I have constructed a Web Site is a tribute to the men and women of the Travelling Roadshows, Fit-Ups, Circus and Travelling Cinema’s, the strong and brave individuals who entertained the people in villages and towns the length and breadth of Ireland. They brought smiles and happiness to many poor villages and towns in the era before, during and after the Second World War. These shows were their living and it was hard work. The “Showcrowd”, as they were sometimes known as they were a unique people who spent their lives on-stage because of their love for it. The travelling and the life on the road was difficult. The negotiations in advance often with cranky parish priests and curates for permission to enter “their” villages, ground bating with the hanging of advance posters, the learning of scripts and preparing of costumes and scenery. Then there was the setting up and then the live evening performances before audiences. This era was before television and, indeed, some of those travelling show people went on the be the stars of the first TV soaps shown on Irish television into the 70’s and 80’s. It was an historic time, a magic and uplifting time for rural communities and the less travelled amongst us. I am both lucky and proud to have lived during a part, at least, of that era.
