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Line 48: Encouraged by the St Theresa's Hall success, Yeats, Lady Gregory, Æ, Martyn, and John Millington Synge founded the Irish National Theatre Society in 1903 with funding from Horniman. They were joined by actors and playwrights from Fay's company. At first, they staged performances in the Molesworth Hall.<ref>Mikhail, E. H. ''The Abbey Theatre: Interviews and Recollections', Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, October 1987. p. 97. {{ISBN\|0-389-20616-4}}</ref> When the [[Mechanics' Theatre]] in Lower Abbey Street and an adjacent building in Marlborough Street became available after fire safety authorities closed it, Horniman and William Fay agreed to buy and refit the space to meet the society's needs.<ref>McCormack, W. J. (ed.). ''The Blackwell Companion to Modern Irish Culture'', Blackwell Publishing, 28 January 2002. p. 7. {{ISBN\|0-631-22817-9}}</ref> On 11 May 1904, the Society formally accepted Horniman's offer of the use of the building. As Horniman did not usually reside in Ireland, the royal [[letters patent]] required were granted in the name of Lady Gregory, although paid for by Horniman. The founders appointed William Fay theatre manager, responsible for training the actors in the newly established repertory company. They commissioned Yeats' brother [[Jack Yeats\|Jack]] to paint portraits of all the leading figures in the society for the foyer, and hired [[Sarah Purser]] to design stained glass for the same space.<ref>Frazier, p. 172.</ref> On 27 December, the curtains went up on opening night. The bill consisted of three one-act plays, ''On Baile's Strand'' and ''Cathleen Ní Houlihan'' by Yeats, and ''[[Spreading the News]]'' by Lady Gregory. On the second night, ''In the Shadow of the Glen'' by Synge replaced the second Yeats play. These two bills alternated over a five-night run. Frank Fay, playing [[Cúchulainn]] in ''On Baile's Strand'', was the first actor on the Abbey stage.<ref>Hunt, p. 61.</ref> Although Horniman had designed the costumes, neither she nor Lady Gregory was present, as Horniman had already returned to England. In addition to providing funding, her chief role with the Abbey over the coming years was to organise publicity and bookings for their touring productions in London and provincial England. In 1905 without properly consulting Horniman, Yeats, Lady Gregory and Synge decided to turn the theatre into a [[limited liability company]], the National Theatre Society Ltd.<ref>Richards, Shaun. ''The Cambridge Companion to Twentieth-Century Irish Drama'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, February 2004. p. 63. {{ISBN\|0-521-00873-5}}</ref> Annoyed by this treatment, Horniman hired [[Ben Iden Payne]], a former Abbey employee, to help run a new repertory company which she founded in [[Manchester, England\|Manchester]].<ref>Butler Yeats, William. ''The Collected Letters of W. B. Yeats: Volume IV: 1905–1907'', Oxford: Oxford University Press, Republished 1996. p. 616. {{ISBN\|0-19-812684-0}}</ref> Leading actors [[Máire Nic Shiubhlaigh]], Honor Lavelle ([[Helen Laird]]), Emma Vernon, Máire Garvey, Frank Walker, [[Seamus O'Sullivan]], [[Pádraic Colum]] and [[George Roberts (publisher)\|George Roberts]] left the Abbey.<ref>Edward Kenny (nephew of Máire Nic Shiubhlaigh): The Splendid Years: recollections of Maire Nic Shiubhlaigh, as told to Edward Kenny, with appendices and lists of Irish theatre plays, 1899–1916. Duffy and Co., Dublin. 1955</ref>

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