The Tyrone Guthrie Centre, often known as ''Annaghmakerrig'', is a residential facility for creative artists. Located at Annaghmakerrig,

Newbliss Newbliss (), historically known as Lisdaragh (), is a village and townland in County Monaghan, Ireland. The village is located where the R183 and R189 regional roads intersect. Transport Rail services do not serve Newbliss, as Newbliss railw ...

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County C ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, it was founded in 1981. The house was the family home of theatrical director

Sir Tyrone Guthrie Sir William Tyrone Guthrie (2 July 1900 – 15 May 1971) was an English theatrical director instrumental in the founding of the Stratford Festival of Canada, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at his ...

, and he bequeathed it to the Irish nation in 1971, to be used as an artistic retreat. The centre is a residential workplace open to professional practitioners in all art forms. Creative residencies are for periods of two weeks to one month, depending on the time of year, and whether staying in the Big House (fully catered) or in one of our five self-catering cottages. The Tyrone Guthrie Centre is grant aided by The Arts Council of Ireland and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI), and further supported by the Office of Public Works (OPW).

History

Tyrone Guthrie left, in his will: : ''...my said dwelling-house, furniture, pictures and chattels and the income of my residuary estate to be used for the purpose of providing a retreat for artists and other like persons ... so as to enable them to do or facilitate them in doing creative work.'' The gift of the house, in 1971, was accepted by the Irish government, and it opened to guests in 1981.

Facilities

The Tyrone Guthrie Centre is sited within a gated wooded estate. In the main residence, the "Big House", guests receive all meals. Each bedroom includes a writing or work desk and chair, and has its own selection of books and paintings, and a view. All bedrooms have en-suite shower rooms. Linen and towels are provided. Up to eleven guests can stay in the five self-catering cottages (beds and bed couches). Eight well-lit and heated studio spaces are also available, along with a music room (with grand piano and harpsichord), mirrored dance studio opened in 2006, and our Ulster Garden Village Performance Studio (with grand piano).

Approach

Residencies at the centre are by application only, and are selective. Applicants must have some track record in their field. Once granted, residences are for two weeks for those seeking and accepted for the "Big House" and up to one month for those in the self-catering cottages. Once resident, guests are welcome to work as they wish. The only stipulation, as set out in the donor's will, is that all guests staying in the Big House must gather nightly for a communal dinner, generally held at 7 p.m., and nowadays in the kitchen of the Big House.

Notable guests

The centre has since hosted more than 5,000 retreats, with the list of Irish writers, composers and artists including such as

Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (; 13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription req ...

Sebastian Barry Sebastian Barry (born 5 July 1955) is an Irish novelist, playwright and poet. He was named Laureate for Irish Fiction, 2019–2021. He is noted for his lyrical literary writing style and is considered one of Ireland's finest writers. Barry's l ...

Anne Enright Anne Teresa Enright (born 11 October 1962) is an Irish writer. She has published seven novels, many short stories and a non-fiction work called ''Making Babies: Stumbling into Motherhood'', about the birth of her two children. Her writing expl ...

John Banville William John Banville (born 8 December 1945) is an Irish novelist, short story writer, adapter of dramas and screenwriter. Though he has been described as "the heir to Proust, via Nabokov", Banville himself maintains that W. B. Yeats and Henry ...

Colm Tóibín Colm Tóibín (, approximately ; born 30 May 1955) is an Irish novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist, critic, playwright and poet. His first novel, '' The South'', was published in 1990. '' The Blackwater Lightship'' was shortlis ...

and

Colum McCann Colum McCann is an Irish writer of literary fiction. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, and now lives in New York. He is a Thomas Hunter Writer in Residence at Hunter College, New York. McCann's work has been published in over 40 languages, and h ...

as well as Michael Harding, Oonagh Kearney, Derval Symes, Page Allen, Maurice Craig, Rory Pierce, Roisin Meaney, Anne Rigney, Nell McCafferty, Gemma Browne,

Sam McAughtry Sam McAughtry (24 March 1921 – 28 March 2014) was an Irish / British writer, broadcaster and raconteur. Biography Early life Samuel Jamison McAughtry was born at 130 Cosgrave Street, Belfast, Ireland, on 24 March 1921, approximately six wee ...

, Colette Bryce,

Phil Coulter Philip Coulter (born 19 February 1942) is an Irish musician, songwriter and record producer from Derry, Northern Ireland. He was awarded the Gold Badge from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors in October 2009. Coulter ha ...

, Brian Kennedy, Mary Dorcey, Nuala Ní Chonchúir and

Peter McCann Peter James McCann (March 6, 1948 – January 26, 2023) was an American songwriter, musician, lecturer, and songwriters' activist. He was known for writing successful pop-rock and country songs, including his 1977 solo hit " Do You Wanna Make Lov ...

. International authors have also completed residencies at the centre, assisting them to complete or polish existing writing projects. These have included Australian authors Luke Davies and Linda Jaivin and British author Bella Pollen, and Canadian musician

Loreena Mckennitt Loreena Isobel Irene McKennitt, (born February 17, 1957) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer who writes, records, and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern influences. McKennitt is known for her r ...

Management

The first Director of the centre was Bernard Loughlin (1981-1999), who managed it with his wife, and oversaw its initial setup and the reintegration of the estate. Loughlin was succeeded by Regina Doyle in an acting capacity (1999-2001), then by Sheila Pratschke (2001-2007), Pat Donlon (2007-2010) and Robbie McDonald (2010- early January 2021). Dr Éimear O'Connor took up the position in mid-January 2021.

Publication

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the retreat centre in 2016, a book with a selection of materials from projects connected to the facility (imagined, advanced or finished there) was published. Entitled simply "Annaghmakerrig," it was edited by the centre's then director, Sheila Pratschke, working with two selectors, Evelyn Conlon for writing and Ruairi O Cuiv for visual art, and contains work exclusively by guests of the centre, including Colm Toibin, Joseph O'Connor, Alice Maher, Patrick Scott, Rosita Boland, John Banville, Claire Keegan, Gerald Barry, and a remembrance of Guthrie as theare director by Eugene McCabe, and a childhood memoir by Joseph Hone.

References

External links

The Tyrone Guthrie Centre website
{{Coord missing, County Monaghan 1981 establishments in Ireland Arts in Ireland Arts centres in Ireland Buildings and structures in County Monaghan County Monaghan