Entertainment
Window into the underworld of Dublin’s mean streets
Watching Love/Hate should be approached in the same way that Wayne and Lizzie watch Nidge – there’s no need to go rushing at things. Which is why we’ve waited four weeks into the new series to proclaim what most viewers already know – it just gets better and better every year.
It might be the fact that there are comedic elements in the midst of such vicious brutality; it could be the incredibly strong, rounded characters at its core – or it might just be that it is the most realistic drama on the box anywhere at the minute.
God be with the days that Sunday nights were for The Riordans or for Dinny and Miley in Glenroe – now it’s the mean streets of Dublin’s inner city and a world that, thankfully, most of us know nothing about.
But those who do – the Gardaí, the tabloid hacks, the callers to Liveline – tell us that this is life as it truly is, down among the deadbeats, the druggies and the gangsters who crawl out from under their urban rocks.
When we first encountered Love/Hate it was all about John Boy and Darren; it was all too styled and pretty and frankly unbelievable as a gritty drama. It was style over substance and the biggest crimes we witnessed were crimes against fashion.
That’s not something you’d throw at it now – and it’s not just the storylines or the realism that hook you; it’s the depth of character that allows you to see the softer side to a scumbag like Nidge, or to laugh along with Fran, who might well be the most malevolent man on the box.
It’s also the fact that Love/Hate isn’t just an hour about criminality – we’ve seen Nidge’s mother die on the eve of his own little lad’s first Holy Communion.
We’ve seen a superlative acting performance from Killian Scott as the brain-damaged Tommy – damaged, it should be said, because Nidge beat him within an inch of his life with a golf club – as he proves the weakest link in the tiger kidnap gang by returning to the scene of the crime.
He’s also singlehandedly restored the economic fortunes of fizzy orange.
This year we’ve finally seen the cops – as Moynihan and his gang deploy an unorthodox approach to flushing out Dublin’s drugs vermin, not least by trying to split the gang by putting pressure on Tommy and then setting up Elmo as a rat … by spraying graffiti on the wall of his flat block.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Sentinel.
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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