Keane classic The Year of the Hiker for The Mall

Play will also be performed in Headford

AN AWARD-winning drama group is set to perform John B. Keane’s classic, The Year of the Hiker on various stages in North Galway.

Directed by Dunmore’s Andrea Silke, the play is to be staged by Upstage Players from Claremorris at The Mall Theatre in Tuam on Tuesday, February 17 with two additional performances in St Fursa’s Hall in Headford on Friday and Saturday, February 20 and 21.

The shows begin at 8pm with tickets available on the door each night at €15 each.

Set against the backdrop of 1960’s Ireland, The Year of The Hiker follows the dramatic return of Hiker Lacey, a man who walked out on his young family 20 years earlier, to wander the roads.

Old and ragged he returns unknowingly on the day of his daughter’s wedding. The play explores if Hiker Lacey is looking to be received with open arms and resume the role of family patriarch, or has the family moved on? And what was the reason he left in the first place?

Established in 2024, Upstage Players is based in Claremorris, Co Mayo, attracting members from across the region, with North Galway well represented in this year’s play.

Dunmore’s Andrea Silke is directing The Year of The Hiker, which will travel the country in February and March, competing in the Amateur Drama Council of Ireland (ADCI) Festival Circuit.

Further North Galway representatives include Milltown’s Ollie Barrett as the Hiker Lacey, Tuam’s Stephen Leo playing Willie Dolly, Milltown’s Lisa Dowd-Hynes on the sound and Dunmore’s Niall O’Connor looking after set construction.

Una Monahan takes on the role of Freda, with Jourdain Cunningham as Simey and Aishling Costello as Mary Lacey. Karen Hahessy plays Mary’s mother, Kate, with Alan Heneghan as Joe Lacey. Billy Freeley is on lighting, Marie Murphy is stage manager, with Mary Esler as producer.

Next week’s performances in Tuam and Headford offer audiences the opportunity to see the play before it sets off on its All-Ireland Circuit run.

The group will compete in eight festivals, hoping to seek a place in the All-Ireland Finals, including a performance in Claregalway on Wednesday, March 18, 2026.