The Last Witch Bridget Cleary

Writer and performer Eve O’Mahony brings her solo play The Last Witch Bridget Cleary to Garter Lane Theatre in Waterford on Saturday, 3 October 2026, at 8pm. The piece examines the life and death of Bridget Cleary, a Tipperary woman killed by her husband in 1895 after he became convinced she had been replaced by a changeling. Tickets cost €18 to €20 plus booking fee.

What to expect

O’Mahony builds the show around Cleary’s story as both a historical case and a cultural warning, using it to explore female autonomy, superstition and the pressure placed on women who did not fit expected roles in late nineteenth century rural Ireland. The play draws explicit lines between the anxieties that led to Cleary’s death and present day attitudes toward gender and unfounded belief, treating the 1895 case as a way into a much older and still current conversation rather than as a closed historical curiosity. O’Mahony is an actress, writer and producer whose screen credits include RTÉ’s The Young Offenders and TG4’s Am Abú, and her theatre work tends toward character driven pieces built around real women from history. As a solo show, expect a tightly focused hour built on a single performer carrying the full weight of Cleary’s story.

Getting there

Garter Lane Theatre is on O’Connell Street in Waterford city centre, close to the Quay and a short walk from Plunkett rail station. Street parking and nearby car parks serve the O’Connell Street area for evening performances.

While you’re in Waterford

An evening built around The Last Witch Bridget Cleary sits well with dinner on the Quay or O’Connell Street beforehand, in the middle of Waterford’s compact city centre. There is more to see in Waterford and across Co. Waterford.

Good to know

• Date: Saturday, 3 October 2026
• Time: 8:00pm
• Venue: Garter Lane Theatre, 22a O’Connell Street, Waterford
• Price: €18 to €20 plus booking fee
• Writer and performer: Eve O’Mahony