Foras na Gaeilge is delighted to announce that they have selected Diarmuid de Faoite to spend time in Macedonia as part of the Other Words project  this summer.  Diarmuid  will be based in Bitola , and he will focus on his own writing, keeping a blog and participating in events connected with minority languages, especially Macedonian, while he is there.

Diarmuid is an actor, writer and dramatherapist and is also a drama teacher at all education levels and in the professional sector as well. His written plays include Pádraic Ó Conaire, Paris Texas (Diarmuid’s staged version of the film) and Foxy Jack – Giolla Éireann (in conjunction with Seán Ó Tarpaigh).

In 2016 he featured in Macalla 1916 and Seachtar Fear – Seacht Lá/Seven Men – Seven Days for Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, Death Row Memoirs of an Extra Terrestrial for Music for Galway, Foxy Jack – Giolla Éireann for Gnó Mhaigh Eo/Westport Art Festival and The Playboy of the Western World – The Musical for the Town HallTheatre, Galway.

Diarmuid has worked for many television companies but is mostly known as Pádraic Ó Conaire in Pádraic – an Fear, Jack in Ros na Rún and Cathal in Corp agus Anam. He wrote and directed TG4’s first drama commission, Une Histoire d’Amour.

In 2017 Diarmuid will feature as The Captain in the new film release Pilgrimage. Diarmuid wrote the radio play Pádraic for BBC NI, his musical version The Playboy of the Western World - a Radio Musical, in conjunction with Justin McCarthy, for RTÉ, and he wrote and recorded a sixteen part storytelling series, Tuatha Dé Danainn, for Raidió na Gaeltachta recently.

He featured in Duairceán and Casadh an tSúgáin for RTÉ and Hairs and Races for Galway Bay FM. He edited Rogha Scéalta by Pádraig Ó Conaire (Cló Iar Chonnachta 2008) and recently translated Seacht mBua an Éirí Amach/Seven Virtues of the Rising (Arlen House, 2016). He wrote the short stories Never Smile at a Crocodile (Crannóg Magazine) and Bealtaine (The Irish Times) and some of his poems have been published in Feasta, The Galway Review and North by Northwest Words.

Diarmuid was nominated for an IFTA for his role as Cathal in Corp agus Anam in 2012, he won the best actor award at the Media Awards, 2011, the best documentary award for his programme, Pádraic - an Fear with Johnny White at the Celtic Media Festival in 2008 and the Stewart Parker prize for his play Pádraic Ó Conaire, 2002. The Playboy of the Western World - a Musical for Radio won a bronze medal at the New York Festival's World's Best Radio Programs and a silver medal at the PPI Awards. 

More information is available at www.focaileile.ie and focaileile@forasnagaeilge.ie