Entertainment
Clifden gets set to celebrate its 36th Community Arts Festival
Galway blues singer, Mary Coughlan and the county’s newest live party band, Crossfire will kick off this year’s Clifden Community Arts Festival, which will run from September 19-29.
Details of the 36th Clifden programme were announced on Monday night by renowned Irish musician, composer, producer and arranger Bill Whelan, who is best known for his work on Riverdance.
This year’s Festival has a broad range of music, theatre, film, comedy, literary talks and readings, as well as its well-established dedicated schools’ programme
Director of the event, Brendan Flynn told guests at Monday’s launch in Clifden’s Station House Hotel, that the “phenomenal community engagement” that was a feature of Clifden’s festival from the beginning has helped set the event apart from others. “It truly ignites the spirit of the people; it’s really inspirational,” he said.
The festival will be officially opened on Thursday, September by theatre director, Garry Hynes of Galway company, Druid
‘Gyp-Hop’ kings, The Latchikos will be performing on Friday, September 20, and there will also be a concert from accordion master Máirtín O’Connor, fiddle player Zoe Conway and guitar and bouzouki maestro Donal Lunny.
Other musical events throughout the festival include a performance from Sharon Shannon on September 21, while on the same night the The Guinness Choir will perform Handel’s Messiah, with a stellar cast of singers including soprano Cara O’Sullivan. The Callino Quartet with Tom Dunne will be on stage on September 23, while Irish-American folk group, Cherish the Ladies will play on September 24. Guitarist and singer Declan Sinnott will be in concert on September 26, as will Kaleidoscope Camino.
On the literary front, poet, publisher and novelist Dermot Bolger and playwright, Bernard Farrell will give a reading from their work on September 20.
On Saturday, September 21, four-time Jacob Award winner and RTÉ veteran, Mike Murphy will conduct a public interview with Bill Whelan. The same day, UK Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy will join forces with musician and actor John Sampson, while author and journalist, Kevin Myers will lecture on Commemorations: Ireland’s Fatal Addictions.
Fishamble: The New Theatre Company will present their performances of Pat Kinevane’s one-man plays, Silent and Forgotten on September 24 and 25. Both will be performed by the writer, with Silent being staged on September 24 and Forgotten on September 25.
Former Fianna Fáil Minister Mary O’Rourke will read from her memoir, Just Mary on September 28, and on the same day historian Diarmuid Ferriter will deliver the annual John Moriarty lecture on the theme of The Isle of Glorious Destiny?” Change, Continuity and Crisis in the Irish Republic 1963-2013.
On a lighter note, Ireland’s leading processional and landscape theatre company LuXe will pass through Clifden on Saturday, September 28 for the Festival’s Finale Parade. Joining them will be Fidget Feet, fresh from premiering their brand new outdoor aerial crane, the spectacular Firebirds at the Fleadh Cheoil in Derry. This event, filled with visuals, dance and music, promises to bring children and adults alike into a world of imagination and fun.
Local schools will play host to a number of different events during Clifden Arts Festival. These include workshops, a film festival, specialist talks and lectures on a broad range of topics, as well as concerts and readings from established poets and writers.
The Clifden Art trail, which is now in its seventh year, will also make a return. This is an exciting shop-window exhibition of work by artists who have strong links with the Connemara area. An Arts Council touring exhibition will also ensure a feast for the eyes as the entire town will be used as a public exhibition space, hosting a variety of group and solo exhibitions, resulting in a fabulous array of colourful and imaginative displays.
l A full programme of events and tickets for Clifden can be found online at www.clifdenarts week.ie. To book call 091-442730 or email: boxoffice@clifdenartsweek.ie
Folk duo Niall Teague and Pádraic Joyce are launching their new album What Will We Be, a blend of folk, Americana and acoustic music, this Friday, May 19, at 8pm in An Taibhdhearc.
The success of their well-received 2020 release Taobh le Taobh, as well as recent successes at the Pan Celtic and Oireachtas Song Contests, spurred the duo on to record this new album which represents many years of collaboration and musical development.
It features Niall and Pádraic on vocals, harmonies, and acoustic guitars, Maidhc Ó hÉanaigh on double bass and Neil Fitzgibbon on fiddle. The catchy title track, What Will We Be, features contributions from percussionist Jim Higgins (The Stunning, Christy Moore, Paul Brady) and haunting, driving melodies on vocals, guitar, and fiddle.
Themes of love and hope are woven through Come Away with Me which features interplay between piano and fiddle as well as rich vocal harmonies.
People, places, and broken dreams are celebrated and lamented on Martin and Tom, Guitar Gold, Memories of You and Achill Island. The influence of David Henry Thoreau’s novel Walden features on the tracks Simple and Wise and Walden, with the beauty of nature, escape and simple pleasures at their core.
The album moves from minimalistic folk ballads such as Galway Ghost to swirling, string-laden arrangements on the song Neptune, both of which are influenced by maritime tales from Galway. Much of the work on this album was supported by the Arts Council, including work with musical arranger Eoin Corcoran and the string ensemble Treo.
The album will be launched this Friday, May 19, at 8pm in an Taibhdhearc. Tickets €22, plus booking fee at Eventbrite.ie.
Dunmore is the place to be this weekend for lovers of traditional music, as the Galway County Fleadh will take place there from this Friday, May 19, to Sunday, May 23.
It is 10 years since Dunmore last hosted a fleadh and the local Comhaltas branch, which has re-formed since Covid, is looking forward to facilitating this gathering of music, song, dance and craic.
The official Opening Concert will take place in Dunmore Town Hall this Friday at 8pm with the acclaimed Mulcahy family from Limerick. Mick, Louise and Michelle are well known throughout the country, thanks to their live performances, television appearances and numerous CDs. They were the winners of the TG4 Gradam Ceoil Grúpa Ceoil Award for 2023. Tickets for their concert can be purchased on the door and a great night of music is promised.
Two days of competitions will kick off this Saturday at the town’s Community School, with more than 1,500 competitors taking part. Participants will be hoping to qualify for the Connacht Fleadh 2023, which will be held in Ballina, County Mayo, from June 23 to July 2.
Competitions for those aged Under 10, Under 12 and Under 15 will be held in a large variety of instruments on Saturday, as well as in singing and Comhrá Gaeilge. Sunday’s competitions will be for the Under 18 and Over 18 ages groups, as well as in dancing.
On both days a large entry is expected for Grúpaí Cheoil and Céilí Band competitions across all age groups.
Seventeen Comhaltas branches from across Galway will have participants in this weekend’s competitions, which will result in a large number of visitors to the Dunmore area.
Members of the public are welcome to attend the competitions, which offer a great opportunity to hear and see the talent on display. There will be sessions in local pubs over the weekend as well and everybody is welcome to attend these.
For more information on the County Fleadh, go to www.galwaycomhaltas.ie.
Music for Galway’s concert with renowned Swiss pianist Cédric Pescia which had been due to take place on April 27 but which had to be deferred, will now take place next Tuesday, May 23, at 8pm, in the Emily Anderson Concert Hall at the University of Galway.
This concert of German classics with Bach at its core, will brings the Bach element of Music for Galway’s 41st season to an end.
This world-class pianist who won the famous Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition, has a repertoire that spans many eras from baroque to contemporary and he is widely known for his elaborate programmes. Cédric Pescia describes music as ‘language and movement at the same time’.
Audiences will have a chance to experience his soft, clear touch as he performs a programme for solo piano that will include classics such as Schumann’s popular Waldszenen (Forest Scenes), a suite of nine short pieces, and the penultimate of Beethoven’s piano sonatas, No. 31. These pieces will be interspersed with French Suites by Bach.
■ Ticket for Cédric Pescia’s concert are available at www.musicforgalway.ie, or by phone 091 705962 and on the door on the night. They cost €20/€18. The price for fulltime students of all ages is €6 while MfG Friends can avail of the friends’ rate of €16.
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