Birr women the focus of new stage play

A new play about the lives of Mary Rosse and Mary Ward is to be staged at Birr Theatre and Arts Centre on September 7 next.

'A Pair of New Eyes’ by Aintzane Mentxaka is set in the nineteenth century and spans 25 years of the lives of the two women who lived in Birr.

Mary Ward was a pioneer microscopist, entomologist and astronomer as well as an accomplished artist and illustrator, while Mary Rosse was a pioneer photographer and engineer as well as an accomplished architect, furniture designer, astronomer, garden designer and blacksmith who also played a key role in famine relief.

Venue manager Emma Nee Haslam said she thinks the people of Birr will be “pleasantly surprised and will feel a sense of pride in these local women’s accomplishments” after watching the play.

The play will be staged by theatre production group Born to Burn. A non-profit community-based association, it was created in Dublin in early 2013.

Tickets for the 8pm show are on sale now for €16/€14.