Connacht Tribune
Turning music into a fine art
A Connemara artist who used her time in lockdown to put her work on social media – in an effort to garner a wider fanbase – has had 25 of her most vibrant pieces put to music…by a virtual band which got together in the pandemic and has only released work online.
The collaboration between Aoife Dowd from Carna and Galway retro-rockers The Opacas has so far garnered 100 views on YouTube. But the band’s Pat Boyle says their sincere hope is that Aoife gets sales from the artistic collusion, which features a piano version of their summer single ‘Outta Time’.
“It’s played by keyboardist Peter Tobin and his laid-back jazz rendition
itself perfectly to showcasing Aoife’s work. We have used piano versions of our songs to showcase other painters and photographers in the past. Peter is a well-known musician in Galway and his piano versions are lovely so we wanted to use them to promote other artists.”
Aoife, who now lives in Oughterard with husband Noel Joyce and children, Cayden (10) and Holly (6), works as an art teacher in Scoil Phobail Mhic Dara Secondary school in Carna.
The 45-year-old paints in her spare time. The daughter of Carna artist Maureen Dowd and local businessman and builder Jackie Dowd, she began her creative studies in The Grennan Mill Craft School, Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, later going on to receive am honours degree and Hdip from the Limerick School of Art and Design.
“My artwork would probably be described as vibrant and impressionistic. I paint mostly landscapes in oil, I like to use strong and bright colours said as I love the energy they convey,” she reveals.
She draws her inspiration from the ever-changing moods, colours, light and vibrancy of the landscape in Connemara.
“I hope to capture more than just a scene in my work, but to draw the viewer in through a vibrant use of colour and textures. I want to create a sense of wonder, spirit and curiosity.”
She has had some successful exhibitions but this was not possible in the 18 months of lockdown, so she began to make use of Instagram and twitter to share her artwork.
“This led to lots of interest in my work and questions about a website. This is something I have always thought of setting up, so lockdown just motivated me to get it done. It has been going really well so far. Fine art prints and special commissions of portraits and landscapes have been popular.”
The Opacas are Galway musicians Steve Talbot, Peter Tobin and Pat Boyle, joined by Leeds based guitarist Mark Rayner.
“We are dedicated to making fun music and videos which they hope make people smile. The Opacas came about during the first Covid-19 lockdown when all venues for live performance were shut down. We released our first single in September 2020.
“The Opacas collaborate with local artists, theatre groups and musicians in creating music and videos which we publish on YouTube and social media.”
The band have released acoustic piano versions of their previous releases on YouTube and have showcased the work of painters Jin Yong, Patrick Kinneally and Emma Cownie. They have also showcased the work of photographers Chaosheng Zhang and Rebecca Harris.
Their video for ‘Outta Time’ features Lego creations at various Galway landmarks. A previous video was filmed around hotspots of Kinvara.
All Opacas videos can be found on YouTube or on www.Opacas.com. Aoife’s art can be viewed and purchased on www.aoifedowdartist.com.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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
