Entertainment
Communities gather to celebrate Culture Night
Over 100 events are taking place around Galway City and County as part of the annual Culture Night, which will be celebrated on September 20.
In Oranmore the Active in Age Group and Respond Housing Association are jointly hosting a batik workshop and film screening in the Respond Old Convent Building, while the Galway artist group Akin are displaying their work in the 15th century Oranmore Castle. Reflecting the diversity that exists in the county, Oranmore’s Afro-Renaissance group will host an intercultural dance and music event in the Maree Community Hall.
In Athenry Michael Loftus, Tom Ward and Máire Greaney Daly will be in the town’s library at 6.30pm, revisiting old poetic favourites and discovering new treats as they share the pleasure poetry gives them
At 7pm the Athenry Heritage Centre will present an evening of heritage and culture with local historian, Ronan Killeen and a film presentation from fifth class students in Athenry Boys School. Culture Night in Athenry will conclude with Concertos by Candlelight at 8pm in Athenry Castle where selected movements from popular concertos will be performed by students and staff of Athenry Music School. This promises to be an atmospheric and magical performance in a wonderful setting.
Portumna has been awarded the title of County Galway Village of Culture 2013-14 for its line up of events involving the whole community. Details of the Portumna Culture Night activities, which are taking places as part of this year’s Shorelines Festival, can be seen in the front page of the Connacht Tribune Lifestyle section.
Clarinbridge Culture Night kicks off from 3pm in the village’s parish hall, with exhibitions showcasing art, local historic pieces, craft and videos. From 4pm there will be a pop-up café, a drama group session, a history talk of the parish hall and some readings. The Galway Ensemble in Residence, ConTempo Quartet will be performing there at 9pm and Culture Night will wrap with some traditional Irish music.
West of the county some Culture Night highlights include events in Clifden and on Inishlacken and Inisbofin Islands.
Weather permitting, members of the public are invited to a day on Inishlacken Island from 2pm where there will be an exhibition featuring the work of the Inishlacken Project artists in residence. Soul landscape/Presiding Spirits includes work by Mick O’Dea, Margaret Irwin, Pearl Kinnear, Caroline Wright, Kathleen Furey, Eamon Colman, Joseph McWilliams, Catherine McWilliams, Simon McWilliams, Gavin Lavelle, Jennifer Cunningham, Helen McDonnell, Rosie McGurran, Susan McKeever, Leonie King, Deborah Watkins, Catherine Gaston, Jay Murphy and Gerard Dillon. The exhibition will open with a traditional music session and poetry reading by Belfast poet Maria McManus.
In Clifden, the Tullyvoheen Residents’ Association and St Joseph’s Court Residents Association are hosting a Culture at the Courtyard afternoon from 4-8pm in the Courtyard of the Station House Hotel (weather permitting), showcasing traditions such as music, song, dance, art, crafts and traditional crafts.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
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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