Arts & Culture

AN Ennis duo’s new artistic endeavour has been bringing sparks of colour and creativity to electrical boxes in locations throughout the county capital. Artists Rachel Macmanus and Robert Downey are the pair behind this project, busily brightening up the boxes dotted throughout Ennis with different works of art. The artists have joined forces to create the Negative Space Collective, a new platform to develop contemporary art and further strengthen visual arts culture and opportunities in the west of Ireland. The electrical box project involves a series of urban art pieces which have been created with the support of Clare Arts Office, under the PRISM Urban Art scheme. And, they both hope this project will be just the start of a movement encouraging artists and communities to come together to create art for everyone. The striking works on the electrical boxes include, among others, depictions of teenagers at Club Bridge, a garda near Ennis Garda Station, a contemporary take on the …

ENNIS is set to host the 28th Annual Ennis Tradfest this November with a line up of top international, national and local traditional music stars. Amongst the stars will be Anxo Lorenzo, a virtuoso award-winning Galician piper renowned for his energetic and inspiring performances.  Over 1,000 are expected to travel from the US, Canada, Spain and the UK for Ennis Tradfest 2022.  From its early years, Ennis Tradfest has established itself as one of the most vibrant and dynamic traditional music festivals in Ireland with fans and visitors returning year after year. Michael ‘Blackie’ O’Connell, widely recognised as one of the best pipers in the world, has been tirelessly building this festival over the years into an extravaganza of traditional music.  Tradfest 2022 is no exception, boasting a stellar line-up of musicians including the Galician Anxo Lorenzo Band, legends Sean Keane (formerly of The Chieftains) and Gay Mc Keon, John Carty and Mike McGoldrick, Damien and Conor Connolly and popular concert band Jiggy.   …

ENNIS Players’ Annual Supper Theatre is back with three offerings to whet your theatrical appetite this November. Rehearsals are well underway for this four-night production, offering the finest of theatre and the finest of food in the surrounds of the Old Ground Hotel, Ennis. This year’s production will showcase performances of Elysium Nevada by Barry McKinley; Trapped, by Barry Woods and Tony Layton’s Where there’s a Will. Elysium Nevada is set in a retirement village in the sweltering Nevada desert. Two residents reflect on life, youth and how they got there. They are joined by a mysteriously silent woman whose presence adds an entirely new dimensions to the discussion. Directed by Saoirse Byrne, and features Hugh Gallagher as Bob, Conor Lynch as Mike and Amy McEnnis as Constance. Trapped sees Faye respond to a distressed phonecall from her best friend. They discover information that is both profound and life changing. A ten minute play about the unexpected parts that people …

MUSE Productions are in the final stages of rehearsals for their musical ‘Our House’, which will be performed at St Patrick’s Comprehensive from November 2-5. Our House is based on the music of Madness, the English ska band who achieved huge success in the late 1970s and early ‘80s.  Martin McNelis is one of the founding members of Muse and is directing Our House, a musical he is very enthusiastic about. “It’s a wonderful, young musical and that’s probably what attracted us to it. We have a lot of young people in Shannon who have come out of Eclipse stage school and we wanted to do something that would utilise all that talent. “This is a show that has a young cast, but it’ll also appeal to an older age group because the music of Madness is very well known and holds a lot of special memories for people.” It is the story of young Joe Casey and a life-altering …

AN EXCITING mix of trad and classical sounds comes to Kilkee on Saturday, October 29, as the West Ocean String Quartet come to West Clare.  Among the programme on the night will be pieces from their latest, and fifth album, Atlantic Edge. Blending traditional and classical elements, the album was recorded in Dublin  over three days in November 2019, and marked the Quartet’s two decades together. The album release was to have been accompanied by a tour of venues along the Atlantic coast in Spring of 2020, but as with so many other cultural events fell victim to Covid. The Quartet’s founder, Belfast musician, composer and television producer, Neil Martin, said that the Quartet is thrilled to be fulfilling the original tour schedule, including Cultúrlann Sweeney on Saturday. The repertoire for their Clare concert  is music from or about the west of Ireland, both traditional and newly-composed.  The Quartet celebrates the deeply rich vein of airs and dance tunes that …

THE artist behind a new EP, with goth and comedy-horror overtones, has described his four-track compilation as “a sweaty love letter to the girls who made me want to write songs”.  Music for Girls Vol. 1 is the debut EP from Ennis-born John Hennessy, whose stage persona is the enigmatic Black Pope. Now based between Berlin, Cork and his home town, John is fast making his name in music. Credited by none other than Mojo magazine with developing a “neo rock ’n’ roll” style, Black Pope blends darkly beautiful lyrics with impeccably smooth guitar riffs and a flavour of fizzling glam rock. Music for Girls Vol. 1 has been described as a dark rock’n’roll soundtrack to a movie that never existed. The lyrics find the sweet spot between small-town angst and monster movies. The track ‘Werewolf, Man’ even includes a clip recorded by Twin Peaks star, Sherilyn Fenn.  On the title of the EP, John explained that: “It’s my invitation …

DEEP in the leafy, rolling landscape of East Clare, lies a noted wellspring of traditional music. In towlands like Glendree, Kilclaren, Caher, Magherabaun and Maghera, a distinctive musical style and repertoire have been handed down with care and love. The village of Feakle has long been a focal point for this transmission of culture, drawing musicians from a wide hinterland stretching to Scariff, Bodyke, Tulla and Kilkishen. Establishments like Lena’s Bar brought together young, emerging musicians with legends such as John Naughton, Martin Rochford, P Joe Hayes, Francie Donnellan, Mikey Donoghue, Paddy Grogan, Joe Bane and Bill Malley.  At the feet of these giants, upcoming generations immersed themselves in the riches of East Clare. Among them was the acclaimed concertina player, Mary MacNamara. She and her brothers and sister sat by Lena’s hearth listening and learning for more than a decade.  This year, after a “labour of love,” and with the support of The Arts Council, Mary realised a life-long …

Something’s brewing, and it’s going to be ghoulishly fun! Cliffs of Moher Experience have a wicked weekend of spooktacular Halloween activities planned for all monsters big and small! The visitor centre will be adorned in Halloween decorations from Saturday October 29 to Monday October 31. Witching hour will begin at 8am until 7pm, with activities running throughout the day. Staff will be telling tales of long ago and spooky stories from the Cliffs of Moher Experience within the visitor centre. Anyone who arrives in Halloween fancy dress will be in with a chance of winning some scarily good spot prizes. On arrival, all children will also receive a Treasure Hunt with clues leading them to five locations on site. Visitors to Ireland’s most popular natural attraction also will be able to enjoy a menu filled with locally sourced produce. The Cliffs View Café and Puffins Nest Café, both located within the visitor centre, will be offering visitors Halloween Muffins, and …