BRIAN MERRIMAN was well used to controversy over his Rabelaisian satiric masterpiece The Midnight Court, often involving the outraged huffing and puffing of Catholic clergymen.
So what would he think about a Church of Ireland rector in Galway objecting to a production of Court being staged in the city's Town Hall Theatre on a Good Friday? One suspects it would give him an ironic chuckle but not cause him any loss of sleep.
Despite the holy bottle of smoke, the show will go on as scheduled, width many of those involved in the original Druid production taking part. One of the stars of the first show who won't be there is Sean Keane, of the famous singing family from Caherlistrane, though his absence won't be due to religious scruples.
Sean, now living near Oranmore, will be busy launching a new album Turn a Phrase - which features a beautiful sean nos song he learned from his grandmother - before taking off for a concert in Denmark with his aunts Rita and Sarah and his sister Dolor.