Pig Ghosts and the Irish Renaissance

Oona Doherty is a choreographer that increasingly needs no introduction. The London-born Belfast native, who worked as a dancer across Europe, roared onto the scene as a choreographer with her solo work “Hope Hunt and the Ascension into Lazarus,” a searing examination of masculine culture that had the contemporary dance world abuzz. Nine years on, with a host of accolades in tow, she’s touring a new work. “Specky Clark” will make its way across the channel for the first time after premiering at Aix-en-Provence in November, with performances in London and Dublin.

Oona Doherty. Photograph by Luca Truffarelli

I caught up with Oona, now based in Marseille, from her sunny apartment. Her accent is a musical blend of London and Belfast, with a pitch that rises and falls—occasionally breaking for a chuckle when something amuses her. One such thing is the timing of “Specky Clark’s” inception, “at the same time I was making it, I moved to Marseille. I thought I’d make a thing about Ireland the way Irish writers do: they move to France and then they write about home!” She’s warmly frank, a world away from ‘raw’—a word many critics use when describing her work.

This conversation has been edited for clarity.

Is ‘raw’ a label that you’re comfortable with?

I don't mind. Yes, I think probably I am a bit raw rather than refined as a person, so it would make sense that my dancing and work is like that. You can call it whatever you like—just buy a ticket.

Your work, notably, uses a lot of spoken text. What got you interested in that?

I started to shout poetry with a stutter way back in 2013 or 2014 with the dance group T.R.A.S.H. in the Netherlands for a character called Wheelbarrow Woman. Long story, but basically, I just never stopped. It's nice to use everything you’ve got to try and express the feeling or the idea. Like mixing form, cinema, dancing, theatre, and performance art. Whatever, just mix it all up, get the feeling out clear and sincere.

The playwright Enda Walsh is credited as a dramaturg for “Specky Clark.” Did he help with your writing for the text?

Enda did help me—I was trying to write a play. I actually first wrote to Blindboy Boatclub from the Rubberbandits.

No way.

Yeah! I'm obsessed with him, and a lot of the inspiration for the work came from the Blindboy Podcast. I’ve listened to every episode ever, and some of them more than once. At some points I was like, ‘is this an original idea or just an episode of the Blindboy Podcast?’ and I got really upset. But I thought, it’s fine if it takes from that, I’m making a contemporary dance show. So, I wrote to him, because I wanted the final scene to be all the people from Irish history and mythology that I thought were cool having a big chat together. I thought ‘well, I’m trying to be a writer but I’m not quite there yet.’ I asked him to be a co-writer but he declined. So then I wrote to Enda Walsh [she chuckles] being like, ‘Blindboy said no to me! Will you be a co-writer? and Enda like, god bless him, was like ‘fuck off!’ But he said to me he would be a mate and read it and do a Zoom with me, and he’d tell me honestly what he thought. He came up with loads of ideas and asked loads of questions, and he was very honest. I was trying to make it funny, and Enda was like ‘the funniest thing about this show is that you’ve moved to France and you’re trying to write this play. That’s what’s funny, not what the characters are doing!’ [she laughs].

Oona Doherty's “Specky Clark.” Photograph courtesy of Doherty

A lot of Irish dance works have a bit more theatricality to them and a lot of dialogue, do you think that’s part of an emerging style?

I wouldn’t be the best person to ask since I’m not actually watching much dance work right now, even though I’ve been so involved in it for so long. I think we have more narrative. Even if it’s not full on like a play, there just is more theatre, I think. I wonder, are we more cinematic? Maybe there’s more story in it? Luke Murphy and Michael Keegan Dolan, story for sure; Liz Roche, more of that pure dance aesthetic. I don’t know how much of a story would be in a United Fall work, but super cinematic—Emma Martin is like the David Lynch of the dance world.

“Specky Clark” is quite a personal story about your great-great-grandfather. How did the inspiration and research come about?

I was part of the Genealogy Project led by the writer Shane O’Reilly back in 2015, 2016. That’s when the ghost of the pigs first came, mwahaha! [Doherty’s great-great-grandfather was a butcher] Then in 2023 my dad is telling me stuff about Specky Clark and his grandmother in the car. In my head I’m mixing bits and pieces together, filling in the gaps with my own imagination. I was writing to genealogists, talking to dad, reading The Dúchas [Ireland’s national folklore collection], listening to Blindboy podcasts, and spitting out the show. I also moved to France. So, maybe missing home or being pissed off about home had something to do with it? I was interested in Specky: the story of grief, the vulnerability of sanity.

You’re based in France now, and a lot of other artists from the island find themselves living abroad. Do you find there’s a difference with the infrastructure?

Yes, without a doubt there is more money for dance in France than there is in Ireland. France has specific venues built for dance in every city. Like, unimaginable! I don’t think we have venues like that in Ireland. I’m in a better position here, I’m making much larger shows, but I would hate people to think ‘well she thought it wasn’t good enough for her here, so off she went.’ There’s just more money for dance in particular. There’re more dance schools, more dancers. In Ireland we’re not given enough money for it, but the stuff that is there is fucking amazing. Like, Emma Martin is there, we have a choreographer of that level.

Oona Doherty's “Specky Clark.” Photograph courtesy of Doherty

There’s been an increase in funding for the dance in the Republic of Ireland, how are things in Northern Ireland?

Even if funding did go up in the Republic it didn’t in the North, and it’s still less than all other art forms. At home it feels like things just keep getting worse. Even though we’re in the UK, if they put up the cultural money in England, they don’t put it up in Northern Ireland.

Is the North forgotten about?

Absolutely, and Scotland now too, they’ve just had a massive cut. I don’t know if it’s just taste, but it's a decision someone has made. Of what they think is more benefit to the nation, what’s safer. Maybe contemporary dance is more multicultural, is more queer, is making more political statements in the work—it’s more of a risk maybe. I do think Northern Ireland gets forgotten about a little bit. That’s always been the case. But I don’t think the border is more pronounced in artistic work, Ireland is so small, it’s definitely less pronounced than in business or other jobs.

Despite the problems with fundings, Irish art from the Republic and the North has been experiencing a pretty strong wave in popularity. Why do you think people resonate with it so much?

We’re just really class! Humour, wit, tragedy, pain, extreme in the mundane. More, more, more I say. It's a joke how good we are and how much power is in our cultural output. Jesus, you would really expect the government to invest more in the arts. We should have a national youth dance company. You should be able to study and train in dance in the North. Give us a national choreographic centre! Imagine we had a conservatoire where the dancers and musicians could all mix together? More art, more craic. With a little bit more support we could double up this ‘Irish Renaissance’ no problem. G'won, I dare ya.

“Specky Clark” is coming over soon to London and Dublin. What does it mean to you to bring the work closer to home?

Most important bit. We've played in France and Austria so far. It doesn't mean anything until you play in Ireland. That's the test. The play is set in Glasgow and Belfast, my dream is that one day we will get to play there. I'll be haunted by these bloody pigs until we do.

“Specky Clark” plays in Sadler’s Wells in London on the 9th and 10th of May, and the Abbey Theatre in Dublin from the 14th to the 17th of May as part of Dublin Dance Festival.

Eoin Fenton

Eoin (they/he) is a dance maker and writer based in Cork (Rep. of Ireland), and London (UK). They have danced across Ireland and London in venues including The Place, Project Arts Centre Dublin and Galway Cathedral. Eoin graduated with a BA in Choreography from Middlesex University in 2024 and began writing as part of the The Place's Resolution Reviews programme. They are a regular contributor to A Young(ish) Perspective.

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