THE idea of producing a full scale Irish theater festival in New York City is a notion so mad, so bewilderingly ambitious that most Irish theater makers here would have suppressed it immediately.

But George Heslin, 36, artistic director of Origin Theatre Company, has

stamina and the gift of remaining clear and concise under pressure.

Within a minute of meeting him he can convince you that a New York Irish theatre festival should have happened years ago, and that he's person with the vision to now get it done.

And get it done he has. For five days this September, no less than five new Irish plays will receive their American premieres off-Broadway as part of Origin's groundbreaking Irish Theater Festival at the 59 East 59 Street Theater.

From a short list of 15 award winning Irish playwrights, Origin has selected five and invited them to New York. The plan is simplicity itself - bring the Irish writers over, show them the real New York (by subway, naturally) and then get them to write five new plays about it.

If this sounds like dodgy community theater (with all that entails), think again. These are award winning Irish writers, Fulbright scholars and celebrated emerging artists.

Many, like Abbie Spallen, have seen their work rapturously received here in recent months. Spallen's Newry-based play Pumpgirl was a huge hit at the Manhattan Theatre Club.

In April the five writers will arrive and be designated a specific subway line. For five days they'll travel the line and seek inspiration from the neighborhoods along the way and the people they meet.

"What inspired me to do this is that I've worked on a personal level with a lot of these great new playwrights in Ireland and I never saw their work being produced in America. That was the first spark behind it," Heslin told the Irish Voice.

Heslin, a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, is an actor, director and producer, and Origin's artistic director since 2002. Along the way he's starred on the West End and off-Broadway. He first came to New York to study with Uta Hagen, the legendary acting teacher, eventually deciding to stay.

Since 2002 Origin has introduced the work of 23 Irish and European playwrights to the U.S., creating links with some of New York's finest Irish institutions on the way, including the Irish Consulate, NYU's Glucksman Ireland House and Fordham University Irish Studies program.

"I entered this business through acting. Now I've acted in 10 world premieres and I've brought the work of new Irish playwrights like Enda Walsh and Mark O'Rowe to American audiences for the first time," says Heslin.

The list of participating playwrights looks like a who's who of new Irish theater writers. In addition to Spallen, there's Morna Reegan, Ursula Rani Sarma, Gary Duggan and Pat Kivevane. Heslin clearly has an eye for talent, and it says much about him that each of these playwrights responded so enthusiastically.

It's important to note that Origin produced Enda Walsh's American debut play, Misterman, in 2002 in New York. That production was then invited to the Kennedy Center, and it returned to the Dublin Theatre Festival that year. Walsh's The Walworth Farce opens at the Saint Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn on April 17, produced by Galway's Druid Theatre.

"I never had the intention to set up a theater company myself, but one thing led to the other and six years later it's grown into something bigger than I ever set out to do, to be honest," says Heslin.

Heslin delights in matching American directors with Irish scripts, because they don't take anything for granted. There's no shorthand, and they question every line.

"Irish writers are meticulous, skilled people. They often get frustrated with the way their work is handled, and so they can get left behind in the process. With this festival I want writers to be very much involved," says Heslin

Before the first New York Irish Theater Festival opens in September, Origin will present the Mondays of May Reading Series, a series of staged readings at NYU Glucksman Ireland House beginning on May 5.

Each event is free (with a wine reception afterwards) on the four Mondays in May at 7.30 pm. This annual event has grown considerably in recent years and early arrival is advisable.

For details about the upcoming New York Irish Theatre Festival and the reading series in May visit www.origintheatre.org