Meagher of the Sword performs at the Lodge
 | Author:
Nancy Marks
Nancy Marks: MT43 News Secretary and News Editor |
Meagher of the Sword Performance - October 14, 2022
The incredible saga of Thomas Francis Meagher, the Irish patriot who became Montana’s first acting territorial governor, comes to life on the stage at The Lodge in Townsend. Neal and Karen Lewing, noted producers of the Port Polson Players theatre in Polson, MT, present “Meagher of the Sword” at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, October 14, sponsored by Broadwater Community Theater.
Thomas Meagher, born in Waterford, Ireland in 1823, was sentenced to death for his hand in the 1848 rebellion against British rule, following his introduction of the Irish tricolor flag. That sentence was commuted to life in Tasmania. He escaped and made his way to New York to become a sought-after orator. In the Civil War, Meagher founded the storied Irish Brigade. At the war’s end, he was sent to Montana Territory where his ultimate demise in Ft. Benton in 1867 remains a mystery.
“Meagher’s story has so many twists and turns it is almost unbelievable,” says Neal Lewing, the show’s composer.” He lived a very full life in a short span of time. We want everyone to know about the guy on the horse outside the Montana State Capitol,”
Lewing researched and wrote this performance. The show has toured the region since 2011, has performed in Ireland and received an invitation to perform at the Cygnet Folk Festival in Tasmania. Lewing has presented other musical shows multiple times at the Canton Church Summer Events.
The Ryland KM Foote Memorial Trust underwrites Broadwater Community Theater. The trust is a nonprofit organization that awards art, music, theater and foreign language scholarships to elementary and middle school students in Broadwater County.
Tickets for “Meagher of the Sword” are available at Reading Leaves Bookstore, 401 Broadway. They are $25 per person. Doors will open at the Lodge, 131 So. Spruce, at 6:30 p.m. A no-host bar and snacks are available For more information, please call (406) 266-3710.
