HIGHLY-REGARDED as a writer and director, Richard Lynch is this year celebrating more than half a century's involvement in drama in the Garden County. Richard, from Blessington, is perhaps best known for his portrayal of PJ Mulpeter BLA (builder labourer anonymous) from his critically-acclaimed one man play 'From the Shoulders Down.'

But he has plenty of other strings to his bow.

It may have been back in 1950s when Richard saw his first play, but the years that have passed haven't dimmed his crystal clear memory of that event. It was the opening night of the first ever drama festival in the C.Y.M.S. Hall in Kildare.

'Paul Twyning was the name of the play, a three-act comedy by George Shiels, staged by what was then Naas Table Tennis and Dramatic Club, now Moat Club Naas, with the late Dick Roche and Kitty Norton in the lead roles,' says Richard, as he casts his mind back.

'The festival was a major cultural drive at the time, held in conjunction with An Tostal and under the auspices of Muintir Na Tue.

'My father, Paddy Lynch, was a member of the Committee, and this made it possible for all our family to attend. I was immediately bitten by the bug. Live theatre fascinated me then and has remained ever since.'

It was the pre-television era in Ireland, with drama groups travelling all over Ireland to perform in different cities, towns and villages. amateur drama in Kildare was at its peak, and Richard was soon convinced from a young age that the stage was the place for him. He got his first taste of the limelight performing in the short one-act play 'An Awful Brat'

'I played the long-suffering mother of a useless layabout son. Technical facilities were sparse to say the least, with two army blankets serving as curtains. But the audience enjoyed it, as did I.'

Sometime later Richard and a few pals decided to form the drama group 'Suncroft' and staged a few three-act plays, touring the likes of Kildangan, Crookstown and Castledermot.

'Innocent times by today's standards, but we found them exciting,' he recalls.

For a period Richard worked in a creamery but decided a profession would be more beneficial. He choose carpentry, a career that would last for over 40 years.

To this day he still works parttime at carpentry and it also helped provide him with the inspiration for 'From the Shoulders Down.'

'I've met many colourful characters on building sites. My employers varied from the large to the smaller builders. I doubt very much if a hammer and saw will ever be too far out of my reach, no matter what I achieve in arts or entertainment. Once a craftsman, always a craftsman. It gets into your blood and that's it.'

Shortly after he moved to Naas, and got involved almost immediately with 'The Lakeside Players.' This led him to start thinking more deeply about the whole concept of theatre. He soon realized in order to learn the finer points of the craft he would require professional training. He discovered a whole range of new aspects to performing at the 'Betty Ann Norton Academy of Speech and Drama' but it was the late Con O'Sullivan of Newbridge who left the most lasting impression on him.

'Apart from his knowledge of drama and musicals, his communication skills were second to none. He was an enigmatic figure of a man, who illuminated a room or a stage when he entered. He had an aura and magnetism rarely found in people and his whole philosophy into the art of literature was fascinating. I enjoyed every minute I spent in his classes, and am indebted to him to this day.'

A huge fan of Gaelic football, Richard played for over 20 years, and still harbors a passion for his native 'Lilly Whites.' He wrote a poem about Kerry's annihilation of Dublin in the 1979 All-Ireland, winning a 'Scor' competition as a result. That, and a viewing of Michael MacLiamor's one-man show ' The Importance of Being Oscar' convinced Richard that he had to further try his hand at writing.

'After I had performed in 'Scor' I convinced myself that if you can hold an audience for six minutes on your own, there's no reason why you can't hold them for ninety minutes, if you have good material and good delivery.

The end result was 'From the Shoulders Down', Richard's biggest venture to date, though he does hope to have a new show out by the end of the year or early 2011 and is currently working on a book.

'From the Shoulders Down' has seen Richard travel all over the country and twice to England, meeting plenty of interesting and memorable characters along the way.

'I travel light for economic reasons apart from anything else. My props are a pick and shovel, concrete block and chair, which I squeeze into the boot of my car. When travelling a long journey I usually start early, have lunch along the way, arrive early afternoon, set up props, arrange Lighting with the Lighting Operator, have a rest, eat very little and then go on stage.'

The travelling aspect of touring is something Richard actually relishes.

'I love meeting new people. Travelling can be more tiring than performing. You need to be fresh going on stage as you burn up a huge amount of physical and emotional energy. You're never tired on stage, you don't have time to be or you can't afford to be. I've met lovely people in my travels to small Theatres and 'Parish Halls. Committees and Theatre Management, they treat you like royalty.'

'From the Shoulders Down' is based loosely on his personal observations from having spent forty years on construction sites. The central character, P.J. Mulpeter, a builder's labourer, begins his final day at work, have spent fifty years working for the same firm, under three different generations of the same family. He's in a reflective mood and begins a journey from the poverty stricken 1950s to the present day. Interspersed throughout is a lightly sketched social history of Ireland.

On Saturday March 13 Richard's show returns to Blessington by popular demand, and he is already looking forward to putting on quite the show for his local audience.

'We have a new 200 seater Theatre in Blessington, thanks mainly to a hardworking team of volunteers under the Chairmanship of Pat Winters. There are a number of fundraising shows planned for the year, including March 13. When fully fitted it will have complete state of the art facilities.'

Now happily married to Miriam, and living in Blessington with their two children, Karen and Stephen, Richard has settled down to family life. However, he still enjoys that rush as he peers out from behind the backstage curtains to have a look at the expectant audience before he takes to the stage.

'I still get nervous every time I am waiting to hit the stage. But that's a good thing. Controlled nerves are a good thing.'

Tickets for his Blessington performance on March 13 cost €15 and can be purchased from the office shop, Hennessy's, the parish office shop and from any group member.