Entertainment
Step into history to help recreate historic photo of 1913 Oireachtas
The City’s Town Hall Theatre is putting out a call for members of the public to become part of history by participating in the re-enactment of a famous photograph taken on the steps of the theatre during the Gaelic League Oireachtas of 1913.
The re-enactment will take place at Town Hall Theatre on Saturday, June 18. and is part of this year’s Galway Sessions which commemorates 1916 leader and piper Éamonn Ceannt. Anyone interested in participating should contact Siobhan at Galway Arts Centre siobhan@galwayartscentre.ie
This photograph features some of the men and women who went on to participate in the Rising and become the leaders of the new Irish state. Included in the picture are three future presidents of Ireland – Douglas Hyde, Seán T Ó Ceallaigh and Éamon de Valera. Also present were signatories of the 1916 Proclamation, Pádraig Pearse, Seán Mac Diarmada and Éamonn Ceannt, as well as other noted figures such as Cathal Brugha and Countess Markievicz
To commemorate this historical event, 163 people are needed for the new photograph to reflect the Ireland of today. A call has gone out far and wide, seeking descendants of the original figures to come to Galway and stand where their ancestors stood over a hundred years ago – so anybody with a family connection connection is invited to get in touch. Members of the public are also asked to participate and stand in for the relatives who cannot be there.
The recreation of this photograph is a historic moment and will become another and unique chapter in the city’s cultural archives.
The photograph was presented to the Town Hall by members of the Curran family in 2013 and is is now on permanent display at the theatre.
The 1913 Ard Fheis marked an important juncture in the history of the Gaelic League. Internal divisions between the apolitical old guard of the movement and a republican/IRB faction had come to the fore in the preceding months, leading eventually to the 1915 decision by the Gaelic League to revoke its previously politically neutral stance and support separatism.
The iconic photograph was discovered in a box in the attic by the Curran family in Dublin whose maternal grandparents were members of the Keating branch of the Gaelic League. Their grandfather and other relatives are in the photograph. Their grandmother had passed the photograph on to their mother and it lay safe in the attic of the family home for the best part of 50 years. When the family took the photo down from the attic in 2010, they noticed a few famous faces. The more they looked, the more well-known people they recognised and they were intrigued. At first, they thought that it was taken at the Gaelic League Oireachtas in 1914 and so spent a lot of time searching for a match for the building in Kerry.
In early 2013, when they finally identified the building as Galway’s Town Hall Theatre, they realised the full significance of the picture and the fact that 2013 was the centenary of the occasion on which it was taken.
”We gave the photograph to the Town Hall Theatre because it is only right that it should return to the place where it was taken to be enjoyed by the people of Galway and the public at large” said a family member.
A team of volunteers helped to identify most of people in the photograph and the family are hopeful that members of the public can help identify the few remaining names.
Contact Siobhan at Galway Arts Centre siobhan@galwayartscentre.ie if you are interested in taking part.
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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