Rossmore promises a bellyful of laughs for all the family with ‘The Real McCoy’

Thousands of visitors are set to descend on a rural West Cork village over the next few weeks — to take up its offer of some belly laughs.

This Thursday, the tiny village of Rossmore, renowned throughout the country for its strong tradition of drama, begins its third summer comedy season at the village’s state-of-the-art St Mary’s Theatre.

“The idea is to bring entertainment to local audiences and also to provide entertainment for visits to the area,” said director Ger Finn.

He said this year’s play, It’s the Real McCoy by Tommy Marren, was an extremely funny production.

The play, staged by the Kilmeen Drama group, offers some great family entertainment, says Mr Finn.

“It’s a very good package. There’s no vulgar language so you can bring your children or your granny — young and old will be comfortable with this play.”

The production, he said, was packed with plots, two love stories, a confused curate, a gormless postman and one very angry and frustrated woman.

“There’s great enjoyment in it for both young and old, plenty of belly laughs and a bit of sadness too,” he said.

The play, which is set on a farm in rural Ireland in the 1960s, will run on Thursday nights, beginning this week, continuing throughout July and August and possibly even into September.

Meanwhile, there will be a special presentation of the play on Sunday next in aid of journalist Deirdre O’Reilly, who was a member of the Kilmeen Drama group for nearly 20 years. An award-winning journalist with the Evening Echo, she suffered a stroke last December, and has been the focus of a special fundraising campaign, The Friends of Deirdre O’Reilly Group.

The play takes place every Thursday night throughout the summer at 8pm. Booking is advisable at 086 4481086.