Novelist and playwright Mick Donnellan has been chosen as one of three finalists accepted into a prestigious programme with playwright Eugene O’Brien, best known for his West End and Broadway hit, Eden.

“There’s an annual scriptwriting festival in Birr, Co Offaly,” says Mick. “Usually, they pick three of the best scripts, they would perform them and the best-received play would win a prize.”

This year however, it was not possible to take the usual route, so everything had to be completed online. Mick submitted a script and was chosen from nearly 100 entrants to be one of three finalists.

Eugene O’Brien went through the submissions and helped the finalists to re-examine their work, while providing the writers with tips and advice, over a week-long workshop.

“It was pretty intense really,” says Mick.

“Usually, that kind of work would be done in a theatre, but it had to be done over a Zoom call and you really have to concentrate on everything.”

The next stage of the competition will see actors from Dublin’s Abbey Theatre create and record the finalists’ plays with the Fishamble Theatre director, which will then be broadcast online.

This is a big boost for Mick’s already successful theatre career.

“I’m still a bit nervous about the judging and the competition, but those actors and theatre groups work to such a huge standard, it’s amazing.”

Mick also says that seeing everybody so passionate about his play and the focus the actors put on the specifics of each scene and character keeps his mind sharp.

“You really have to be on top of your game, it’s great to be challenged that way,” he says.

We got all the students together and put all of their work into a book

The Mayo native lives in Athlone with his partner Michelle and daughter Nairobi.

He has written and produced six plays, published three novels and has been delivering writing courses at Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT) for a number of years.

Last year, Mick’s students got the opportunity to see their own work published.

“We got all the students together and put all of their work into a book called Tales from the Heart, which was officially launched by Mary O’Rourke at the institute,” says Mick.

The students read excerpts of their work to a packed room and got a real sense of accomplishment from the night. “It was a great night, a really worthwhile evening, it was almost like a graduation in a sense,” he says.

I found that writing novels has been more practical for me over the last couple of years

Mick has been spending most of his time on his novels of late, as he has just completed his fourth title, which is due for release towards the end of summer.

“I found that writing novels has been more practical for me over the last couple of years, due to the fact that I have a young daughter and it just wouldn’t be suitable to be touring plays around the country,” says Mick.

“But sometimes people say to me, ‘Yeah, I liked the novel, but where’s the play?’” he laughs.

It was for this reason that Mick decided that he might write a play once more and then he stumbled on the scriptwriting competition. He was somewhat taken aback by the response to his new script.

“I’ve made an awful lot more headway with theatre in the last month than I have in the last year in fiction,” acknowledges Mick.

But it’s difficult to compare like for like, as novel writing and writing for theatre are two very different mediums. There is one common thread to his work however, and that is the style in which he writes.

Mick is best known for his dark humour and noir style of script. His characters use everyday language (often foul), but it is very effective when exploring themes such as violence and drugs in rural Ireland.

Mick’s debut novel El Niño and subsequent releases Fisherman’s Blues and Mokosatsu are all set in the counties of Galway, Mayo and Westmeath.

One of Mick’s plays, Shortcut to Hallelujah, is based on the legendary curse that was cast on the Mayo football team in 1951, as they returned home from the All-Ireland final.

It went really well and then I got a call from the Tribecca Film Festival in New York

The play has been adapted for big screen by Florence films, under the adaptation title Sam. This is not the first time that Mick has adapted one of his plays for the big screen, as his play Radio Luxembourg was made into the movie Tiger Raid starring Brian Gleeson, Damian Molony and Sofia Boutella.

The movie was filmed in a desert in Jordan. “It went really well and then I got a call from the Tribecca Film Festival in New York, who wanted to screen it and it got screened in London too. It’s great, that film is out there now available to anybody,” says Mick.

With many members of the publishing world currently working from home, Mick is in the process of making contact with editors, sending his work to agents and watching, with a careful eye, the progress being made on his new play.

“You do have to be careful not to wear yourself too thin,” says Mick, “but I’m really happy to get back into script writing for a while now, once this new book is out. It’s a very exciting time really.”

For more information on Mick Donnellan’s work, or to purchase his novels, visit www.mickdonnellan.com or any book seller website.