DAN DONOVAN An Everyman's Life, an oral memoir by Vera Ryan, brings to life a period in Cork of rich creative energy. It is a journey through the early days of the Cork Film Festival, the Choral Festival, the founding of the Southern Theatre group, through the work on Everyman Theatre and the restoration of the Palace Theatre on MacCurtain Street. Vera's interviews bring readers into Dan's diverse world as teacher, actor, director, broadcaster, and major player in Cork's artistic life. He was involved with Presentation College as student, teacher and vice-principal and his vivid memories and poignant story have rich appeal. His recollections of University College Cork during the war, being taught by Daniel Corkery, and encouraged by Aloys Fleischmann are superb. The chapters on acting in and directing the plays of Sean A" Tuama and John B. Keane are vital for anyone interested in Irish theatre. Dan's life story together with evocative photographs help turn back time for a nostalgic portrait of the cultural history of Cork in the twentieth century.

Table of Contents

Photo Credits vi Acknowledgements vii Foreword by Pat Butler viii Foreword by John O'Shea x 1 Early Days 1 2 UCC and Daniel Corkery 35 3 An Older World of Cork Th eatre 52 4 Back to Pres to Teach 68 5 Working with Sean A" Tuama 87 6 Th e Choral and Film Festivals 106 7 Th e Summer of Sive 121 8 Early Everyman Days 152 9 A Palace Regained 176 Notes 205 Index 207

Author Biography

Vera Ryan lectures at the Crawford College of Art, Cork. She taught at the National College of Art & Design and was on the board of the Irish Museum of Modern Art, and contributed to Tony O'Malley (Scholar Press). Vera selects for, curates and adjudicates at many exhibitions, and has published two volumes of interviews, Movers & Shapers: Irish Art since 1960 (2006) and Movers & Shapers 2: Irish Visual Art 1940-2006 (2006).