We Have Always Been Your Harbour – A Play for Voices

by Peter Murphy

Produced by Dan Comerford

We Have Always Been Your Harbour is a 25-minute play for voices, written and produced by Wexford writer and performer Peter Murphy, recorded, scored and co-produced by Rosslare native Dan Comerford. The piece was initially conceived as a response and homage to Dylan Thomas’s 1954 radio play Under Milk Wood, relocated to present-day Rosslare Harbour. It takes the form of a series of monologues by unnamed voices, drawing on the history, folklore and landscape of the area, as well as interviews with Rosslare residents, including ferry crew, port workers, local historians, writers and photographers.

The piece is impressionistic rather than narrative driven, a chorus of ghosts, underscored by original music and foley sounds recorded by Dan Comerford in the region of the port. As well as Dylan Thomas’s writings, it was inspired by works such as Edward Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology, Michael Lesy’s Wisconsin Death Trip, and the late Hal Willner’s Rogues’ Gallery. But by far the biggest influence on the work is of course the port itself, and the denizens of the harbour area. The release of the audio production will be accompanied by a short promotional film, by Dan Comerford.