Rosaleen McDonagh – författare

We share a history, we share a memory and they both share my heart.It’s that time of the year. A time that Eoin, Mary Anne and Jack all remember. Having grown up together in various care homes for the disabled, they now rely on each other in adulthood for support, friendship and love.But when young film-maker Eleanor arrives, struggling with hidden issues and agendas of her own, to make a documentary about their lives together, the examination and attention she brings threatens to disrupt the long-term relationships and friendships at the heart of their group.Mainstream is a complex drama about truth, lies and the mainstreaming of Travellers with disabilities. It was produced in November 2016 in a co-production between Fishamble Theatre Company and Project Arts Centre, Dublin.

Lads, when it comes to your time for pickin’ women, you’re not going to have my kind of luck. The best one is taken.All Julia and John want is to live their lives with their two sons, on their own terms. But despite their hopes, the outside world and its racism puts paid to their plans.A world premiere of a new play from Rosaleen McDonagh, this tender, complex and beautiful love story examines how external circumstances pull us apart, when all we really want is to be together.This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere at Abbey Theatre, Dublin, in August 2021

The Traveller families who live in Saint Rita’s are on borrowed time. In just a week they will be evicted by the local council, threatening not only their homes but also their history and the stories that have shaped them.Charlene, a proud young beoir suffers a humiliating betrayal. Her mother, Kate, is left to navigate unbearable loss while holding the family together. Her cousin, Sheena, strives to find her place in a new environment that is quick to dismiss her. Her uncle Tommy fights despair as his teenage son spirals out of control.As eviction day draws closer, the families struggle to preserve their dignity finding strength in one another as they navigate an unknown future. Unflinching, Contentious Spaces is a haunting story about identity and loyalty, shame and resilience, grief and love, and the defiant power of voices that refuse to be silenced.