TEN years ago, Pallasgreen moved heaven and earth to put on a performance never to be forgotten.
The recreation of the Passion from the agony at Gethsemane to the crucifixion over 24 hours made headlines nationally and further afield. An estimated 5,000 descended on the parish.
The cast and crew, under the expert eye of director / producer Eamonn Harty, rehearsed for months to put on the performance of their lives.
RTE’s Would You Believe made a beautiful documentary on Pallasgreen’s Passion which captured the literal blood, sweat and tears.
It encapsulated the powerful acting, 100 piece choir singing their hearts out at 2am, smoke billowing from the fires, picturesque grotto, beautiful costumes, and Roman soldiers on horseback.
The documentary was shown on a large screen in Pallasgreen Community Centre as part of a 10 year reunion for those involved in the Passion.
There was even a poem written for the occasion by Bernadette Dillon-Ryan. The event also honoured the memory of the late Bill Bourke who took on the role of Peter.
Two of the organisers of the event - Ger O’Connell and Suzie O’Kelly - handed out a number of awards after the Would You Believe programme was shown.
One of the most moving parts of it was the scene where a little girl called Rowena Quinn came over to Jesus (Garry Fraher) in the Garden of Gethsemane.
They embraced one another and Garry asked her to pray for him.
Garry kept his eyes firmly pointed to the floor for practically all of the showing as it is so emotional. He is almost unrecognisable as the beard is gone and the long hair cut short.
Garry said they were all one family no matter if they were in the play, helping in the background or standing in the car park and didn’t see one minute of it.
“It was the perfect storm where everyone actually had the time to invest into this mad idea and we don’t have to look far in this community to find inspiration from people. We inspire each other,” said Garry, who mentioned Brian and Nell O’Neill. Brian played Caiaphas while Nell was the costume designer extraordinaire. Garry spoke of Mike O’Donoghue (Barabbas), his father Eddie and Eamonn Harty.
“He rolled a snowball and it just got bigger and bigger and bigger and everyone jumped on board. I just feel extremely proud and delighted to be here tonight,” said Garry, who paid tribute to his late friend Bill Bourke.
“I miss his enthusiasm - the way he would just light up a room. We miss our friend but by having nights like this, and seeing him on the screen, it’s happy memories. I think everyone in the room has a bit of Bill,” said Garry, to warm applause.
