In 1957, The Lyric Players launched a Literary Magazine to champion the work of local writers, artists, and poets. Threshold magazine also provided an important forum for analysis and critique. Eclectic and far-ranging in its scope, international artists and theatre companies were regularly featured alongside home-grown talent. Threshold was produced in-house with Mary O’Malley as Editor and John Hewitt as Poetry Editor.

Regularly in print for thirty-three years, Threshold enjoyed the support of guest editors such as Brian Friel and featured many of Ireland’s leading literary figures including Seamus Heaney, Austin Clarke, Paul Durcan, and Michael Longley. Today they provide a fascinating insight into the cultural landscape of the time.

As part of the Lyric Lives Heritage Project, we’d like to restore a complete collection of Threshold publications to the Lyric Theatre archive. We’ve listed below copies that are missing from the Lyric’s current collection. Do you have any of these editions of Threshold? You can help! By donating these missing issues to our collection, your contribution will be credited in the archive records and you’ll be helping ensure that this integral part of the Lyric’s history remains accessible to future generations.

Missing Threshold Editions:

• Spring, Summer, Winter: 1957
• All editions: 1958
• Spring, Summer, Winter: 1959
• Spring/Summer: 1960
• Autumn/Winter: 1961
• Publication 17: 1963
• Publication 18: 1964
• Publication 22: 1969
• Publication 23: 1970
• Publication 27: 1976
• Publication 39: 1990

Watch this web page for further listings of important memorabilia needed to add to the Lyric Theatre’s Archival Collection.