Aula Maxima, Maynooth

Aula Maxima is a theatre building in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. It was built in 1893.[1]

Aula Maxima comes from Latin, meaning Great Hall.[2] The building is also known simply as "The Aula". It is situated on the South Campus of the National University of Ireland, Maynooth and St Patrick's College, Maynooth and is the main theatre for the university, college and surrounding area. It also serves as the conferring hall of the university. The Aula was also used as a Cinema for the students in the College, with the Maynooth Students Union screening films there.


Aula Maxima is known for its historical importance, and famed for its many ghost stories and apparent ghostly sightings.

History

Right Rev. Mgr. McMahon of the The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC originally gifted the theatre to St Patrick's College, his alma mater,[3][4] and its construction was completed under the presidency of Bishop Robert Brown.

Aula Maxima houses a projection box, which was in regular use for 40 years.

Dramatic performances

NUI Maynooth's Drama Society (also known as The Roscian Players) is the resident company of Aula Maxima. A wide variety of their productions staged therein. It also regularly sees performances by St Patrick's College's dramatic society, NUI Maynooth Chamber Orchestra[5] and Maynooth Community Players:[6]

1997:

2005/2006:

2006/2007:

2007/2008:

  1. Berkoff's Lunch
  2. Durang's An Actor's Nightmare
  3. Chekov's The Bear
  4. Barnes's Nobody Here But Us Chickens
  5. Yeats's Purgatory
  6. Stoppard's 15 Minute Hamlet
  7. Duplicit (student-written)

2008/2009:

2009/2010:

2010/2011:

2011/2012

2012/2013

2013/2014

2014/2015

2015/2016:

Folklore and the Aula Ghost

There are numerous stories detailing the presence of a ghost in Aula Maxima. Simply known as the Aula Ghost, he is reputed to be the spirit of a projectionist, active in Maynooth in the 1940s. The projectionist was a seminarian and member of St Patrick's College who fell to his death from the projectionist's box in Aula Maxima. Many superstitions exist regarding treatment of Aula Maxima and the Aula Ghost. One such superstition centres on the ghost's apparent turning of a chair placed over the projection box to face away from the stage if he does not like a performance, or the manner in which the staging of the performance was conducted.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-07-20. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
  2. ↑ http://www.stars21.com/translator/latin_to_english.html
  3. ↑ New Catholic Dictionary: Maynooth College Archived May 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ Msgr. James McMahon
  5. ↑ http://music.nuim.ie/musiccampus/universityorchestra
  6. ↑ http://www.maynoothcommunityplayers.com/upcoming-events.php

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