September 2018
Fíbín Teo Theatre Group Presents: Jeramee, Hartleby and Oooglemore It is a joy to open Clifden Arts Festival with theatre, especially for our youngest audience, promoting the festival’s belief in the power of the arts in education. Jeramee, Hartleby and Oooglemore are at the seaside. Things happen – Hartleby spends a lot of time being bossy and trying to find the perfect spot. Oooglemore does some crazy dancing, shows off a bit, hits the shuttlecock too hard, loses it, spoils the game. Hartleby goes off in a huff. Jeramee makes it all OK. Revelling in delightful innocence and glorious stupidity, Jeramee, Hartleby and Oooglemore is a surprising and surreal encounter…
Reading with John O’Donnell, Tony Curtis and Seán Ó Coistealbha with music by Marie Walsh and friends John O’Donnell’s work has been published and broadcast in Ireland, the UK, the US, Australia and New Zealand. Awards include the Irish National Poetry Prize, the Ireland Funds Prize, the Irish Times/Anna Livia Prize, and the Hennessy Poetry Award. He also won the Hennessy Award for Fiction. His most recent work, Sunlight: New and Selected Poems, was published earlier this year; his other publications include Some Other Country (2002), Icarus Sees His Father Fly (2004), and On Water (2014). A senior counsel, he lives and works in Dublin. Festival regular Tony Curtis was…
This fresh new trio from the heart of Connemara combines Irish music and an intriguing blend of modern folk influences to produce a rich sound and exciting experience. Featuring a lineup of flute, whistles, harp, bodhrán, guitar and vocals – with some Irish dancing steps thrown in! – HighTime make a youthful and energetic statement. Equal measures of music and tradition, coupled with bold new arrangements, make for a tasty platter of music, song, and dance. Band members Conall and Séamus Flaherty (brothers) and Ciarán Bolger (friend and neighbour) have a unique musical connection through so many years of performing together. HighTime play with a breathtaking energy and passion that…
A forensic student of history, Hugh Duffy reflects on David Olusoga and Casper Erichsen’s haunting history The Kaiser’s Holocaust and its far-reaching consequences. Hugh has been a regular visitor for more than 50 years to his home in Aughrusmore, and has lived there permanently for the past five years. Reading history is his hobby. An accountant by profession, he has a long and varied career that commenced in the early 1950s in Dublin County Council. He moved to the Dublin Health Authority and then to RTÉ, where he worked from its inception until 1970. He has worked in the handbag manufacturing business, in Ryan’s Hotel, Dunkeld Holdings, Swan Tours, the…
Moon Magic, a group of people with different abilities, invites you to go on a dramatic journey filled with song, rhyme and mime along the Wild Atlantic Way. Devised and directed by Roz Coyne. Following Moon Magic’s performance, there will be an unveiling of Críost Linn’s indoor mural. All welcome. Sponsored by Pobal. Admission €5
Highly regarded for her work in arranging traditional Irish dance tunes and airs for the harp, Kathleen Loughnane will perform a selection of arrangements based on her research into 17th and 18th century music. Her repertoire this lunchtime will focus on newly arranged music from the manuscripts of Patrick O’Neill (1765-1832) from Co Kilkenny. These take in several musical traditions, including those of Ireland, Scotland, England and wider Europe. The manuscripts, which reflect the cultural and social changes of the late 17th and early 18th centuries and the European musical influences that were seeping into the Irish repertoire at the time, were published by the National Library in 2008. In…
Fred Johnston was born in Belfast in 1951. Most recently, his poems have appeared in The Spectator, the New Statesman, and a short story in Stand magazine; some more new work is also due to appear there. A collection of short stories, Dancing In The Asylum, was published by Parthian a couple of years ago, and his most recent collection of poetry is Alligator Days (Revival Press). A new collection, Rogue States, is due from Salmon Poetry this autumn. In 1986, Fred founded Galway’s annual literature festival, Cúirt; in 2002, he was writer-in-residence to the Princess Grace Irish Library at Monaco. Fred has published nine collections of poems, four novels…
Reading by E.M. Reapy and Michael Gorman with songs by Brian O’Rourke E.M. Reapy is from Mayo and has an MA in creative writing from Queen’s University, Belfast. In 2016, her debut novel Red Dirt was published by Head of Zeus. It won Newcomer of the Year at the 2016 Irish Book Awards and the 2017 Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. Reapy is currently a UNESCO Dublin City of Literature writer-in-residence. Michael Gorman was born in Sligo and educated at Summerhill College and National University College Galway, where he taught for many years. He has edited The Mayo Anthology (Mayo Co. Council) and 21: An Anthology (NUIG). He is a…
Brian will give a talk on the works included in his exhibition War Changes Its Address: The Aleppo Paintings – a selection, including other works This year the Festival Gallery will host a selection from recent, new, and exciting work by internationally acclaimed Irish artist Brian Maguire. Since the very beginning of his career in the 1970s, Brian Maguire has approached painting as an act of solidarity. He operates a truly engaged practice, compelled by the raw realities of humanity’s violence against itself, and the potential for justice. Maguire’s preoccupations draw him to the margins of the art world – alternative space, prisons, women’s shelters, and psychiatric institutions – making…
John Crumlish, CEO of Galway International Arts Festival, will open the 41st Clifden Arts Festival. Shuttle bus departs Clifden Library at 6:15pm.
Born and raised in Co. Longford, Declan Nerney grew up in thrall to international greats like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, as well as stars of the Irish showband scene such as Joe Dolan, Big Tom, Philomena Begley and The Capital Showband. As a young boy, he would beg his mother to attend the Marquee in Drumlish festival each summer, where he would stand close to the stage and watch every move made by guitarists like Dan O’Hara and Seamus McMahon. Declan taught himself to play guitar and, aged 16, started playing with local showband the Hi-Los. He went on to play with Gene Stuart and the Homesteaders for…
Music with Síomha Brock with support from 9:30pm Síomha’s beautifully crafted songs and soulful melodies have been captivating audiences and garnering her fans across the globe. With her powerful voice and extraordinary guitar skills, she dances the line between folk, jazz and neo-soul effortlessly, transcending musical boundaries. From a Co Clare family steeped in music, Síomha grew up on a diet of musical greats, with the sounds of jazz, traditional Irish, folk and soul leaving an indelible mark on her musical tastes and influences. She first took up jazz guitar as a teenager on a visit to the south of France, when an Italian gypsy taught her the manouche gypsy…
Navigating the Dark Night of the Soul: Talk by Benig Mauger Most of us are afraid of our depressions and ‘dark nights of the soul,’ yet the mystics and poets saw these as times of deep, immense soul growth. Join Benig Mauger, Jungian psychotherapist and author, in a talk that will help you navigate your own dark nights. Visit www.soul-connections.com Admission €5 It is only in the state of complete abandonment and loneliness that we experience the helpful powers of our own nature. – Jung
Inishbofin was first mentioned by the Venerable Bede in the early 8th century, as a refuge for Northumbrian monks. It was raided by the Vikings in 795 AD and long retained strong associations with Anglo-Saxon England. Located on the border between two powerful Gaelic maritime lordships, the O’Malleys and the O’Flahertys, Inishbofin has a turbulent history. It was the last Gaelic stronghold to fall to Cromwell, and subsequently had strong links with 17th-century France and 18th-century America. Dozens of Bronze Age monuments mark its earlier history and will be visited during the trip. Its coastline boasts dramatic sea cliffs and caves and a rich variety of marine life. Meeting at…
Christopher Fitz-Simon: A Life in the Touring Theatre in Conversation with Des Lally Author Christopher Fitz-Simon talks about his life in the touring theatre. Christopher was one of the earliest Irish television drama directors in the 1960s. He became literary manager of the Abbey Theatre, having been artistic director of the Irish Theatre Company and of the Lyric Theatre, Belfast. He has lectured in 12 countries on four continents. Among his books are The Boys, a biography of Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLíammóir, Eleven Houses, a memoir of 1940s Ireland, and Buffoonery and Easy Sentiment, a revaluation of popular 19th-century Irish theatre. His most recent publication Rise Above! is a…
Two of Ireland’s master musicians join for a special concert for Clifden Arts Festival 2018. Frankie Gavin (Fiddle, Flute) and Brendan O’Regan (Bouzouki, Mandolin) will play a one off concert for this years Festival. Both Frankie and Brendan are very highly regarded in Traditional Music and have been at its forefront for many decades. Frankie won Traditional Musician of the year 2018 at the TG4 Gradam Ceoil awards. A co-founder of Dé Dannan, Frankie has recorded with Irish musicians such as Andy Irvine and Sharon Shannon, and international acts including Elvis Costello and The Rolling Stones. Composer and producer Brendan O'Regan is a former member of Dé Dannan, accomplished solo artist…
An afternooon of hilarity and madness with Ted Turton. An illustrated memoir with stories drawn from six years working and travelling with Footsbarn Theatre in the 1980s. This extraordinary barnstorming theatre company (first seen in Clifden in 1979) left its native Cornwall in 1981 for a life permanently lived on the road to travel the world with its circus style tent, trucks and buses. Along with the actors, technicians, costume makers, administrators, and wives, girlfriends, boyfriends and hangers-on, came all their children with their own teachers and three Border Collies. The first stop on this world tour was Galway, where Ted joined them. The stories are not so much about…
Reading with Aifric Mac Aodha and Louis De Paor and Music by Lynn Saoirse Foreign News (2017) is Aifric Mac Aodha’s first collection with The Gallery Press. She has taught in St Petersburg, New York and Canada and has lectured in old and modern Irish at UCD. She lives in Dublin, where she works for Irish-language publisher An Gúm. Her poetry is both playful and exact. As Clíona Ní Ríordáin put it in The Irish Times: ‘If the subject matter of her poems is serious, the images that are dotted throughout the volume are engaging and contemporary, they include a laconic DJ, Marilyn Monroe and her voluminous skirts and the…
Clifden Arts Festival welcomes back Paul Durcan, one of Ireland’s most distinctive poets. The Dublin-born poets writings are funny subversive narratives and self-mocking poems of underachievement, poems celebrating love and sex of the lives of famous writers and artists, as well as tender verses commemorating the dead. He is respected as a critical commentator on Irish history and society, and won the Whitbread Poetry Award for his collection Daddy, Daddy (1990). Some of his most recent collections include The Art of Life; The Laughter of Mothers; Life is a Dream and Praise in Which I Live and Move and Have My Being. Writing of his 2008 collection The Laughter of…
Book Launch: See The Wood From The Trees by Marion McGarry and Dermot O’Donovan Tadhg O’Mahony, senior scientific officer at the Environmental Protection Agency, will launch See The Wood From The Trees by Marion McGarry and Dermot O’Donovan (Artisan House, Letterfrack, 2018). Stunningly designed and highly visual, See The Wood From The Trees documents the story of trees felled by storms in Áras an Uachtaráin and subsequently gifted by the President, Michael D. Higgins and his wife, Sabina, to GMIT Letterfrack. Around this simple but inspired gesture, the book tells of the chequered history of trees in Ireland as well as the story of Áras an Uachtaráin and the plantations…
‘Wild and unpredictable,’ Wallis Bird cannot – and should not – be easily pigeonholed. Capable of the delicate, gossamer-thin ballads that her tiny, five-foot-two frame would suggest, she can also summon up a whirlwind of passion and rage in the blink of an eye. Her performances can transition seamlessly from defiant anthems that can motivate thousands of festival-goers into a rousing sing-a-long, to the most hushed and fragile ballads that can captivate an audience for spellbound silence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PORpgm4y9q0 A two-time Irish Meteor Award winner, mostly recently for Best Female Artist, and a nominee for Ireland’s prestigious Choice Music Prize, Bird has toured with Billy Bragg, The Gossip, Emiliana Torrini, ZAZ,…
Dr. Mindflip with support by The Curley Organ Dr. Mindflip are a delightfully-bizarre bunch that weave their considerable musical chops into a scintillating blur of styles. This is Supertramp on the tear with David Lynch, the manic energy of The Mighty Boosh jamming with the sneering spectre of Frank Zappa – intense, atmospheric, impossibly catchy music. The Doctor himself holds the show together on keys and coaxes jazzy avant-pop from the aristocratic Owly, soulful sax-wielding Sage, gently unnerving Dollhead, and a very cheerful drummer. Last year, Dr Mindflip packed Mullarkey’s Bar with grooves and grins – we’re delighted to have them back to give our 2018 programme a potent shot…
Clifden Arts Festival welcomes back John Joe Forde and Mike Fahey for their annual traditional Irish music session, bringing the rich tradition of East Galway music to Connemara in what promises to be yet another powerful night!
Curiosity Does Not Kill The Cat: Writers’ Workshop with John Liddy Founding editor with Jim Burke of The Stony Thursday Book, John Liddy has published 11 collections of poetry in English – three with Spanish translations – as well as books for children. His own translations include the work of Irish and Spanish poets. He was Limerick City of Culture Poet-in-Residence for July 2014 and co-edited 1916-2016: An Anthology of Reactions. His latest book, Madrid and Other Poems was published earlier this year, and a collection of all his Spanish-related poems is forthcoming. Born in Co. Cork in 1954, John grew up in Limerick and took a degree with the…
Wounds: A Memoir of War and Love – A Talk by Fergal Keane Introduced by Kathleen Villiers-Tuthill Fergal Keane is a journalist with the BBC and an author. He received the 2018 Christopher Ewart-Biggs memorial prize for his memoir Wounds for advancing understanding of Irish history in Britain. Keane worked for many years as a foreign correspondent for the BBC, reporting on issues including the conflict in Northern Ireland, the end of apartheid in South Africa, and the Rwandan genocide. He is the nephew of Irish playwright, novelist and essayist John B. Keane. Sponsored by Dr. Ciarán and Anne MacLoughlin. Admission €15
After having such fun on last year’s fairy trail, Fairy JIL and her family and friends left a message for Clifden Tidy Towns asking if they could arrange for the children to come out together again. The elves and fairies were watching the children from their safe hiding places and were delighted to see so many dressing up and having fun finding their homes. Our magical friends are delighted to be living in Clifden and love the beautiful flowers and clean streets. They are also very impressed with all the work the children are doing with their Green Flag projects! In fact, they have told Tidy Towns that they fly…
Beethoven Cello Sonata Op.69 in A Major Chopin Cello Sonata Op.65 Dublin-born Miriam Roycroft studied at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, winning the Muriel Taylor Cello Competition in London upon graduation. Further studies included a period in Banff, Canada, with Aldo Parisot. Miriam has performed as a soloist with the RTÉ NSO and has played many of the major concerti for cello with orchestras throughout the UK and Ireland. She has been a guest leader of the cello sections of the RTÉ CO, RTÉ NSO, BBC NOW, the BBC SSO, and the Northern Sinfonia. Miriam was Head of Strings at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in…
This is a vibrant group – their members have published books of poetry and non-fiction and contributed to Sunday Miscellany. Their broadcasts on Connemara Community Radio range from scary Halloween stories to heart-moving memoir. Come and enjoy their Arts Festival programme – an hour of stories, poetry and the beautiful music of the harp, played by Lynn Saoirse. Everyone welcome, and admission is free.
Lecture by Professor Joe Lee: Ireland in History: Past, Present – and Future New York University professor John Joseph Lee – commonly known as J.J. Lee – is an Irish historian and former senator. He is emeritus Professor of History, Glucksman Professor for Irish Studies, and director of Glucksman Ireland House at New York University. Sponsored by Peter and Paula Vine. Admission €10
Music session led by Marie Walsh. Admission free
Kenneth Webb – Colour and Texture: an Art Demonstration This year, we are again privileged that Kenneth Webb has kindly agreed to demonstrate one of his famous Derrygimla Bog paintings and follow it with a short question and answer session. Kenneth will demonstrate some of the secrets of colour and texture that have made his painting so popular in Ireland and the United Kingdom for many years. Very recently, the first three paintings sold in the 2017 London Exhibition were large bog paintings of Derrygimla, purchased by a French collector. Others then went to New York and Chicago and more recently China, as his reputation continues to gain international recognition.…
Defense Forces Military Band 2 Brigade Band 2 Brigade was formed in 1936 and has been based in Athlone since that time. Join them as they play a mix of military, jazz and popular music. Band Conductor: Captain Thomas Kelly Band CS: CS Terry Donovan Free event
Poetry Reading and Songs with Rita Ann Higgins and Con ‘Fada’ Ó Drisceoil Rita Ann Higgins has published 11 books of poetry, including Tongulish, Ireland Is Changing Mother, and Throw in the Vowels: New & Selected Poems, all from Bloodaxe. In 2010, Salmon published her controversial memoir, Hurting God – Part Essay Part Rhyme. She is also a playwright with a number of plays to her name, including The Plastic Bag, The Empty Frame (about the incarceration of Hanna Greally) and The Colossal Longing of Julie Connors. She has recently written two short films in Irish. The Galway-based writer’s many awards include a Peadar O’Donnell Award and several Arts Council…
Great traditional music with Paddy Buckley (banjo), David Kinsella (pipes), James Kinsella (accordion), and Michael Buckley (fiddle
From the early poem ‘Madrid Through The Eyes of a Stranger,’ first published in the bilingual collection Wine and Hope/Vino y Esperanza (1999), to the epic title poem, ‘Madrid,’ in this present collection, John Liddy returns to his adopted home, no longer a stranger but seasoned in its idiosyncrasies. It is as though he has come full circle. But he moves further afield to take in Galicia, Asturias, Atapuerca and the Ireland he has never stopped writing about. Madrid and Other Poems takes the reader beyond place and country into the heart of modern living with its political and social upheavals. The tribute poem to poets past and present and…
Camerata Kilkenny with David Power, Uilleann Pipes Claire Duff - baroque violin Marja Gaynor - baroque violin Nathan Sherman - viola Norah O’Leary - baroque cello Malcolm Proud - harpsichord David Power is a master of the uilleann pipes. Influenced by the great pipers of the past, he has won All-Ireland and Oireachtas Piping prizes and makes appearances at many international festivals. He has three critically acclaimed solo recordings ‘My Love is in America’, ‘Cuachín Ghleann Neifin’ and ‘The Eighteen Moloney’. He regularly performs with fiddle player Martin Hayes and his most recent collaboration is a project for stage with Kerry Hardie and Olivia O’Leary, based on the 6th Century Irish Christian…
LISA HANNIGAN
€15Lisa Hannigan’s third album At Swim is out now on Play It Again Sam. Produced by Aaron Dessner, her third – and arguably most bewitching – record follows the double-platinum, Mercury-nominated debut Sea Sew, and 2011’s Passenger, which charted at number one in Ireland, and earned Lisa another Choice Music Prize nomination. https://youtu.be/GRdj8MRj9Js After playing in support of Passenger for nearly two years, Lisa struggled at first to write new material. A new relationship meant that she was dividing her time between Dublin and London; adrift and lost, she threw herself into distraction instead. There was an acting debut as a mermaid in the Oscar-nominated animation Song of the Sea,…
Double-bill: My Fellow Sponges and Nick Timothy with Special Guests My Fellow Sponges are four piece from Galway. They are eccentric, energetic and we can even say mildly influential. Between their members that embrace love for minimalism, words, bossa, jazz, theatricals and synthesizers. And if you think all those things can’t be mashed into one bag, be shaken up and emerge beautiful, you have to listen to Sponges new self titled album. My Fellow Sponges have collaborated with storytellers, comedians, dancers and brass-ensembles. They have played entire shows improvised, under the moniker, Community. Their live concerts are lively, unpredictable and intimate. They comfortably switch from eerie-electronica to hip-shaking-bossa-nova. Admission €8
Lecture by Michael Gibbons: Ballynahinch Castle and the O’Flaherty Lords of Connemara in Folklore, History and Archaeology This year marks the 300th anniversary of the death of the Gaelic lord and scholar Ruaidhri Maic Aodha Ó Flaithbheartaigh and is an opportune time to explore the history of human settlement in a place synonymous with the O’Flahertys, Ballynahinch Castle estate – following recent discoveries, we now know that settlement there dates back over 7,000 years. The talk’s key focus will be on the lake island cashel-castle and the cast of extraordinary figures associated with it. It began life as an island cashel or stone crannóg built by the local O’Cadhla lords,…
Coffee Morning in Aid of the Mental Health Association
Noelie McDonnell, Nicola Joyce and Noriana Kennedy Three powerful forces in Irish roots music, Noelie McDonnell, Nicola Joyce and Noriana Kennedy combine as The Whileaways to create a beguiling tapestry of harmonies, tradition and beautifully crafted original songs. All three write and sing, drawing on their own experience, and the result is captivating. These three singers could all front their own projects, and indeed have, with six previous albums to their collective credit. Having toured separately, they came to know each other’s singing on home ground while playing sessions in the folk melting pot of Galway city. Dipping their toe in the water as a trio, they were hailed as ‘a knockout of…
The Clifden Arts Festival is delighted to welcome back Betty and the Baby Boomers. The group first performed here in 1993. Over many visits since, the students in the Boomers’ audiences back then have grown up; their children now listen to the group in Clifden’s schools. The Boomers are older, too, but their music is timeless, featuring songs by Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan and others who shaped the ‘baby boomer’ generation in America. Betty Boomer, Jean McAvoy, Paul Rubeo, Steve Stanne, and Robert Bard create distinctive arrangements for these classics as well as recent songs in that tradition; original compositions, and selections inspired by their experiences in Ireland.…
Robyn Rowland has published 13 books, including ten poetry collections. In Mosaics from the Map (Doire, 2018) history is lived in personal stories in Ireland, Turkey, the Balkans and Australia. Robyn’s poetry appears in over 40 anthologies, including eight editions of Best Australian Poems. Fellow Australian Gina Mercer has published six collections of poetry, most recently A Dictionary of Water (Abridged) (2018). Bringing poetry into the everyday world is a passion for Gina – who teaches creative writing and literature – and her work has been acclaimed as ‘accessible’, ‘witty’ and ‘engaging’. Marie Walsh is a multi-instrumentalist and music teacher. A triple Senior All-Ireland Champion on piano, button accordion and…
James Harpur will read from his new collection of poems, The White Silhouette, which explores the numinous in a snowy pilgrimage from West Cork to Dorset, the mystery of Russian icons, the Perseids meteor shower, and the medieval Celtic art of the Book of Kells. The title poem is a ‘compelling spiritual memoir’ (TLS) of ‘missed encounters’ in the landscapes of Tipperary, Wiltshire, and Patmos. James is poetry editor of Temenos and a member of Aosdána. His awards include the Michael Hartnett Prize, the Vincent Buckley Award, and the UK National Poetry Competition. He writes poetry in the wilds of West Cork and appears regularly on RTÉ’s Sunday Miscellany and…
Kicking All The Boxes is the story of Naoise, a one-time champion kickboxer. We meet Naoise on her 15th birthday as she returns from winning a European kickboxing title; we next meet her 15 years later, on her 30th birthday, and, as the piece progresses, we are taken along three paths of the person she may become. Reminiscent of a theatrical Sliding Doors, Kicking All The Boxes examines decisions and consequences, and the impact they can have on the journey a life can take. It holds a mirror up to a whole generation of 20- and 30-something-year-old women and asks: what do you do when life no longer parties with…
This spellbinding entertainment is now in its ninth year! Poems, songs and recitations about horses, ponies and greyhounds are presented by an assortment of local and national crowd-pleasers. The audience exceeds the gatherings in Paddy Power bookmakers for derbies or grand nationals! It is co-compered by Des Kavanagh and Pete Molineux. An atmosphere of banter and high culture pervades. Paddy Power kindly sponsors cheese and wine. Admission €5
Conductor: Gavin Maloney Soloist: Gavan Ring (Baritone) Programme: Bach Brandenburg Concerto No 3 Haydn Symphony No 44 – Trauer Interval From the Danube to the Owenglin – songs from Austria and home with Gavan Ring. Introducing orchestra music to new audiences since 1948, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra has built a strong connection with the public that saw it named the World’s Favourite Orchestra 2015, winning 25% of the vote in an international poll. The RTÉ CO has performed with countless extraordinary artists across all genres: from the classical world, Pavarotti, Domingo, Carreras, Gheroghiu, and Lang Lang; film and stage composers including Lalo Schifrin, Michel Legrand, David Arnold, and Marvin Hamlisch;…
Music Network presents Máirtín O'Connor, Maighread Ní Dhomhnaill, Séamie O'Dowd Live in Concert For this very special tour, the swashbuckling musical spirit that has seen Máirtín O’Connor and Séamie O’Dowd dazzle audiences in the past provides an anchor to the shimmering vocals of Maighread Ní Dhomhnaill — with the promise of free-flowing instrumental duos to boot. Maighread Ní Dhomnaill, winner of TG4’s Traditional Singer of the Year award, formed the band Skara Brae before touring the world with Donal Lunny’s Coolfin. She sings and tours most often with her sister Tríona and their recent concert performances with Martin Hayes, Denis Cahill, and David Power have met with widespread critical acclaim.…
Music with Mama Kin Spender with support from 9:30pm Mama Kin Spender is a lightning bolt moment between two long-time friends, co-writers and mischief-makers: ARIA-nominated Mama Kin and producer Tommy Spender. It’s a stripped-back duo of brooding guitars, primal drums and howling harmonies, illuminated by a chorus of singers arranged by Virginia Bott (Brighter Later, First Chorus Band of Singers). Mama Kin Spender’s songs rattle, roll and tremble, from block party to heart-rending ballad. With a sound that is as raw as it is joyful, Mama Kin Spender brings the collective, collaborative and chaotic, inviting you to traverse the golden magnetic. Their album, The Golden Magnetic, is out now on…
A panel discussion with Dr. David Clare, Professor Patrick Lonergan, Dr. Cathy Leeney, Dr. Elaine Sisson, and Dr. Noreen Doody on the legacy of the Gate Theatre and their forthcoming book The Gate Theatre, Dublin – Inspiration and Craft, published by Carysford Press/David Lang. Introduced by Des Lally.
Mozart – Flute Quartet (arranged for pan flute, violin, viola, and cello) Schumann – String Quartet op 42 no 1 Pugnani – Venetian Carnival for pan flute and string quartet Dinicu Grigoras – Hora Staccato for pan flute and string quartet Lulian Pusca (pronounced Julian Pooshka) is a young artist of ever-growing talent, known for his astonishing skills in playing the pan flute. His wide repertoire – which includes pieces that would normally be played on violin or flute – as well as his unique technique and manner of performing make Iulian stand out from the crowd. Iulian studied music in his native Moldova before pursuing an international performance career.…
Jim Murphy is director emeritus of the Irish Studies Program at Villanova University, Pennsylvania. In 2017, Jim was gifted with a letter found by his Aunt Joan of Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo. In this letter, written around 1938, Jim’s father – who hailed from Co. Leitrim – writes from Brooklyn to ask for Jim’s mother’s hand in marriage. This beautiful letter captures the joys and heartbreaks of emigration and immigration; hopes for a future in a new world are tempered by the sense of loss. It is a story that will have a special resonance for a west of Ireland audience. Séidiú is a vocal ensemble founded in Clifden in 2015.…
Cork writer Danny Denton’s first novel, The Earlie King and the Kid in Yellow, conjures up a post-digital Ireland: derelict and flooded by ceaseless rain. A baby is born to The Kid in Yellow and T, the daughter of The Earlie King. When T dies in childbirth, the Kid tricks the King, steals the baby and goes on the run. But now the Earlie Boys are on the warpath… Reminiscent of Peaky Blinders, Quentin Tarantino, Samanta Schweblin, Blade Runner, George Saunders, and Tom Waits, this is something entirely new in Irish fiction. The recipient of a number of bursaries, Danny has written for The Irish Times, Irish Examiner, and RTÉ’s…
Fleeing from Famine in Connemara: James Hack Tuke and His Assisted Emigration Schemes in the 1880s Between 1882 and 1884, the English Quaker and philanthropist, James Hack Tuke, assisted nearly 5,000 people, mainly families, to emigrate from Connemara: paying for their passage and arranging for their settlement in Canada and the United States. The objectives of the Tuke Fund was to remove the surplus population and create viable holdings for those who remained, and initiate a chain migration. Initially, the Tuke Committee provided the funding in 1882, but realised the magnitude of the task and in 1883 and 1884 secured government financial assistance for the schemes. Despite opposition, Tuke felt…
Tom McHugh, banjo, blues harp, vocals Tom Mitchell, guitar, vocals Robert Redd, piano Tom Anthony, bass Sue Matthews, vocals John Harris, trombone Guys and Doll are supported by the Kent County, Maryland, Arts Council. Additional Appearances Monday 17th September, 1pm – Clúid Tuesday 18th September, 2pm – Elm Tree centre Wednesday 19th September, 2pm – Mannion’s Bar Thursday 20th September, 3pm – Steam Café Thursday 20th September, 9pm – Tom King's Bar
All Strings Bright and Beautiful: The Carolan String Quartet and guitarist Ewan Cowley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dObBhlsnVuc&feature=youtu.be The Carolan String Quartet and guitarist Ewan Cowley have more strings to their bows, more tricks up their rolled-up sleeves and more genres of music under their fingers than you can shake a stick at. The Carolan String Quartet have enjoyed long associations with contemporary Irish traditional music, most notably with composer Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, elements of which will be showcased in this concert. The classical music closely associated with a string quartet is juxtaposed with more experimental forms as well as the original and arranged music of Ewan Cowley, which is best described as contemporary…
Following the release of a new album this year, and hailed as ‘the distinctive voice of Ireland,’ Sean Keane will bring his much-loved music to the the Clifden Arts Festival. Sean will be joined by Fergus Feely on mandocello and Pat Coyne on guitar, and will play songs from his albums down the years, including his latest, Gratitude, released earlier this year. Expect songs from 2016’s New Day Dawning, as well as set-favourites such as ‘Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears,’ ‘From Galway to Gracelands,’ and ‘Fields of Gold.’ Sean comes from a musical family in Caherlistrane, Co. Galway, and has been performing around the world for nearly 40 years.…
Together with famed guitarist Ged Foley, virtuoso fiddle player Anna Falkenau will present a powerful program of Irish and American music. Besides driving tunes and delicate melody playing, Ged will also treat the audience to some gems out of his huge treasure of folk songs. After four years of regular Connemara sessions together, these two outstanding musicians have grown into a tight and intuitive musical unit. Be surprised and entertained. Admission €8
Lecture: Sarah Purser and her Legacy by Gerard McInerney A leading figure in the early 20th century Irish Arts and Crafts movement, stained-glass artist Sarah Purser created the decorative windows of Loughrea’s St. Brendan’s cathedral. Join Loughrea native Gerard McInerney in a celebration of her legacy and of the windows’ ever-changing ‘captivating brightness.’ Gerard, who runs the long-established family business in the town, studied history as a mature student in NUI Galway. featured image: Sarah Purser as drawn by John Butler Yeats, 1880s Admission €5
Book Launch: Fourth Floor Flat 44 Cantos by Terry McDonagh Terry McDonagh has published 10 poetry collections, as well as letters, drama, prose and poetry for young people, and his work has been translated into Indonesian and German. His most recent poetry collection is Lady Cassie Peregrina (2016); his poems have been included in Fire and Ice 2 for the Junior cycle, and in the Galway Poetry Trail at NUIG. In 2017 he was director of WestWords in Hamburg, Germany’s first Irish literature festival. Admission €5
A stalwart of the Irish folk scene since the 1960s, Charlie has enjoyed success as a solo artist, a collaborator, and a songwriter. His most recent album, Tuesdays with Paul, was released in March of this year – others include In Your Old Room, Family Matters, The Man From 20, and Stolen Moments, produced in Nashville by legendary producer Bil Vorndick. Charlie has collaborated with artists such as Maura O’Connell and Eleanor Shanley, who have both recorded many of his songs, including ‘Feet of a Dancer,’ ‘A Bed for the Night’ and ‘If Anything Happened to You.’ Other artists who have recorded Charlie’s songs include De Danann, Mary and Frances…
Short film by Tristan Heanue: A Break in the Clouds Tristan Heanue is an actor and writer from Connemara known for Today (2015), In This Place (2014) and A Break in the Clouds (2018). He won the award for Best Short Film and Best First Time Director at the 2015 Sky Road Film Festival for his film Today. A Break in the Clouds, his latest short film which was released in April, tells the story of a young couple struggle to adjust to life following the birth of their first child. Starring Tristan Heanue, Gemma-Leah Devereux, Marie Ruane, Linda Bhreathnach. Admission Free Runtime 19 minutes
A talk by Helen O’Donoghue, Senior Curator, Engagement and Learning, IMMA.
Joan McBreen has published five collections of poetry, the most recent being Map and Atlas (2017). In 2014, she produced a CD The Mountain Ash in Connemara – Poems by Joan McBreen, with composer Glen Austin and the RTÉ Contempo String Quartet, and a broadside The Mountain Ash, with printmaker-artist Margaret Irwin West and printmaker Mary Plunkett. Originally from Sligo, she now divides her time between Tuam and Connemara. Geraldine Mitchell’s most recent collection, Mountains for Breakfast, was published in 2017. Geraldine is Dublin-born but now lives on the Co. Mayo coast, near Louisburgh. She is a Patrick Kavanagh Award winner and her previous collections are World Without Maps (2011)…
Nuala O’Connor lives in Ballinasloe, Co. Galway. Her fifth short story collection Joyride to Jupiter was published by New Island in 2017; her story ‘Gooseen’, about Nora Barnacle, recently won the UK’s Short Fiction Prize and was published in Granta. Nuala’s fourth novel, Becoming Belle, is published in September 2018. Becoming Belle is a witty, inherently feminist novel set in Victorian London, based on the true story of a woman ahead of her time. In 1887, Isabel Bilton is the eldest of three daughters of a middle-class military family, growing up in a small garrison town. By 1891 she is the Countess of Clancarty, dubbed ‘the peasant countess’ by the…
Lara Bozabalian is the author of The Cartographer’s Skin and Tourist, a spoken-word poet, and an impassioned teacher. She has featured at literary festivals across Canada, in Singapore, and at TEDx (‘Sharing Passion Through Poetry’). She writes of teaching life and the voices often relegated to corners; after the school shootings in Parkland, Florida, her poem on Rattle’s ‘Poets Respond’ went viral. Out of the Ordinary is Galway-based Moya Roddy’s debut poetry collection. Shortlisted in 2017 for the Hennessy Award, her poems have been published in The Irish Times, Stoney Thursday, Crannog and Boyne Berries. Her short story collection, Other People, was long-listed for the Frank O’Connor Award, and novel…
Seamus O’Rourke brings his highly acclaimed one-man play, Padraig Potts’ Guide to Walking to Clifden Arts Festival this September. Described as one of the highlights at the Edinburgh Fringe 2015, the play is a coming-of-age piece set in Seamus’s home county of Leitrim… a semi-biographical tale of love, lost chances and settling for the wrong woman. A play where a whole community comes alive on stage to give us the facts behind the fact that Padraig Potts never went anywhere… until now, that is… Seamus O’Rourke is a writer, director and actor, and an independent producer with his own company, Big Guerilla Productions. As a writer, his plays include Ride…
Martin Hayes is regarded as one of the most extraordinary talents to emerge in the world of Irish traditional music. His unique sound, mastery of the fiddle, and ability to draw on the music’s past while shaping its future combine to create an astonishing and formidable artistic intelligence. He has drawn inspiration from sources as diverse as the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, the Spanish viola da gamba master, Jordi Savall, and the jazz genius John Coltrane, but remains grounded in the music he grew up with in Feakle, Co. Clare. Dennis Cahill is a master guitarist, a native of Chicago born to parents from the Dingle peninsula in Co. Kerry.…
David Lyttle
€5David Lyttle, drums Lucian Grey, guitar Conor Chaplin, bass Drummer David Lyttle is Ireland’s most celebrated jazz musician of today. He is the island’s only MOBO Award nominee and has made appearances in over 20 countries, including recent artist residencies in the US, where he traveled from LA to New York in a Cadillac, performing for cowboys, bikers and UFO tourists; and China, where he was the British Council’s Musician in Residence for five weeks. Growing up in a prominent musical family in Co. Armagh, he’s gone on to collaborate with global icons of jazz, including Joe Lovano and Kurt Rosenwinkel, and his latest album was described by Rolling Stone…
Musician Carmel Dempsey made her first Arts Festival appearance in 1983 and has been a regular performer ever since. Carmel has her own wedding band and tours with Dolores Keane. Playing with Carmel are fiddle player/vocalist – and former Lord of the Dance soloist – Brenda Curtin and Frankie Colohan on guitar and vocals.
Dcumentary by Maurice Fitzpatrick: John Hume in America Introduced by Des Kavanagh John Hume saw that by harnessing the political influence of the Irish-American diaspora in Washington it was possible address the legacy of colonial division in Ireland and to achieve peace. In the Name of Peace: John Hume in America is a compelling feature documentary, narrated by Liam Neeson, with dramatic footage from the conflict in Northern Ireland and stirring accounts by presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, as well as US congressmen and senators. This film shows how one man with courage and charisma, inspired by Martin Luther King, mobilised Irish Americans and America to bring an end…
Lecture by Dr Éimear O’Connor: John Millington Synge: Art and the Rest In the late 1890s, John Millington Synge took his camera to the Aran Islands to photograph the people and their traditional way of life. This is a fully illustrated talk revealing the nature and extent of Synge’s photographs, and their subsequent use by the painter, and by painter Jack B. Yeats. Synge’s love of the Aran Islands, and its influence on Irish artists Harry Clarke and Seán Keating, will also be discussed in the context of both the cultural and the nationalist revolution that took place at the time. Dr Éimear O’Connor HRHA is an art historian, curator,…
Guitar Recitals – Virtuosos of the Guitar: Dave Flynn and Shane Hennessy Described as a ‘genre-jumping genius’ (tradreview.com), Dave Flynn is an award-winning guitarist, composer, songwriter and arranger who ‘occupies a unique position in the world of music’ (Martin Hayes, The Gloaming). Dave’s expertise in classical guitar, composition and traditional Irish music takes audiences on a unique musical journey. His repertoire mixes stunning arrangements of Irish music and other international styles with improvisations and compositions praised for their ‘power and grittiness’ in The New York Times. He cut his teeth sharing a stage at open-mic events with the likes of Oscar-winner Glen Hansard, folk legend Christy Moore and songsmith Declan…
A Curlew Theatre Production: The Loves of Lady Gregory This is a fascinating hour-long sketch of Lady Augusta Gregory’s life – private and public – against the background of Ireland’s advance from the Cultural Revival through the Easter Rising, the War of Independence, and the Civil War, to the new Ireland. As well as her plays, translations, and role as a founder of the Abbey Theatre, the play concentrates on intimate relationships: her marriage; affairs; the death of her son in the Great War; her friendship with Yeats. All these are brought to life in an immediate, human self-portrait of a woman often confined to the margins of literary history.…
Michael Coady was born in Carrick-on-Suir, where he still lives. A long-standing friend of Clifden Arts Festival and Aosdána member, he has won a number of literary prizes and awards for poetry and prose at home and abroad. Michael’s most recent book is Given Light, integrating poetry, prose and photographs. Poet and critic Fred Johnston has recognised his work as ‘quite extraordinary in its depth of humanity, concern, and simple, almost casual elegance...’ Poet Leanne O’Sullivan is from the Beara Peninsula in West Cork and was educated at UCC. She has published four collections with Bloodaxe Books – Waiting for my Clothes (2004), Cailleach: The Hag of Beara (2009), The…
Book Launch by Simon Leyland: The Men Who Stare At Hens The History Press Ireland is delighted to announce the launch of The Men Who Stare At Hens by locally-based poet and author, Simon Leyland. In this gentle meander through the wonderful world of Irish eccentrics, you will discover the world-renowned poet who hypnotised hens, the Irish aristocrat who was an uncontrollable kleptomaniac, the country’s first naturist, the strange story of the Soviet state of Limerick, and the man who wanted to give every Irishman wings. Complimentary drinks, canapés and live music. Sponsored by John Varley and the Atlantic Hotel. Free event.
Aslan, who took their name from the heroic lion in C.S. Lewis’s series of books chronicling the fictional land of Narnia, (Aslan is the Turkish for ‘Lion’), emerged from the working class areas of Finglas and Ballymun in Dublin’s Northside, in the mid 1980s. They released a demo single, ‘This Is’, in the Spring of 1986, which was a huge hit and became the longest ever play-listed single on Ireland’s pop radio station, RTÉ 2fm. In the summer of 1986 they played a series of rapturously received shows in the UK and Melody Maker noted, ‘Lucky the label that signs this band!’. Janice Long at BBC Radio 1 recorded Aslan…
David Lyttle, drums Lucian Gray, guitar Conor Chaplin, bass Drummer David Lyttle is Ireland’s most celebrated jazz musician of today. He is the island’s only MOBO Award nominee and has made appearances in over 25 countries, including recent artist residencies in the US, where he traveled from LA to New York in a Cadillac, performing for cowboys, bikers and UFO tourists; and China, where he was the British Council’s Musician in Residence for five weeks. Growing up in a prominent musical family in Co. Armagh, he’s gone on to collaborate with global icons of jazz, including Joe Lovano and Kurt Rosenwinkel, and his latest album was described by Rolling Stone…
We welcome back our old friends from Seattle, True North. True North rides again! Lefty, Tumbleweed, Blind Boy, Dusty, Doc, and Calamity, honoured to be a part of the 41st Clifden Arts Festival, bring you the sound of America’s western saloons, barn dances, front porches, parlours, and cowboy campfires. Free event. Additional Appearances Wednesday 19th September, 6:30pm – E.J.King's Bar Thursday 20th September, 6pm – Clifden Boat Club Thursday 20th September, 9pm – O’Malleys Bar Friday 21st September, 4pm – .J.King's Bar Friday 21st September, 9pm – Tom King's Bar
Song of Granite revolves around the life of the great traditional Irish singer Joe Heaney. Described by Donald Clarke in The Irish Times as an ‘intoxicating oddity’, Silence director Pat Collins’ ode to the singer was selected as this year’s Irish language submission for the Oscars and his been widely acclaimed as his best work to date. Joe Heaney was born just outside Carna in 1919; the harsh landscape, myths, fables, and songs of his Connemara childhood helped shape this complex, intriguing character. From an early age, he was fascinated by the stories and music around him, ‘drinking (them) from the bottle when (he) was in the cradle.’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKOIondylAE By…
Patricia Coughlan and Lucy Collins – Echoes Into Silence: Recovering Irish Women Poets Irish women play an important role in the contemporary poetry scene, yet their predecessors – especially women writing before the 1960s – remain little known and largely out of print. Among them are many vibrant and provocative voices, innovative in their own time and relevant still today. Patricia Coughlan and Lucy Collins will explore work by some of these women, and discuss the impact of their loss on our poetry tradition. Patricia Coughlan is Professor Emerita of English at UCC. She writes on Irish and Irish-American poetry and fiction, with a focus on gender and women’s writing.…
Tommy Sands, County Down’s singer, songwriter and social activist, has achieved something akin to legendary status in his own lifetime. From the pioneering tours with the highly influential Sands Family, playing Carnegie Hall to Moscow’s Olympic Stadium, he has become one of Ireland’s most powerful songwriters and enchanting performers. He enjoys celebrity status in many parts of the world, tempered by artistic integrity and the sorrow of personal tragedy in his formerly war-torn homeland. Walking the road between two cultures, he dreams of an island at peace with itself. Indeed, his songs speak to all that Ireland is, from its troubled past to its indomitable spirit and a vision of…
FORUM presents: Connemara CLG Senior Citizens Event Celebrating older persons' contribution to arts and culture in the community. Lunch will be followed by dance and song with Peter Carey, Liam Aspell and friends. Many thanks to Geraldine Kelly and Martina Gavin.
The Sound of Ireland The Uilleann Pipes by Peter Browne To mark the international recognition by UNESCO of the cultural value of the uilleann pipes and the centenary of the birth in 1918 of the celebrated Clare piper Willie Clancy, Peter Browne will talk about the instrument, its history and popularity, and feature recordings of some celebrated pipers. Peter Browne has been presenting The Rolling Wave on RTÉ Radio One since 2006, and playing traditional music since the age of six. Born in Dublin, he has received tuition on the uilleann pipes from three of the great players of modern times: Séamus Ennis, Leo Rowsome, and Willie Clancy. He frequently…
The Clifden Arts Festival Archive at University College Dublin Presented by Ursula Byrne, Head of Development and Strategic Programmes UCD Library Co-founder, Irish Poetry Reading Archive. The paper and digital collections of the Clifden Arts Festival were given into the care of the University College Dublin Library in 2017. This important cultural heritage archive charts the history of the festival and documents the extraordinary range of writers, musicians and artists it has featured over the past 40 years. Working together, we plan to continue to build these collections over time, to preserve them for future generations, and, where possible, make them available for scholars and enthusiasts at home and abroad.…
Charabancs Millinery and Telegraphy: Unravelling Marconi’s First Letterfrack Station on Diamond Hill Little is known about Marconi’s Letterfrack stations (there were three distinct sites). His first station was in the infirmary, at the infamous Letterfrack Industrial School, one of the few Marconi station buildings still standing in Ireland. He installed an extensive mast system pointing in four directions from the infirmary building. Recent information from an unexpected source has revealed a significant proportion of the station layout.
Take 16 strings, eight dancing feet and four voices with one aim – to make classical music wickedly funny and fantastically exhilarating for everyone, young and old. Graffiti Classics burst the elitist boundaries of the traditional string quartet with their hilarious all-singing, all-dancing musical comedy show. It’s a classical concert, a gypsy folk-romp, an opera, a stand-up comedy set, and a brilliant dance show all rolled into one! From Beethoven to bluegrass, Bach to Brahm, Strauss to Saturday Night Fever, Offenbbach to Elvis, there is something for everyone and Graffiti Classics never fail to get the audience laughing, clapping and singing along. Kids and adults alike love the uplifting and…
Having spent the winter making illuminated work on Arctic foreshores, LUXe return to Clifden Beach with a celebratory landscape spectacle. In the half light as the tide turns and the moon is risen, the Crystal Ship hoists her sails and casts off for a mystical dream journey on a sea of stars. The twilight door, held open with fire and illumination, into worlds of possibility beyond the blue. Walking is involved, so please bring a torch and dress well for the weather. Note: The Journey of the Crystal Ship into another world is a reference to a story from The Book of the Dun Cow, in which the hero, Connla…
Following in the footsteps of Simon Pegg, Dylan Moran and Dara Ó Briain, Danny O’Brien was handpicked in 2016 to perform as part of the iconic Best of The Edinburgh Fest show across Australia, touring Perth World Fringe, Adelaide Fringe Festival and The Melbourne International Comedy Festival both then and in 2018. After a sell-out, month-long run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe last year and a tour of south-east Asia, Danny began a national and international run of his hugely successful RaconTour, with over 30 dates in six countries. Danny’s new show, Lock-In, debuted at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe last month and will be performed in several prisons across Ireland…
Music with Joshua Burnside with support from 9:30pm There is a man in an attic somewhere at four in the morning. He is shaking knives in a biscuit tin, stomping and shouting, pitch bending, coding, looping, plucking banjos and squeezing accordions, layering sound upon sound like a demented chef creating a monstrous cake, a swirling dream of colours and visions, and stories of people trying to carve out their place in the universe. Joshua Burnside was born in Ireland, but cites the music of Colombia, Eastern Europe and North America as the greatest influences on his unique sound. Deftly blending folk textures and melodies with elements of electronica, he has…
Dearest Old Darling – Written by Mary Kenny, Performed by Jeananne Crowley Mary Kenny’s monologue, Dearest Old Darling, draws on the prison letters of Constance Markievicz, a renowned feminist, political activist, and central figure in the Easter Rising. Coming in the centenary year of her election as MP – the first woman in Britain and Ireland – it brings to life the woman as she was. Constance spent five years of her life in prison – first jailed by the British administration, then by the Free State. The letters she wrote to her sister, Eva Gore-Booth, usually began with the endearment, ‘Dearest old darling’. Through them we experience her recollection…
Pianist Veronica McSwiney has been performing around the world for over 50 years. She commenced her studies in Dublin at the age of seven and later studied at the Mozarteum Academy in Salzburg under Bruno Seidlhofer and with Ilona Kabos in London. She played her first concerto with the RTÉ SO at the tender age of 14, and after her Wigmore Hall debut in London, her reputation spread far beyond her native Ireland. Mozart – Sonata in C Major K330 (Allegro moderato, Andante cantabile, Allegretto) Debussy – La Cathedrale Engloutie; Deux Arabesques; Clair de Lune Chopin – Waltz in E Minor Opus Posthumous; Scherzo No. 2 In B Flat Minor Opus 31…
Writing about food with Margaret Hickey and Cliodhna Prendergast Formerly an editor at Country Living magazine in the UK, Margaret Hickey also had a freelance career writing on food, drink and travel for most of the national British press, including the Financial Times, The Guardian and The Times. She also had a weekly food and cookery slot on Premier Radio in London. After she moved to Ireland, her book Irish Days, a collection of oral histories, was published and her new book, Ireland’s Green Larder was published this year. She has appeared at a number of festivals and given talks at University College London and University College Limerick. She is…
Fine music, songs and entertainment are in store from four distinctive performers at the heart of the Irish music tradition. Slides and polkas, jigs and reels, solos, duets, trios, and songs with entertaining speech introductions will make this an event not to be missed! Seosaimhín Ní Bheaglaíóch is from a celebrated musical dynasty in West Kerry, bringing rare songs from her own home area as well as other favourites she has learned over the years. Fiddle-player Gerry Harrington is also from Co. Kerry and has that county’s Sliabh Luachra tradition to draw on, as well as the music style of Co Sligo where he has spent much of his life.…
A Lifetime Long Ago: Book Launch by Mary Hughes The story of two women from different worlds, each on a journey beyond their comfort zone, this is A Lifetime Long Ago, the first book by Clifden native Mary Hughes. Mary grew up in the town in the 1970s and 1980s, the eldest of four children. After finishing Clifden Community School in June of 1989, she moved to the UK, where she met her husband. In 2001, Mary, Paul and three-year-old Amy moved back to Ireland, settling in Newbridge in Co. Kildare. In 2002, Owen came into the world and made the family complete. Although Mary says she is ‘no storyteller’,…
Album Launch: Sophie & Fiachra Sophie Lavoie and Fiachra O'Regan play a blend of Irish and French-Canadian traditional music. Their previous album Un Canadien Errant (2016) was nominated in Canada for Traditional Album of the Year (Canadian Folk Music Awards and ADISQ). This latest album was recorded with André Marchand, one of the leading figures in Quebec’s trad scene. As well as traditional tunes, the album includes a selection of songs and compositions from Sophie Lavoie. The group is thrilled to launch at Clifden Arts Festival and will present a selection of work from the CD. It’s refreshing to hear a traditional band reference the present with such subtlety and…
Triskele (pronounced Tris-Kay-lee) is an all-female Celtic band out of Albany, New York. They are known for their stunning harmonies, their use of the Irish language, and for their distinctive wit. Triskele not only revitalizes the Irish language, but weaves history and traditions about growing up in Ireland, lending a deeper appreciation of aural history. Noeleen Druckenmiller – Bodhran Sharon Wheeler – Guitar Jenn Kilinski – Flute, tin whistle Admission €5
Two giants of the Irish trad scene, Andy Irvine and Donal Lunny, unite for an evening of great music, featuring celebrated fiddle player Paddy Glackin and a mixture of traditional songs and originals composed by Andy. Between them, Andy and Donal have been at the helm of legendary bands like Sweeney’s Men, Planxty, The Bothy Band, Mozaik, LAPD and, recently, Usher’s Island. Their unique style of accompaniment is an ongoing influence in the wider world of Irish music. Donal Lunny has produced albums for Elvis Costello, Paul Brady, Clannad, and The Indigo Girls, and performed on more than a dozen Christy Moore albums. Andy Irvine is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, singer…
Clifden Arts Festival welcomes back John Joe Forde and Mike Fahey for their annual traditional Irish music session, bringing the rich tradition of East Galway music to Connemara in what promises to be yet another powerful night!
Yule & McQ’s Big Band with support from 10pm Big band soul, blues and Motown review with full brass section, bringing you classics and originals. Not to be missed! Admission €8