Submarine Man?

A new stage production, Submarine Man, portrays the life of the Irish born emigrant who modernized the submarine.

The life story of an Irish inventor who became the father of the modern submarine is about to be staged.

'Submarine Man' captures the tale of John P Holland, one of Ireland’s lesser-known heroes.

Holland, from Liscannor in Co Clare, was a teacher with the Christian Brothers until he emigrated to the USA in 1872.

He continued to teach for another seven years until he eventually built a small submarine.

The success of the machine, which could travel 800km on the surface of the sea and 40km submerged, led Holland to form a company which secured a contract to build a submarine for the US Navy.

Submarine Man is described as an hilarious, yet at times incredibly moving account of one of Ireland’s greatest unsung heroes.

It portrays the inventor captivated by the allure of the sea and obsessed with his design for a bizarre, submergible craft.

Throughout the production, the scientist is fiercely courted by the fractured Fenian movement, hoping to turn his ingenious submarine on the British, while the US Naval department sees the potential to gain a powerful upper hand in warfare.

Holland, a dreamer and a pacifist, bobs and weaves his way through duplicity and threats on his life in 1890s New York, but ultimately this humble Irish school-teacher faces a terrible choice: integrity versus intellectual sell-out.

Written by Dundalk man Aidan Harney, 'Submarine Man' will premiere at the Drogheda Arts Festival on April 29, where it will run for three nights.

The production will then tour Dundalk, Ennis, Navan and Ballymun.

Sounds interesting, though probably not Broadway material.