Paddy O'Dwyer, the founder of Dublin Youth Theatre (DYT) passed away on Wednesday, August 28th.
He was an educational psychologist, actor, director, father, husband, grandfather, President of the International Amateur Drama Association and he co-founded the National Association for Youth Drama, (now Youth Theatre Ireland).
Alan King, a former member of DYT and current Deputy Director of Youth Theatre Ireland, pays tribute to Paddy, and the formidable legacy he created.
I’ve been thinking a lot about Paddy since I heard the news of his passing last Wednesday.
It is an understatement to say now much his influence has had on both my personal and professional life.
I'm writing this piece between the hours of 11am and 1pm on a Saturday morning. For anyone who recognises the timing of this, then you have surely been affected by Paddy's legacy. These two hours are the magic time, Dublin Youth Theatre's weekly drama workshops, which have been running almost every Saturday since 1977.
DYT was never a theatre training school. Rather, it was a place that young people from across Dublin, of all social classes, could come together, be creative and discover who they were through drama and theatre. For some it was escapism, for others it was a refuge, for the majority it was fun and a chance to meet other like minded young people.
Crucially, it cost very little to attend, and so, was accessible to all.
While many DYT members have gone on to have stellar careers in the theatre and the arts, that was not its main purpose. They promoted social cohesion, understanding difference and seeing a world beyond your own street.
Paddy, who was later joined by Eilís Mullan, Emelie FitzGibbon and others, championed youth theatre in Ireland. NAYD (the National Association for Youth Drama) was created in 1980, and a movement was born. Now, with almost 60 youth theatres participating in Youth Theatre Ireland, this movement continues to benefit thousands of young people in cities, towns and villages nationwide. And it's still growing.
Watch: Paddy O'Dwyer talks 40 years of Youth Theatre Ireland in 2020
When speaking of the wider youth theatre movement, Paddy once told me "I wanted people - young people especially - to realise there’s a world beyond Dublin... and there’s a world beyond Europe… that whole notion of the community of the world was very strong with me at that time."
I cannot express how the youth theatre movement has changed my life, profoundly so.
I joined Dublin Youth Theatre in my late teens and have subsequently dedicated a substantial portion of my life to that movement.
Now, on the wrong side of 50, and as Deputy Director of Youth Theatre Ireland, I find I'm responsible for the development for youth theatre across Ireland. I work for the same national organisation that Paddy co- founded in 1980. The name may be different, but the values remain the same. It is both an honour and privilege to do this work.
While many DYT members have gone on to have stellar careers in the theatre and the arts, that was not its main purpose.
Back in the early 90's, it was a different story. I was doing an electronic technician course in DIT Kevin St. but had neither the technical aptitude nor passion for semiconductors.
So, I joined DYT, as I dunno what? A wannabe actor, a messer, a semi-hipster teen, with nice hair and a penchant for comedy. Paddy, and the other artists he inspired, helped me discover who I could be. An actor, an artist, and a citizen. I am not unique in that discovery. They helped hundreds of young people discover this. I'm lucky to still count many of them as friends and colleagues.
Later on, as an aspiring young actor, Paddy was the first person to offer me free tutoring when I had to do my drama college auditions. I didn't get in - not his fault, more mine.
Much later, as I moved up the ranks of youth theatre management, he was the first person I called when I needed sage counsel. He always answered, and always allayed my concerns.
I would like to think that I espouse all those values that Paddy held dear; equality, opportunity, and creativity. I hope he's proud of me.
These are all lofty and worthy ideals, ones worth mentioning for sure.
However, the strongest memories are those where Paddy, his wife Laura, and his daughter Jean and all the O'Dwyers made me feel part of the family.
I was truly fortunate to get to know the O'Dwyer family outside of the confines of the Saturday morning workshops at DYT.
Through my friendships with Jean, and her best friend, neighbour, and fellow DYT-er, Mary Ann Bolger, I got invited to many O'Dwyer family occasions.
I spent many hours at their home on Morehampton Terrace, in a house filled with love and happiness.
I shared moments of joy, celebration, sadness and wonderment, part observer, part listener, sometimes co-conspirator.
Over the last few days, I've been reminded of a night that sums up everything that Paddy and the whole O'Dwyer family means to me.
So, good reader, imagine New Year's Eve 1999: the world is on the eve of a new millennia. Paranoia is rife with the Millennium Bug, and what would happen on the stroke of midnight.
So, a merry band of travellers including myself, fellow ex-DYTer and now Youth Theatre Ireland colleague and friend Dave Kelly, along with other vagabonds ended up in the O'Dwyer household on Morehampton Terrace at 9 o’ clock on a cold New Year's Eve.
Desperate, directionless, squabbling and booze less. Like many a Dyter past, present, and future.
Like a pre–Millennium Magi, we were welcomed with gifts of Dutch Gold, Frank Sinatra, but no Myrrh.
As the night progressed, and the bells of Christ Church stuck twelve, the computers did not melt, the Russian nukes did not launch, and we all fell silent...
"Happy New Year, God bless you" and... "Well, what next?"
We all stood in momentary silence in the O'Dwyer kitchen on Morehampton Terrace.
Well, "What next?" meant that obviously, Alan King (moi) should make a speech. Of course he should. He’d been welcomed into O'Dwyer household and treated like an equal. It was the year 2000, Jarvis Cocker was nowhere in sight, and it was up to me to say a few words.
"So, Paddy, and all of the O'Dwyers here present. I would just like to say... If Paddy hadn't set up Dublin Youth Theatre... The only other reason a bloke from Crumlin (me) and a bloke from Ballymun (Dave) would be in your gaff in Donnybrook on New Year’s Eve....well... would be to rob it. So, ...well done you!"
As Paddy finished laughing, he said "What do youse want to do now?"
'Stick on a musical" says Jean’s fiancé Stephen.
And so, the assorted cast, under the expert direction of Paddy as lead actor/director/producer staged an "in kitchen, live and acoustic" version of West Side Story.
Well, Paddy pretty much played every part, from Maria, to Officer Krupie, to the Jets, and the Sharks.
Me, Dave, Jean, Laura, Maryann, Stephen and everyone else offered our support. No need, it was Paddy's show, and it was the best in town.
"I want to be in America" indeed.
An hour or so after (spoiler alert) Tony’s death, Paddy declared "I’m not saying youse all have to go home, but I’m turning off the central heating and going up to bed."
So, after some grumbling, it was decided we should probably thank the O'Dwyers for their hospitality and go home.
To this day, it is still one of the best nights of my life.
So, thank you Paddy O'Dwyer for everything you gave me. I know I'm not alone.
There is not much I can add to the outpouring of tributes to Paddy O'Dwyer except to simply say he transformed the theatrical & cultural life of this country and city from the ground up.
— Mark O’Brien (@obrienmark) September 2, 2024
His legacy, generations of young people who found solace and inspiration @DubYouthTheatre 1/ pic.twitter.com/DRl40x4A8k
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