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theatre · Wednesday 18 November 2026 · 8:00pm 
Trim Drama Group: Dancing at Lughnasa
At Swift Cultural Centre · High Street, Trim, Co. Meath
At Swift Cultural Centre · High Street, Trim, Co. Meath
Trim Drama Group brings Brian Friel’s best-loved play to their home venue this November, staging Dancing at Lughnasa across four nights at Swift Cultural Centre. It is one of the most-produced Irish plays on the amateur circuit for good reason, and a local group tackling it in Trim is a chance to see a modern classic performed close to home rather than travelling to Dublin.
Dancing at Lughnasa is set in rural Donegal in the late summer of 1936 and follows the five Mundy sisters through a single, sun-warmed season that, in hindsight, marks the last of their old way of life together. Friel’s script is remembered for its wireless-fuelled dance sequence as much as its quieter, sadder undertow, and it asks a lot of an amateur cast: sustained ensemble work, period detail, and a tonal shift from comedy to melancholy that has to land convincingly. Trim Drama Group is a long-running local amateur company and Swift Cultural Centre, on High Street in the town, is a purpose-built venue with a proper stage and seating for around 235, giving the production room to do the play justice rather than working around a borrowed hall. The run spans four consecutive nights, Wednesday 18 through Saturday 21 November, which is a substantial commitment for an amateur company and suggests the group is treating this as a major production for their season.
Given the play’s reputation and the length of the run, this is worth booking ahead for rather than turning up on the night.
Swift Cultural Centre sits on High Street in central Trim, within walking distance of the town’s car parks and bus stops. Trim is about 45 minutes from Dublin via the M3 and N51, with Bus Éireann connecting the town to Dublin and Navan.
Trim is best known for Trim Castle on the banks of the River Boyne, and the town centre has plenty of pubs and restaurants for a meal before curtain. There is more to see in Trim and across Co. Meath.
Heading to Swift Cultural Centre in Trim? Meath has plenty more to see. Read the Trim area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.
In town for Swift Cultural Centre? These Meath tours book out in summer.