Fighting Irish – Belgrade Theatre, Coventry

Writer: Jamie McGough

Director: Corey Campbell

Writer Jamie McGough, a former national champion boxer, was one of ten aspiring writers to take part in a writers’ programme organised by The Belgrade and theatre company Paines Plough as part of Coventry’s tenure as UK City of Culture. Each writer created a ten-minute play, but McGough went on to produce Fighting Irish, a play about his own roots in Coventry. A compelling tribute to his family, it’s events like the successful staging of Fighting Irish that the City of Culture programme is all about. Fighting Irish is at its centre a gripping story of one family’s experiences, but it also touches on identity, exactly who do we see when we look in the mirror, and the quest for meaning – as well as being a cracking tale.

The McGoughs live in Tile Hill, a working-class area of Coventry with a significant Irish ex-pat community. Our story starts in 1978 – although the story of patriarch Martin Joe McGough and his English wife Eileen could easily make up another play based on the hints we receive. Martin and Eileen have four sons: Jarlath, Sean, Martin Vincent and Jimmy. Jarlath and Martin are talented boxers and like many of the Irish diaspora they strongly relate to their Irish roots. The rules of the Irish Amateur Boxing Association make it clear that Jarlath and Martin are eligible to box as Irishmen, to enter the Irish Championships and, ultimately, maybe to box for the Irish team in the upcoming Olympics. But the officials of the Association resent the McGoughs and do not really approve of these English-born athletes with Coventry accents taking part alongside those born in Ireland. Nevertheless, Jarlath becomes the youngest ever Irish Light Heavyweight champion at 17. On his return to defend the title the following year, officials seem intent on placing obstacles in Jarlath’s way, ultimately leading him and his brother Martin Vincent, to be charged with GBH and appearing in court. Can they beat a system that has closed ranks against them?

This is a fine debut play by Jamie McGough, with tight direction from Corey Campbell driving the story on. It’s presented in the round on a stage set up as a boxing ring: the actual boxing sequences are quite beautiful, almost balletic while retaining a certain atavistic nature. These movement sequences are a triumph of collaboration between McGough himself, bringing his intimate knowledge of the sport, and the movement direction of Campbell and Lucy Glassbrook. And the boxing ring is also, of course, an appropriate metaphor for the gladiatorial face off in court.

While brothers Jarlath and Martin Vincent seek to find their identity through sport, Sean is drawn more to the history of Ireland and he becomes increasingly vocal in his support of the republican cause; he also acts as occasional narrator of the piece. His impassioned speeches can get a little wordy.

This is an ensemble piece, with each character drawing strength from the others; it’s a representation of a family which stands or falls together. Louis Ellis brings us a believable Jarlath, with plenty of self-belief, backed up by unflinching support from his father, played by Colm Gormley, and mother, played on press night by Shady Murphy, both bringing an authenticity to their roles. Christian James’ Sean is earnest as he digs deeper into Irish history. Keith Dunphy, as Alderman John Gannon, is in some ways the villain of the piece. Dunphy is brilliantly self-righteous and unmoving in the role that rejects the McGough boys as being ‘real’ Irishmen. His attitude is in sharp contrast to that of Eddy Payne’s Adrian Hardiman, set the task of defending the boys in court and who subsequently sat on the Supreme Court in Ireland.

The whole is wrapped up within 90 minutes, but it doesn’t feel rushed: one feels that one has a clear understanding of, and empathy for, for the McGough family; Irish politics are complex, but one also gains an understanding of Sean’s stance. It’s a visceral yet beautiful piece and well worth seeking out.

Runs Until 16 April 2022