Born in Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon in 1953, Garry moved to Galway with her family in 1965. In 1971 she started an Arts Degree (History & English) in University College Galway (now NUIG) and joined the college drama society. Fresh out of college in 1975, Druid was founded by Garry, Marie Mullen and Mick Lally who came together to present a summer season of theatre. The creativity and determination demonstrated by Garry and her colleagues in those formative years led to a series of major arts projects which breathed fresh life into Galway city. In 1979 it was Druid’s move into the Quay Street area of Galway that started the development of the left bank area of what is now the most visited part of the city.

Garry Hynes and Druid have been on a remarkable journey since the company was founded in 1975. Druid has toured the length and breadth of Ireland and has toured extensively overseas making it one of the premier theatre companies in the English-speaking world. Throughout her career, Garry has received numerous awards, notably when in 1998 she made history on Broadway by becoming the first woman to win a Best Director Tony Award (the theatre industry’s equivalent of the Oscars) and in 2005 when she was the recipient of the Freedom of Galway City, the highest honour a city can bestow upon one of its citizens.

Outside of her work with Druid, Garry has worked with The Abbey and Gate Theatres (Ireland) and internationally with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Court in the UK, and with Second Stage, Signature Theater and Manhattan Theater Club in New York; and with The Kennedy Centre in Washington.