War memories wanted

For his new piece of musical theatre the talented composer, who has written for national theatre and several companies in New York and London, has turned his attention to Lurgan.

He’s focusing on the early ‘40s when one third of the population of Northern Ireland were American GIs.

The 32-year-old explained: “The Belfast Festival have commissioned me to write a full scale work about the American presence in Ulster during the war. They wanted it set in Belfast, but there weren’t that many GIs in Belfast. The American HQ prior to the D-Day landings was, in fact, Brownlow House.

“Eisenhower stayed there on the way to London and there was a huge GI presence in Lurgan for two years. I've even found a photo of the Second battalion marching down William Street. They ended up on Omaha Beach.

“There were also German PoWs in Lurgan. I heard a story about a local woman who used to smuggle food in to them.”

He said: “I’m really interested in the culture clash. There was a lot of resistance to the Americans. In some cases the women took to them while the men became very jealous.

“You have to remember these were huge soldiers. It must have been strange to have an influx of giants from another country. And they would all have been men. It changed the demographics of the country.”

This is where the Lurgan public come in.

“I am interested in collecting eye witness accounts of the GIs in Lurgan and would love to hear from anyone old enough to remember the war or maybe there are people who have parents who told them stories,” said Conor.

The play is called 'The Doughboys' and opens in October at the Belfast Festival.

He commented: “They’ve ditched the idea of a classical concert to open the fest. The piece will run throughout the fest and the American embassy will stage a fly over of bombers on the opening night.”

Conor, who spent many years in London before moving back home to set up his writing base on the Lough Road, commented: “I'm writing an opera at the moment for a company in Sweden - beavering away in Lurgan for theatres in other countries is rather amusing to me.”

Conor will also be welcoming singer Marc Almond to Lurgan later this year.

“I’m working with Marc on 10 Plagues - it’s a song cycle for the Royal Court. He’ll be coming over here to work on it with me.”

Anyone who can help Conor with his project on American GIs in Lurgan in the 1940s is asked to contact [email protected]