Entertainment
Paul Kimmage and the unquenchable thirst for truth
Paul Kimmage comes across as a guy who could comfortably pick a fight with a mirror; because even in the world of journalism, there are mavericks and there are mavericks – and then, in a field all on his own, snorting and kicking up the dust, there’s Paul Kimmage.
To say the man is passionate about his beloved sport of cycling is like suggesting that Elizabeth Taylor was fond of marriage – he takes the whole thing so personally, you’d think he owned the sport.
And in a way he does – or rather he wants the sport to be owned by the people, by the fans and by the clean riders as opposed to the money men and the drugs cheats that he always has in his sights.
Rough Rider on RTE1 last week was an insight into the world of professional cycling, but it also provided a window into the mind and soul of Kimmage. The story is straightforward – Kimmage is joined by wife Ann, director Adrian McCarthy and crew as he makes the ferry crossing to cover the 2013 Tour de France.
He’s bouncing back after being let go by the Sunday Times, and the Sunday Independent has hired him to give his own unique take on this Tour which takes place under such a cloud of suspicion.
But this was mesmeric television as you followed the former rider, now multi-award-winning journalist on the toughest cycle race known to man, like a human thorn in the side of the establishment and those who would even dare to cheat.
Yet Kimmage himself cheated – three times by his own admission, even if the races were of little or no importance – and he was so disgusted by those clandestine acts that he quit the sport he so passionately loves.
That might have been the end of that, because Kimmage already had a second career – as a sports journalist with the Sunday Tribune – lined up and ready to go. It was a trade he was instantly successful in, and he was to go on and win international awards for his books as well.
But Kimmage doesn’t do easy and so he wrote Rough Ride, a book that exposed his own doping, but also by extension alluded to the fact that there was more chance of finding a nun in a brothel than a clean rider on the Tour de France.
By association, this cast a cloud of suspicion on Ireland’s cycling heroes – Kelly and Roche – and Roche in particular was devastated at the betrayal by a man who was his childhood friend and one of his closest allies in the sport.
Perhaps the most heartbreaking moment in this entire documentary came towards the end when all riders who’d ever completed the Tour de France were invited to a special viewing platform for the end of this 100th race – and as Roche shook hands with the world and its mother at the front, his old friend watched down from the back benches and presumably wondered how this might have been.
But Rough Rider wasn’t just about covering the Tour de France – it was the story of a man who put the scandal of drugs, and deaths that resulted from blood doping, above any loss of lifelong friendships.
It was the story of an old-fashioned journalist who, when he saw a story, was like a dog with a bone. Even when he was threatened with multi-million euro legal actions, he wouldn’t let it go.
He is the ultimate whistleblower, the perennial outsider, a man who might cause you to slip quietly out of a room if you saw him coming your way.
And then in complete contrast to this Mount Vesuvius of a writer, you had his long-suffering wife Ann, a voice of reason and balance . . . an Andrews Liver Salts to calm the eternal inner storm.
His own father – himself a former cyclist – had his own perception on it: “Paul was unlucky to be born perfect in an imperfect world,” he said, and for once in almost two hours of a documentary, even his son laughed.
Rough Rider was a wonderfully insightful piece of work that captured Kimmage the journalist but also Kimmage the maverick who is determined to clean up cycling, even if he has to do it on his own.
And clearly – despite the whiter than white claims of so many of the riders and teams – he will have his work cut out. But as he cycled to the spot where the British rider Tommy Simpson collapsed and died during the ascent of Mont Ventoux during the 1967 Tour de France, you sensed that this passion was unquenchable no matter what obstacles were put in his way.
He believes that his type of journalism is dead, that there’s no place for it in the commercial reality of today; if that’s true, then more the pity because while Kimmage himself is the first to admit that he’s a royal pain in the ass, without those who lift the stones and stir the pot, there’s just consensus.
And whatever else Paul Kimmage does, he doesn’t do consensus.
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.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
