Interview with Charlotte Moore and Ciarán O’Reilly, Co-Founders of the Irish Repertory Theatre
Charlotte Moore and Ciarán O’Reilly, Co-Founders of the Irish Repertory Theatre, will be the recipients of the 2026 Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement for their Contributions to the City of New York at the Holland Society of New York’s 136th Dinner Dance.
About Our Medalists
Charlotte Moore and Ciarán O’Reilly co-founded The Irish Repertory Theatre in New York in 1988 with its mission “to present Irish and Irish American plays, performed professionally and with a native understanding.” They opened the theatre’s doors with Sean O’Casey’s The Plough and the Stars. In 1995, Irish Rep found its home at 132 West 22nd Street, on three floors of a former warehouse.
Moore and O’Reilly built the theatre from scratch after meeting in New York, both actors on Broadway, with support from friends and family, and created two performance spaces: The Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage and The W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre. In 2016, the space was renovated to its current design. When the theatre was founded, no completely Irish professional theatre company existed in America, and Moore and O’Reilly were inspired to fill the cultural void.
In the decades since its founding, the theatre has become immensely successful. A recipient of multiple awards and accolades, including the Eugene O’Neill Lifetime Achievement Award (2011), the Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad (2019), and The Wall Street Journal Company of the Year (2019), the theatre was declared by The Wall Street Journal as “One of the best theatre companies in America.” Today, the theatre is an Irish cultural center in New York, with tens of thousands of patrons visiting each year.
Executive Director, Sarah Cooney’s interview with Charlotte Moore and Ciarán O’Reilly
Sarah Cooney: When did you first come to New York?
Charlotte Moore and Ciarán O’Reilly: Ciarán came to New York in 1978 and Charlotte in 1971.
SC: How did you meet, and how did the idea of the Irish Rep come about?
CM + CO’R: We were both cast in a play called Summer by Hugh Leonard in 1981 and we became fast friends. Charlotte was an established actress, having several Broadway credits and nominations for Tony and Outer Critics Awards. Ciarán was an unknown peasant working off-Broadway. At one point, we were both cast in separate plays in The Elizabeth Company – a Broadway production company formed by Elizabeth Taylor. Charlotte played opposite Richard Burton’s in Private Lives by Noel Coward. The peasant Ciarán played a lowly coal miner in The Corn Is Green starring Cicely Tyson.
Sometime around 1987, there was a realization that New York City, the theatrical capital of the world, did not have a full-time theatre devoted to Irish works. Charlotte and Ciarán had discussions to rectify that cultural omission. Thankfully, several bottles of wine were involved– so it seemed like a feasible idea at the time…
SC: Since the Irish Rep’s opening on 22nd Street, how has theatre changed, and how has it stayed the same at the theatre?
CM + CO’R: Irish Rep did not open on West 22 Street. That came 7 years after our maiden voyage in 1988 at the 18th Street Playhouse. Much has changed in the interim. What began as scrappy, seat-of-our pants startup is now a fully-fledged Off Broadway institution employing scores of artists annually to an audience of over 50,000. What has remained the same is the love and passion for the work. Telling the stories in an elegant and meaningful way has always come first.
SC: The 22nd Street location, where the Irish Repertory Theatre still calls home, was created under the premise “if they build it, they will come.” What have been some of your favorite community memories in the space? (Community being defined however resonates the most – the theatre company, the neighborhood, the city, the world of theatre.)
CM + CO’R: With a nod to Tennessee Williams, Irish Rep has always depended on the kindness of strangers. When we signed a 12-year lease on a former chemical warehouse in Chelsea in 1994, we did not have the funds to build a theatre. Instead, we built two. The landlord gave us 6 months free rent and we began. When we say “we,” we mean the hundreds who arrived on our doorstep when we announced to the world our intentions. They included volunteer organizations like NY Cares and The School for Cooperative Technical Education on East 96th Street, who sent their students and their teachers to learn to build; Irish construction workers, carpenters, and plumbers who arrived after their own day’s work and donated their time and expertise. And great friends and supporters who opened their hearts and checkbooks so our doors could open. Eight months later, with wet paint on the walls, we began performances on two stages. We started to build it, and they came.
SC: In thinking about the next generation of talent, what or who excites you most about the future of Irish theatre?
CM + CO’R: Ireland is a much-changed country since we began. It’s a progressive country with rich diversity and we want to reflect that change in what we present. We are excited by the new voices that are coming our way as we explore today’s definition of being Irish. We also want to honor the masters of the past and be mindful to continue to offer the classics that had once defined the nation of Ireland.
SC: What’s the play you’d most like to have at the Irish Rep but haven’t yet?
CM + CO’R: It is not written yet –but The Great Irish Musical of the 21st Century.
SC: You have really committed to bringing the theatre, particularly Irish theatre, to New York in memorable ways—through your production of The Dead, during the pandemic with productions online, and in numerous other ways. What’s next?
CM + CO’R: We have a wish to spread the word to other cities and around the world. This past summer we brought one of our productions to Ireland’s National Theatre, the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, which felt like returning to the mother ship. Touring shows is something we would like to explore further.
SC: How do you hope the Irish Rep shapes New York theatre and, more broadly, Irish theatre in the years to come?
CM + CO’R: Through always striving for excellence. Through commissioning new works. Through being faithful yet reimagining the classics. Through offering diverse programming throughout the season to attract new audience and make our faithful supporters happy (or mad!).
SC: Where are your favorite places in New York? And where can we find the best Irish food and beer?
CM + CO’R: The Dead Rabbit on Water St has the best Irish food in town. Also love Molly’s on 3rd Ave, McSorely’s on East 7th St, Le Chéile on West 181 St, and An Beal Bocht (the poor mouth) in Riverdale. Joe Allen’s on West 46th and Sardi’s on West 44th are also favorite theatre haunts.
SC: What do you wish people knew about the Irish Rep and/or theatre in New York in general?
CM + CO’R: Irish Rep did not close during the pandemic. We embraced technology and found ways to stay in touch with our audience. It was comforting to many, but It taught us that live theatre is essential to living on this planet. The shared experience of hearts beating together—moved to laughter or tears in the same room—is part of what makes us human. Theatre reflects us back to ourselves, sparking communal understanding and empathy. On any given night, New York City offers hundreds of opportunities to experience that connection. That is why it remains the greatest city in the world, and Irish Rep is proud to be a small part of that galaxy.