"The translation turns out to be more compelling than the original," wrote the Irish Times reviewer when the Irish language version of Martin McDonagh's Beauty Queen debuted premiered in Galway as Banrion Alainn an Lionain. In fact, you could argue that the play was written in Irish in the first place, but Irish seen through the pane of English.
You could argue that it started its life as a translation, a bit like the plays of Synge. What O Conghaile has done, in a way, is return the play to the original - in Irish, the words and even the melodrama, lose their stage Irishness and seem quite natural. Now Feile 2000 is bringing his distinguished version on tour.
It's at the Amharclann Ghaoth Dobhair, Co Donegal, tonight and tomorrow night; the Samuel Beckett Centre, Dublin, from Wednesday to Saturday, March 25th; An Chulturlann, Belfast, on March 26th; and Halla Einne, An Cheathru Rua, Co Galway, on April 1st and 2nd.