Captivated by the allure of the sea, man has always been intrigued by underwater exploration and the mysteries of the deep. The year is 1873. Dundalk-based, noviciate Christian Brother, John Philip Holland is obsessed with his design for a bizarre, submergible craft. His other obsession happens to be his housekeeper, Maggie B. Farrell. When Holland casts aside his cassock and follows his sweetheart to America, he finds himself caught up in the frantic, international race to tame 'the Mistress of the Sea'.

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 man faces a terrible choice: integrity versus intellectual sell-out.

This new play by Aidan Harney, directed by David Horan and performed by Upstate Live is infused with the inventiveness of the eccentric genius, this true-story drama tells the little-known tale of 'the father of the modern submarine' and one of Ireland's greatest, unsung naval heroes.

Upstate Live has developed a reputation for producing theatre, which is passionate, evocative, sophisticated yet arrestingly pure.

Described by Irish Theatre Magazine as "Genuinely gripping… there is no doubting that Harney is a real talent." and proclaimed by the Irish Times as "Aidan Harney's charmingly playful bio-drama of the father of the modern submarine… imaginative stagecraft, entertainingly nimble physicality." Submarine Man is an exciting drama, which is at times both fierce and uplifting.

Tickets are now on sale priced £9.79/£7.83 available from the Island Arts Centre box office, Tel: 028 92 509254 or online at www.islandartscentre.com