The McGurk’s Bar Tragedy – A New Play by Martin Lynch

A chara, I hope hope you and yours are well.

The McGurk’s Bar families and the local community have been working on a new play by acclaimed Irish playwright, Martin Lynch.

The McGurk’s Bar Tragedy tells the story of the victims of the Loyalist bombing which claimed 15 lives including 2 children. My grandmother was among those murdered that cold night of 4th December 1971. Whilst it remains focussed on the victims, the play is framed around many of the discoveries we have made over the years.

Making sure that the story of McGurk’s Bar is heard has been a key component of the work I have done for decades and the support of artists such as Risteard Ó Murchú, Jim Fitzpatrick, and Sinéad O’Neill-Nicholl has been essential. So, we have been keen to support Martin’s great work from its conception

I’ve read a draft and it reads exceptionally well – very powerful – so I’m looking forward to seeing it played on stage. Dates have already been released -14-16 November 2026 at the Waterfont Hall, Belfast, just weeks before the 55th anniversary of the attack.

The community-powered play features a cast of professional actors and local amateurs from across the community, including a number of our families too.

The play has caused quite a stir of expectation and tickets are flying out, but Martin and his non-profit Greenshoot Productions were knocked sideways lately when the Arts Council failed to support the project in its final stages. The Arts in the north of Ireland are in a bad enough state without this lack of support.

Nevertheless, the show must go on and the play will go ahead, so they set up a Go Fund Me page to help them in the final weeks. Over 40% of the £20,000 – OVER £8000 – has been raised with community support in days.

You can see the Go Fund Me here >>

Keep up-to-date and subscribe for free to our YouTube channel, Paper Trail Pro.

Ciarán

Paper Trail Legacy Archive Research