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theatre · Tuesday 8 September 2026 · 8:00pm 
The Sand Park
At Hawk's Well Theatre · Temple Street, Sligo, Co. Sligo
At Hawk's Well Theatre · Temple Street, Sligo, Co. Sligo
Seamus O’Rourke’s one-man show is one of the most talked-about pieces of Irish theatre doing the rounds right now, and this two-night run at Hawk’s Well in Sligo is a rare chance to see it on the west coast. The Sand Park is a 55-minute monologue told by James Antony Lowry, a quiet man in his mid-fifties who has buried his son and, more recently, his wife Rose. He sits down on a weather-beaten bench in the graveyard and, flask in hand, talks. What unfolds is funny, rueful, and deeply felt - a portrait of rural Irish masculinity and the way grief and love and humour have a habit of moving in together. It suits anyone who enjoys sharp, character-driven solo theatre, or who simply wants a night of genuine storytelling.
O’Rourke writes and performs The Sand Park himself, and the piece carries the confidence of a writer who knows the world he is writing about. James Antony Lowry is not a heightened figure - he is the kind of man you might stand beside at a mart or see nursing a pint at a local match. The comedy comes from that ordinariness, and so does the grief. Critics have called it “a treasure of a monologue play” (Emer O’Kelly, Sunday Independent) and “witty, quirky and fun, but also a profound lament for loved ones lost” (The Reviews Hub). The running time is 55 minutes with no interval, so it is a focused, contained experience rather than a long evening out.
Sligo town is well connected from Dublin via the N4/M4, roughly two and a half hours depending on traffic. Bus Éireann runs regular services from Dublin Busáras and Athlone. From Galway, the N17 brings you up through South Sligo in under two hours. Hawk’s Well Theatre sits on Temple Street, right beside the cathedral in the centre of town - easy to find once you are in Sligo. The nearest car park is the Cathedral car park immediately adjacent to the theatre; expect to pay around €3 on the way out. There is also limited street parking on Temple Street and the lane beside the stage door.
September is a good month to be in Sligo - the summer crowds have thinned, the light on Benbulben is extraordinary, and the town itself is compact and walkable. W.B. Yeats country begins at the edge of the town, and the Yeats Building on Hyde Bridge is worth a look if you have an hour before the show. There is more to see in Sligo and across Co. Sligo.
Heading to Hawk's Well Theatre in Sligo? Sligo has plenty more to see. Read the Sligo area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.