The Killaloe Chamber Music Festival returns to the South East Clare town after an absence of more than a decade this weekend and musicians will be coming from across the globe to showcase the best of Viennese composition. The revival event has been organised by Clarecastle resident John Horgan, who was involved with the original festival, as a board member of the Irish Chamber Orchestra. Killaloe’s St Flannan’s Cathedral will be the venue for the main recitals, which take place on Friday and Saturday at 8pm and on Sunday at 3pm. Speaking about the recitals, Mr Horgan hopes the festival will return as a staple on the Killaloe events calendar. “It hasn’t been there for ten years. It moved out of Killaloe and went to Limerick and it was there for a while and it sort of died away then. So this is a revival but on a slightly smaller scale to start with. We hope it will run every …

Doolin Folk Festival is taking place this weekend, with a number of big names coming to North Clare.The entire festival is taking place on the grounds of Hotel Doolin, less than a mile from the site of the famous Lisdoonvarna Festival of the late 1970s and early ’80s.Things get underway on Friday afternoon, with Peadar Reilly and Friends performing from 5 to 6pm. After this, Socks in the Frying Pan will be on from 6.30 to 7.30pm and from 8 to 9.30pm, it’s Scullion. From 10 to 11.30pm Martin Hayes and Steve Cooney are on with special guest Iarla Ó Lionáird, who is well known from his involvement with the Afro Celt Sound System.From 12 to 1.30am, The Céilí Bandits will be on stage with Kevin Griffin. Kevin is from Doolin himself and has recorded three popular CDs, Traditional Irish Music from Doolin, Co Clare, Across The Pond with Roger Burridge, Michael Shorrock and Quentin Cooper (2002) and Kevin Griffin …

After EarthDIRECTED BY: M Might ShyamalanSTARRING: WillSmith, Jaden Smith,Isabelle FuhrmanCERT: 12A After Earth is based on a story idea by its main man, Will Smith, an idea perhaps conceived in the hope that this would be the one – the movie that would mark Mr Smith’s triumphant return to the top of the hill. It’s been a while since he was king of the box office.I suppose it might have happened, had the project fallen into the right hands. Unfortunately for the now Not-So-Fresh Prince, it fell into the hands of M Night Shyamalan, the Hollywood equivalent of Wayne Rooney or Fernando Torres – a man who once dazzled the world with an immense talent, but is now a mere shadow of his formerself. Like his football counterparts, Shyamalan is still capable of the odd genius moment and to his credit, After Earth is an improvement on, say, The Last Airbender, but it’s a long way from the top of …

ÉNNIS Glór Theatre will play host to actress Mary McEvoy, comedian John Moynes and Newstalk broadcaster Dil Wickremasinghe as they share their personal stories of mental health problems on Thursday. This specially commissioned theatre piece entitled Box of Frogs embarks on a national tour as part of the national Green Ribbon campaign to encourage open discussion of mental health.Dubbed by the cast as “a happy play about being sad,” Box of Frogs sets out to take an irreverent and rollicking look at the Irish approach to mental health using the authentic material of the cast’s real life experiences. Through a mixture of stories, comedy sketches and songs, the cast tell their own stories, demystifying, debunking and having a laugh with what really goes on inside our heads.Actress Mary McEvoy, whose personal story of anxiety and depression forms the basis of her part in the show, said “I have no shame about my condition at all. I can work perfectly well …

A SERIES of lunchtime concerts featuring professional established singers who have graced the international stage and young up-coming stars of the future continues in Ennis this June, July and August.  Dubbed Classical Thursdays, the summer lunchtime recital series take place at St Columba’s Church, Bindon Street, Ennis from 1.05pm to 1.40pm with performances on June 20, July 4, July 18, August 1 and August 15. Following its initial recital performance last Thursday, which featured soprano Helen Houlihan and piano accompaniment by Irina Dernova, the next performance on June 20 will feature mezzo soprano Edel O’Brien also accompanied by Irina Dernova. On July 4, soprano Elena McLeod will perform accompanied by Michael Hennessy, while soprano Ruthy Kelly will be at St Columba’s on July 18 also with Michael Hennessy. On August 1, baritone Owen Gilhooly fills the series slot with Irina Dernova Piano. Meanwhile on August 15, soprano Helen Houlihan will be joined by mezzo soprano Edel O’Brien, and Michael Hennessy. …

CLARE musicians and venue owners are being invited to get involved love: live music, Ireland’s national music day which takes place on Friday, June 21. Initiated by Music Network in 2010 and now in its fourth year, National Music Day hopes to see people across Clare join together in a vibrant celebration of live music by staging events in villages and towns, throughout the day. Musicians around Clare have already registered a range of free live music events for love:live music, with many more expected to register in the coming weeks. Clare Youth Service Shannon will hold a music project from 4.30pm to 7.30pm at Shannon swimming and leisure centre in Tullyglass. This will include a music event for young people in Shannon featuring seven acts and celebrating youth music in Shannon to mark the end of exams.Meanwhile CCÉ Cnoc na Gaoithe will hold an evening of music, song and dance from 8.30pm to 10.30pm at the Cnoc na Gaoithe …

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THE mid-summer sunshine beating down on Tullabrack West, just off the Cooraclare-Kilrush Road, partly concealed the sense of loss pervasive in the Wilson-Pierce household. The throng of people, young and old, who had navigated the narrow boreen leading to the family home indicated that all was well. However, Mark Wilson-Pierce would have infinitely preferred if the anniversary gathering at Rathlir Farm had not been taking place at all. Almost 12 months ago, Mark lost his wife Margo (née Wilson) to cancer, leaving him widowed and seven-year-old Síofra and five-year-old Phoebe without their mother.“Monday (June 10) would have been the 10th wedding anniversary for myself and Margo. She passed away last July, having struggled hard to fight against ovarian cancer. It was found very late and there was unfortunately no hope,” Mark told The Clare Champion on Saturday, momentarily removed from the teeming crowd celebrating Margo’s life and raising money for the West Clare Cancer Centre in Kilkee.Margo, who was a …