Sole Purpose Productions was formed in 1997 by Patricia Byrne and Dave Duggan. Dave left the company in 2008 to focus on full time writing, you can follow his work here.
Patricia continued as Artistic Director and is supported by a highly engaged Board of Directors - Lisa Fitzpatrick, Elly Odhiambo, Cath McBride, Ann Marie Thompson and John McQuaide. We work with a wide circle of talented writers, actors, production crew and other theatre practitioners in order to produce our programme.
Patricia Byrne
Artistic Director
Patricia Byrne is the Artistic Director and Co - Founder of Sole Purpose Productions, which will mark 30 years in 2027. She is a producer, director and writer. She has written seven plays for the company including Blinkered which toured Ireland to great acclaim in 2017 and won the Special Jury Prize at Origin Theatre's 1st Irish Festival in New York in 2019.
She has produced and directed over ten productions by new and emerging writers which have toured extensively throughout Ireland and the UK, and have been staged in the USA, including Life and Love: Lesbian Style by Hilary McCollum which won the Eva Gore Booth Award for Best Female Performance at the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival in 2014.
She directed and co-produced The Marian Hotel by Caitriona Cunningham, based on the writer’s lived experience of being in a mother and baby home. The play sold out 14 performances across the north of Ireland in 2024, receiving standing ovations and critical acclaim. The play recently toured again to the Unity Theatre in Liverpool and other venues in Ireland.
She has over 30 years experience in developing and delivering theatre productions with a social justice theme and working in partnership with many voluntary and statutory organisations. In all of her work she addresses issues that are relevant and important to local and international communities. She was awarded the Noel Walsh Freedom Award in 2012 and the Helen Harris Freedom Award in 2014 for making a significant contribution to LGBT rights through theatre work. She recently received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the North West Migrants Forum for her work in advancing racial equality. Patricia believes that making powerful theatre that deals with important issues can make the world a better place, one step at a time.
Mairéad Nic Bhloscaidh
Development Officer
Mairéad joined Sole Purpose in September 2023. She has worked for a number of years with the City of Derry International Choir Festival managing the community and outreach programme. In Sole Purpose she is working on funding, finance, administration and the development of new projects. She is an asset to the Sole Purpose team.