Ciarda, originally from Farranshone, revealed that the play has some strong semi-autobiographical aspects, following three generations of one family.

“The idea started when my grandfather started building his last boat. In the meantime, I started thinking about all the people who have left Ireland in the last few years and about the difficulties you have even getting a fishing licence now in some cases. If there's no-one to fish and no fish to be fished, what's going to happen? What will happen to the boat and the legacy? All these issues are tied up with blood and family and personal history,” she explained.

“It's not specific to my family. In some families it is 'what will happen to the farm? Or 'what will happen to the family business?' The world has changed a lot. Communication from the States is an email rather than a letter. My grandfather pre-dates the Irish State but my brother has only known Ireland as part of the EU. It was intriguing to write but also challenging. You're more aware of how you write for a particular person. It's the most traditional piece I've written.”

Ciarda praised Belltable Artistic Director, Joanne Beirne, for producing the play and pairing her with acclaimed director, Bairbre Ní Chaoimh and actors such as John Murphy and Denis Foley.

“Bairbre has been brilliant. She's encouraging but rigorous. She has no connection to my family and so her responsibility is more to the production and the audience. She will tell me if something isn't dramatic so she ushered in the more fictional elements of the piece, which I think makes it more universal. It's a mix of real experience and the imagined. The actors have also been great in contributing.”

Ciarda is no stranger to local audiences as a co-founder of Amalgamotion Theatre Company and through her work with many Limerick organisations.

“I became interested in drama in secondary school at Laurel Hill and worked on school musicals etc. My mum used to go to the theatre a lot so I saw some of the early productions from Island Theatre Company. I remember watching them and thinking that it was something I wanted to do. I did Theatre Studies in Trinity College and when I came back to Limerick, the Limerick Youth Theatre was being set up and I was asked to run that, which I did for a few years. It was amazing. The young people were so driven and it was like a professional company,” she said.

She then did a Masters in UCC before returning to Limerick and working as a freelance practitioner with The Umbrella Project, Teaspach, Daghda, the College Players and Island among others.

She said that the Limerick Theatre Hub has proven that “pooling resources is very practical and sensible”.

“It's working well. Things will also come up as we progress through the productions. The four pieces are all different and will have be managed by a central body. There will be questions as to who decides what is made and how, as well as challenges, but at its most basic form, the hub is fantastic,” she said.

“Who would have backed the first play, 'Excess Baggage', before now? Mary Coll is well known but did not have a track record as a playwright and yet the play was hilarious and there was an audience for it. The hub has already brought new voices and work to the stage. Cork, Dublin and the West have been represented on the national stage but the voices of Limerick, and urban Limerick, not so much. That's extremely positive.”

'The Fisherman's Son' runs until July 18 and for information and tickets, call 061-319866.

Name: Ciarda Tobin.

Occupation: Playwright and theatre practitioner.

Location: Edward Street.

Favourite thing about Limerick: Its resilience.

Worst thing about Limerick: The fear to be the first to do things.

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