Drama Stage and Theater Named

The Gaelic Players have very exciting news to share! George Waldron, Esq., and Mary Roddy, IACC President, gave our group the most unexpected, wonderful news recently. Noel Scott, the brother of Kathleen O’Donovan, gifted our group with an endowment of $10,000 on behalf of Kathleen & John. We are overwhelmed with deep gratitude.

As most of you may know, our group’s founders, Charlie & Margaret Starrs, secured John’s support in forming our theater group in 1968, to present Irish drama, an important facet of Irish culture, to the Irish American Community Center’s members and to the greater New Haven community. Also, Charlie recruited Kathleen, who appeared in Charlie’s first production of J.B. Keane’s, “The Year of the Hiker”, in 1969 (along with Charlie & Margaret Starrs, John O’Keefe, Tom Stratton, Mary Duignan MacDonald and Michael Gilcrest.) Kathleen acted in many plays since 1969, until her last performance in 2010 in a Morna Regan play, “Midden”, along with Sarah Finnegan, Doreen Keogh Busca, Eileen O’Keefe Roxbee and Katie Morris and directed by Sandy Hanrahan.

In their honor, the Gaelic Players are dedicating the stage to John & Kathleen and will forever be known as The John & Kathleen O’Donovan Stage. The group felt it fitting to honor Charlie & Margaret as well. Our theater will be forever known as The Charlie & Margaret Starrs Theater.



We look forward to continue bringing excellent Irish theater to our members and the greater New Haven community for many, many years to come. And a big thank you to our wonderful audiences who have and continue to support us.