Rock Chick Nuala’s Swinging Sixties sing-song

Bradley Bytes – A sort of political column by Dara Bradley

Ever since City Councillor Nuala Nolan, after a few Bacardi and cokes, stormed the stage at Mayor Pádraig Conneely’s inauguration bash at O’Connell’s bar Eyre Square, whipped the microphone off musician Don Stiffe and regaled revellers with her rendition of the Tennessee Waltz, Bradley Bytes has been a fan of her X-Factor style.

If you missed it, fret not: Singing Nuala is back. The Labour Party member is to imitate 1960s rock star Janis Joplin at a Stars in their Eyes fundraising event for the Patrician Musical Society. It’s hosted by Marc Roberts and is on in the Salthill Hotel on Friday. It costs €20.

It’ll be worth it alone to see Nuala rocking it out. Peace man.

Rock Chick Nuala isn’t the only musician politician among us, however.

Apparently Junior Minister Ciaran Cannon is a dab hand at performing, too.

Cannon apparently was on piano and vocals’ duty with the Kiltullagh Community Choir at the Town Hall Theatre last Thursday. Maybe Nuala and Ciaran can do a duet sometime.

Meetings in low places

Politicians have a lot of meetings to attend.

Some interesting, others banal; some important, others less so.

They also, from time to time – it’s happening more regularly now – have what they like to call ‘high level’ or ‘high powered’ meetings.

They call them ‘high powered’ or ‘high level’ because that attaches a certain importance to the meeting.

‘This is no ordinary meeting; this is a meeting with somebody important about something important’ is what they’re trying to say without actually saying it explicitly.

But what we can’t understand is what does a low-powered meeting look like? Maybe the participants haven’t eaten their Weetabix, not recharged their Duracell batteries.

Perhaps, as we suspect, the people attending a low powered meeting, as opposed to the high powered ones, just haven’t got as high opinion of themselves and their own importance, as the attendees of the latter meetings do.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Sentinel.