1st Irish Review: Setanta Murphy of a Tuesday Night

HOW IT'S NEW YORK:  The reading took place in the AmericanIrish Historical Society's beautiful townhouse on 5th Avenue, just across theway from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
HOW IT'S IRISH:  Writer-actor-director Garrett Keogh was bornin Dublin, and his play is about one of the city's "auld ones". It's part of the 1st Irish Theatre Festival.
Honor Molloy and Joseph Goodrich joined forces to bring us this review of a reading of Garret Keogh's play Setanta Murphy. 

 "The play’s strongestmoments simply let us observe the sad and all-too-human situation of one oldman raging against the dying of the light."  


Here's hoping a full production is coming soon!

On the evening of September 11^th, a capacity crowdfilled the upper hall of the American Irish Historical Society for a reading ofGarrett Keogh’s play Setanta Murphy, which was presented by the AIHS andthe Origin Theatre as part of this year’s 1^st Irish Festival.
The sold-out house was not disappointed. Keogh’s play took us farfrom the mirrored walls and the mellow light of the Society’s building on East80^th and 5^th Avenue. We were transported to a run-downGeorgian house in central Dublin, followed by a hospital room and then anursing home. Serious stuff, leavened with typical Dublin humor.



The play is atwo-hander. Keogh read the part of Paddy, an 89-year-old man facing the loss ofhis independence. Luke Griffin read the titular role, Paddy’s nephew andreluctant caretaker.

 Paddy is a handful:  opinionated, difficult, aspirited curmudgeon used to doing things his own way. But now his sisters aregone and the aging bachelor is living alone. Luke does his best to keep Paddy’stelephone and radiators working, but when illness lays the old man low, hisburden increases exponentially. The play shifts into a minor, mortal key at theend of act one which is carried through acts two and three. Paddy survivespneumonia but isn’t strong enough to go back to his old life and Luke finds hima place in a nursing home.

SetantaMurphyis an affectionate and accurate portrait of one of Dublin’s auld ones. Irishas the piece is in its details and rhetoric, it deals with a universalscenario:  the trials of old age and the indignities visited upon theelderly by an overworked and often maddening healthcare system.

Garrett Keogh

The play’s strongestmoments simply let us observe the sad and all-too-human situation of one oldman raging against the dying of the light. Both Keogh and Griffin readtheir roles well, catching every nuance of the pain and humor of the play.Before the reading began, Keogh jokingly pointed out that he wasn’t quite 89years old yet, and we’d have to bear with him. He needn’t have worried; we hungon his every word. 

Griffin, too, distinguished himself by catching Setanta’svery mixed emotions about his lovable but ornery relative. At one point Setantatalks about the need to “laugh through the pain”. There was plenty of laughterduring the reading but I wouldn’t be surprised if a few tears were shed aswell.