HUMANITY DICK, a hit show of the 2016 Galway Fringe Festival about the colourful life and times of Galway MP, humanitarian, and serial duelist Richard Martin, comes to Moycullen.
Humanity Dick: A Tale of Beasts and Bullets, written and performed by Galwegian Seán Leonard, will be performed upstairs in The Forge, Moycullen, this Saturday at 8pm.
Richard 'Humanity Dick' Martin (1754 - 1834 ) was landlord of Connemara, a celebrity duellist, an animal protection activist, a cuckolded husband, a bankrupt, and an exile. He was feared and jeered in equal measure, but always held his honour and the welfare of animals above all else, no matter the cost. As Martin, Seán recounts scenes from a life of deadly duels, regular revolutions, contrary cousins, wayward wives, financial failure, parliamentary persistence and, famously, a donkey in a courthouse.
“People engage with Martin’s story, and not only because of the local angle and his entertaining, eventful and internationally significant life story," says Seán. “Although he is remembered as the founder of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty, he was also a flawed and often contradictory character who made a lot of very human mistakes. Despite this, his desire to do good, for his humanity and decency to be recognised, always shone through. That’s something everyone can identify with.”
The show is staged in partnership with the Moycullen Historical Society. Tickets are available from The Forge, or by calling 087 4364699.
