Sr. Aengus Fitzpatrick
The Hazel Wand Theatre School was founded in 1993 in Omagh by Sister Aengus Fitzpatrick. Originally from Dublin, Sr. Aengus moved to Tyrone and commenced a teaching position at St. Bridget’s School in Omagh. She started a drama club at the school and quickly realised the need, not only for better drama opportunities for young people, but more importantly a cross-community group in which to develop their skills in the performing arts.
Hazel Wand opened its doors in 1993 as Omagh’s first fully cross-community group. Since that time, children from all corners of the county, and even further afield, have come together without boundary or prejudice to perform and express themselves in a safe and welcoming environment. Sr. Aengus was awarded an MBE for her services to cross-community work in Northern Ireland in 2011, a fitting tribute for her tireless work to ensure an all-inclusive safe haven for the children and young adults of Tyrone.
Sr. Aengus was an impeccable director, with a sharp eye for detail, high expectations and complete focus on character development. Her productions were known for their quality and professionalism. Although a thespian through and through, she was best known for her staging of musicals and under her direction Hazel Wand performed: Annie, Oliver, Love from Judy, Joseph and The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, The Sound of Music, The Wizard of Oz, The Boyfriend, My Fair Lady, West Side Story, Les Miserables, Me and My Girl, Mary Poppins and Fiddler on the Roof.
Born Mary Fitzpatrick in Dublin, Mary chose ‘Aengus’ as her religious name when taking her vows after her brother Aengus. Years later Hazel Wand was given its name from Yeats' poem ‘The Song of a Wandering Aengus.’ A poem about never giving up on your dreams…
I went out to the hazel wood,
Because a fire was in my head,
And cut and peeled a hazel wand,
And hooked a berry to a thread;
And when white moths were on the wing,
And moth-like stars were flickering out,
I dropped the berry in a stream
And caught a little silver trout.
When I had laid it on the floor
I went to blow the fire a-flame,
But something rustled on the floor,
And someone called me by my name:
It had become a glimmering girl
With apple blossom in her hair
Who called me by my name and ran
And faded through the brightening air.
Though I am old with wandering
Through hollow lands and hilly lands,
I will find out where she has gone,
And kiss her lips and take her hands;
And walk among long dappled grass,
And pluck till time and times are done,
The silver apples of the moon,
The golden apples of the sun.
The staff at Hazel Wand strive to continue the work she started in adversity, knowing she made what we do possible. Never far from our minds in the Hazel Wand studio, Sr. Aengus will always be all things ‘Hazel Wand’.