Musical charts life of Derry nun on path to sainthood

Davy Wilson & Mike McBride - BBC News NISat, November 14, 2026 at 6:36 AM UTC

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Lilly (left) and Ellen-Mary are two of the stars of the musical

A musical about nun Clare Crockett, whose cause for sainthood is being considered by the Catholic Church, has been performed in her home city for the first time.

A Famous Nun: Clare Crockett - A Life Brought to the Stage opened at St Columb's Hall in Londonderry on Friday.

A second performance takes place on Saturday, on what would have been Sister Clare's 44th birthday.

Sr Clare died in 2016 when an earthquake caused the collapse of the school in Ecuador where she was teaching music.

Sr Clare Crockett died in April 2016

"We're really looking forward to it and it's amazing that they've brought it to the town," her sister Shauna Gill, told BBC Radio Foyle.

"It's really brilliant."

Written and composed by members of the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother, Sr Clare's religious order, the production was first performed last summer to a crowd of around 2,000 young people at a Marian Eucharistic event in Spain.

Sr Rachel Maria, who helped bring the production to Derry, said it had been warmly received.

"It was really well done, really beautiful, and it helped I think a lot of the young people really to have a think about their own personal relationship with the Lord.," she said.

"We just thought it would be a beautiful thing to bring the musical here to Ireland, especially as this year marked the 10th anniversary of Sr Clare's death."

Ellen-Mary took to the stage on Friday for the first time as Sr Clare

The Derry performances are the first time A Famous Nun is being performed in English.

It features a cast of women aged between 15 and 21 who have come from across the island of Ireland to perform.

Sr Rachel, who knew the Derry nun in the years before her death, said it looks at Sr Clare's life before she became a nun.

It also examines "how she encountered God and how she struggled to respond to her vocation", she added.

Lilly plays the role of Sr Clare's conscience, guiding the audience through her thoughts and feelings

"Sr Clare was very special, very talented," Sr Rachel said.

"I have lots of memories of her just joking around, being funny, bringing joy to everyone around her. She was great craic, as they say."

Following the Derry shows, the musical will be performed in the US.

Who was Sr Clare Crockett?

A mural of Sr Clare was painted in the Brandywell area of Derry to mark the 10th anniversary of her death

Sr Crockett was born in Derry in 1982 and grew up in the city's Brandywell area. As a teenager she dreamed of becoming an actress.

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While on a chance trip to Priego in central Spain in 2000, she attended a Catholic pilgrimage and later said she felt called by God.

That led her to join the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother.

She entered the order at 18, going on to work with young people in Spain, the US and Ecuador.

In April 2016, she was killed when an earthquake caused the collapse of a school where she was teaching music in Ecuador.

Since her death, her story has attracted followers around the world.

In 2025, the Catholic Church declared her a "Servant of God", the first formal stage in the process that can lead to sainthood.

Shauna Gill said her sister used to joke that she could be a "famous nun"

Gill said the musical's cast for the St Columb's Hall shows were performing it "with such love".

"They're just so excited to be doing it and they just love learning about Sr Clare and about her life."

Her sister, she said, was finally "getting her name on the stage the way she always wanted".

Gill said her sister had at times wanted to be "rich and famous" but had also wanted to be a nun.

The musical opened on Friday with an audience of schoolchildren from across the north west

Sr Clare, she said, would joke that maybe she could be a famous nun.

"And sure that's her - not in the way we wanted but I'm sure she'd be very proud and happy," she said.

Sr Clare is played by Ellen-Mary, while her conscience is portrayed by Lilly.

Their performances explore Clare’s journey from a rebellious teenager, who found herself lost in a life of constant partying, to discovering her faith.

Faye (left), Sophie (right) and teacher Zoe McFadden (centre) were among the audience to see the first show in Derry

Among the audience were pupils Faye and Sophie from Scoil Mhuire Buncrana in County Donegal.

"I knew a bit about Sr Clare beforehand, from what we had learned in Religion in school, but I definitely learned so much more after seeing the show and finding out about everything she went through," said Faye.

Sophie said she loved learning about Sr Clare's life.

She added: "I think her story shows that even if you take a wrong path, you can always find your way back, and I really enjoyed how they showed that on stage."

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