In 2005, I began investigating the legends surrounding Tooreen dance hall, located close to my native Ballyhaunis in Co Mayo. The hall was a thriving venue during the showband era, especially the 1950s and ’60s, one of the epicentres of Irish nightlife. Across Ireland, people of a certain generation are familiar with Tooreen and the many stories associated with the dance hall, the most famous of which concerns an appearance by the Devil at a dance in 1954. Using these stories and other sources of documentation, I created a body of work that examines the locality and society at that time.

Devil in the Dancehall was a solo exhibition at Charlestown Arts Centre in December 2006.

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