcends humans, it brings people together. You don’t have to speak the same language, you don’t have to be from the same place… People still feel something from music — it is a universal language. And I was born in Liverpool, my family and I are big fans of the Beatles. I even went to LIPA (Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts) founded by Paul McCartney. So I was very excited to see them mentioned in the play.
Pat Ryan: Oh, yeah. Even in the spoken word, there’s music, there’s rhythms. There’s cadences before you ever sing. When we move, there’s rhythm. Rhythm is music. Music is rhythm. If you don’t have that, there’s no life. There’s music in nature, it’s all around you. If there’s no sound, there’s nothing.
Andrew Flynn: I think he’s right! His philosophy is more than just about music: it is about life in general. It’s about character, community, about life slowing down, having time to talk. And I think Ireland, as it’s become more Americanized, has lost some of that. I remember a time —when I grew up in Nenagh— where everything closed on Wednesday for half a day and Sunday was a day off. This is gone now. I grew up in a pub, so sing-songs, sean-nós, trad sessions, and spontaneous music were part of life. In the 80s, when there was no money in the country and people were struggling, they still found time to enjoy themselves and sing and have fun.
The play looks back at a time when things were simpler and people had time for each other. Music happens to be part of that. I believe the philosophy of the play is that sometimes slowing down is better than just moving forward regardless.
Mark O’Regan: Certainly. There are things that spark all kinds of memories, aren’t there? Listening to Mike Finn talking about Horslips earlier is something I can relate to, because certainly that was part of my soundtrack in the 70s when I was at school. I went to see a Horslips live at the Cork City Hall when I was still at school.
So, yes, I do believe in the soundtrack of people’s lives and the songs that mark out little flags throughout your life.
What was the first song you remember at the radio ?
Joan Sheehy: Oh I remember! It was the “Banana Boat” song by Harry Bellafonte. I was just a baby at the time, I loved the song so much I sang it all the time. One of my first words actually was the Day-oooh from the song. Not far after Mama and Dada… (laughs)
Andrew Flynn: It was “Greased Lightnin’ ” from Grease, the musical. It was a big hit in the 70s. I was born in 74, I might have been four or five. But that is the first. I can remember hearing it on the radio and being struck by its energy.
Sade Malone: I have a really vivid memory of the Rihanna song “Pon de Replay” when I was really young. That came on, and I remember, we were all dancing around. I remember that really prominently.
Mark O’Regan: Gosh, that’s a tough one. I was a boy soprano at school from the age of 9. My earliest kind of memories of music are to a certain extent, kind of classical like Panis Angelicus and the Ave Maria and things like that that I sang at school. But when I reached, maybe 11 or 12, I mean, there was a lot of very exciting range of bands. I’m thinking of somebody like the much missed David Bowie —coming through in the early 70s—, Mark Boland, all these guys. That kind of androgynous, strange look, really attracted me. It was as if they were kind of from another planet.
Pat Ryan: Probably Paul Young. Around 83 or 84, that’s the earliest I would remember. I did have a collection of Paul Young stuff, but I can’t even think of the name of it. Then my dad was into Elvis, so by extension, I was listening to Elvis from about seven or eight. The King was my first kind of musical icon, before anything.
What was the first album you got for yourself ?
Mark O’Regan: If you couldn’t afford singles, usually at the end of a season of maybe 10 or 12 hits, there was a group of people who used to record them. Groups of session musician who would come in and sing the hits. It’s hard to believe now, I know, but that that was a big thrill to. Even though you weren’t getting the singer singing “Life on Mars”, you had a group of people sing it… That was the first record I remember, apart from my parents having classical records and stuff like that.
Sade Malone: That is a really good question, actually. Today in rehearsals, Andrew was asking the first records that we bought, but I really can’t remember. I don’t think it was as like, prominent for me to go out and buy a record. But my mum gave me a Lauryn Hill CD. I remember that really clearly —when I was a young teenager— and that was my first CD, and I love that album: The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill.
Pat Ryan: We had this chat in rehearsals. Andrew went around the room just saying, what did you all get? And first one I can remember getting wasn’t an LP, it was a cassette. I got it when I was about nine or ten: it was Elvis Presley, Golden Hits or Volume One. It was eight tracks. Obviously, it was only stuff from the 50s.
Andrew Flynn: Oh, my God, this is an embarrassment now. I don’t know if I should say. I was very young, I might have been 10. And I heard a song on the radio called Spanish Train and I bought a Chris de Burgh album. I’m not going to say anymore.
What was the first concert you decided to go to ?
Pat Ryan: My first concert was Sunstroke ’94 at Dalymount Park in August 1994. The Red Hot Chili Peppers headlined, having cancelled the year before. Soundgarden were meant to play but were replaced by Ice Cube. Frank Black from the Pixies also played, along with a couple of other acts. The very first band I ever saw live was Therapy?, who opened the show. I’ll never forget Fyfe Ewing, their drummer, breaking a drumstick off the snare during their first track. They’d just released Troublegum the year before. They were on the crest of a wave. I saw them again in Limerick a few years later — great band. I also remember Flea coming out before the Chili Peppers and starting to sing “Amhrán na bhFiann.” We all joined in. It was a brilliant day.
Andrew Flynn: First one I chose to go… I was a big Waterboys fan and when I was 15, they were playing in Galway and I couldn’t get a ticket. When I saw that the gig was sold out, I wrote a letter of complaint to the Galway Arts Festival. It said I wanted to go and I couldn’t buy a ticket as they were sold only in Galway. And they sent me two, three tickets. So my mother dropped me up, and myself and my friend went to Leisureland and saw the Waterboys in 1989. That was my first big concert. Lesson from the story: Complaining works.
Mark O’Regan: I’m going back to the early 70s when there wasn’t much touring going on. But I remember Rory Gallagher. I remember that was really exciting. He was highly respected, at that time. Some people would say arguably maybe one of the greatest guitarists in the world at that time. Like Jimi Hendrix and coming from Jimi… High praise indeed.
Joan Sheehy: When I was 19, I went to a festival in Lisdoonvarna —not the match-making one— where Van Morrison was playing. He had backing singers with him. I remember being impressed how sassy they looked!
Sade Malone: Destiny’s Child, in Croke Park in Dublin. That was pretty amazing!
A Few Notes with Jim Lockhart
Later on, I caught up with Jim Lockhart of Horslips. As a lifelong champion of the cultural power of music, Lockhart spoke about the play’s message, the deep emotional pull of songs, and the moments in life that become inseparable from the music playing in the background. From Beethoven to Brenda Lee, Fairport Convention to student revolutions, he shared a few of his own pivotal musical memories.
Do you agree with Dessie’s words: «Without Music we’re nothing » or « there is a soundtrack to everything in life? »
Absolutely. With all of the above, there really is a soundtrack for everything in life. I love the way Mike has made that concrete in the script. It was the first thing that actually struck me about it. You see people experiencing significant pivotal moments from their lives by remembering the songs that were playing at the time. Mike managed to make this either poignant or really funny. All of us have those associations with songs. They can be completely crap, rubbish pop song, but they have this golden glow about them because they happened at one particular time. The song that was playing when you have a moment with your first girlfriend, all that sort of thing. Everybody’s got those.
What was the first song you remember at the radio ?
One of the first songs I reacted to was “Take Five” by Dave Grubeck. I loved that. There was also a song called “On Broadway” by the Drifters, because that had a lovely chord progression that I wasn’t learning in classical music. I was doing classical music and learning Mozart and stuff on the piano. But there was Something about the chords on Broadway that did a different thing. And I remember when I first heard west side Story and the orchestrations in that were beyond belief. They were astonishing. What he did was just outrageous. I loved that.
What was the first album you got for yourself ?
Beethoven’s Piano Concertos Nos. 4 and 5, with Maurizio Pollini, I think. Just gorgeous. I recently heard John O’Connor play No. 4 in Dublin. It starts with just a G chordal piano and then the orchestra sneaks in, and changes the key. It’s one of my favourite pieces ever. Also the Beethoven Violin Concerto. And Allegri’s Miserere, and Crucifixus by Lotti — 16th-century composer.
What was the first concert you decided to go to ?
I remember going to see Brenda Lee at the National Stadium in Dublin. No idea why, as I wasn’t a great fan of that kind of music. I don’t know who brought me, I was too young to go alone. But the first one I chose to go to was probably Fairport Convention… or maybe Skid Row around the same time. — Ed: obviously not the 80s American punk band, but the Irish blues rock band where Phil Lynott and Gary Moore played before Thin Lizzy
How about your first gig ?
I had a couple of first gigs with different groups. We played with a couple of friends, a one-off thing, in the great hall in Universal College Dublin which is now the National Concert Hall, during one of the student occupations, during the student revolution. We did about an hour so that was one of my first gigs. The first gig as Horslips was in an art gallery off Dame street in Dublin where we played on and off from about 2 o’ clock to 5 o’ clock. People would come in and out, and we played the same set about three times during the course of the day. It was great fun. The response was surprisingly good.
A Final Note
Wreckquiem is more than a play — it’s a celebration of community, memory, and the songs that help us make sense of our lives. As rehearsals continue and opening night draws near, it’s clear that everyone involved shares a belief in the power of music, storytelling, and the spaces that bring us together. If you’ve ever found comfort in a record shop or been transported by a song, Wreckquiem might just strike a chord.
The show will be playing at the Lime Tree Theatre in Limerick from June 25th til July 5th. Get your tickets now!
