A showcase of Clare’s culture

THERE will be a number of activities in Clare to celebrate Culture Night on Friday, September 21.

In Ennis, the Clare Memory Orchestra will perform at 8pm in Glór. The Clare Memory Orchestra, featuring Liz Carroll, Máirtín O’Connor and Mick O’Brien, is a uniquely Irish orchestra funded by composer Dave Flynn, who has combined some of the country’s leading traditional and classical musicians to create a distinctive new sound. Their string section is infused with the sound of Irish fiddles, while the wind section mixes Irish flutes, whistles and pipes with the haunting tone of the oboe and there is a harmonic background of Irish harp and guitar.
Its rhythm section mixes rumbling bass and ticking percussion. The orchestra gets its name from the fact that the musicians play from memory, without having sheet music on stage.
From 5pm to 8pm there will be an open air art exhibition by local artists in the car park of the Temple Gate Hotel. A call for participants will be sent out in early September.
There will also be an exhibition by Cuimhneamh an Chláir. This group was formed in 2009 and they digitally record, archive and share the memories, folklore, traditions and oral history of Clare, through interviews with the county’s oldest citizens.
Another highlight of the day will be a guided tour of the County Museum, while there will also be a walking tour of Ennis.
In Ennistymon, the Courthouse Studios and Gallery will play host to a free evening of short films made by local and national filmmakers.
At the Cultúrlann Sweeney in Kilkee, there will be a talk on dance by Deirdre Mulrooney to accompany an exhibition of prints in the gallery and the video installation Coincidental Dance School Triptych 1943-2012 which shows dance moments filmed locally over the years, featuring the Becker sisters participating in Erina Brady’s 1943 Dance Class. 
The Dinan School of Ballet will also perform on stage, followed by images from Nick Bryant of Legitimate Bodies Dance Company as he rehearses his new piece Rural Landscapes.
At Miltown Malbay, there will be an opportunity to learn more about Oidreacht an Chláir and about an exhibition it is staging in association with the National University of Ireland Galway’s Community Knowledge Initiative. There will also be live music.
In East Clare, there will be a ceramic workshop with Bláithín Ní Leannáin, as well as open studios at the Tulla Stables Studios. At Tulla Courthouse there will be a variety of events culminating in Clare Youth Theatre’s performance of For One Night Only, which features scenes from such Irish classics as Sive, Dancing at Lughnasa and The Lonesome West.
South Galway will also be holding events as part of Culture Night.
In Kinvara, events begin with storytelling at 3.15pm at the courthouse garden, where stories from the sea and the wonderful Burren story of Bóthar na Mias will be told from the story tent.
There will be a Culture Café at the Culture Night opening at 4.45pm in the Courthouse in Kinvara with the pop-up culture café, We Are All Artists Now. Events will include workshops in digital art and music.
At 5pm in the Courthouse, Culture Night Kinvara will host the work of Robert Ellis, a young Burren-based photographer whose exhibition New Line deals with the notion of home. His photographs feature a community living on the fringes of Kinvara. The Fiddlers’ Forum will take place at 6pm also at the Courthouse. This forum draws together the many strands and genres of fiddle playing available in this rich cultural area exploring the Irish tradition to Cajun, old timey, Scottish and classical. Gis a Shot of Your Bongos Mister is the title for the one man show taking to the stage at Johnson’s at 7pm. This musical story by Brian Fleming and directed by Raymond Keane takes people on a journey from Dublin’s Fatima Mansions to the suburbs of Senegal.
There will be a music night from 8pm until late at Kinvara Community Centre featuring The Sonic Strings, a young teenage orchestra on the move. Their performance combines music with choreographed movement and is the only group of its kind in Ireland. The Galway Ensemble in Residence, ConTempo Quartet will perform at 9pm and this is a special year for them as 2012 marks their 10-year anniversary. They will perform movements by some of their favourite composers such as Mozart and Golijov. At 9.45pm Vyvienne Long and her band take to the stage. This quirky cello star is a talented arranger and greatly admired vocalist and songwriter. She is best known for her cello work with Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan.
Meanwhile, in Gort, the public will have an opportunity to explore Coole Park Visitor Centre from 7pm to 9pm. A guided evening walk through the woods may also be offered, weather permitting, and this will give visitors a chance to see bats and other creatures of the night.
Furthermore, Ballinderreen Community Centre will host a traditional Irish music evening workshop from 7pm to 8pm and will be followed by a concert from 8.30pm to 10pm. Local music group, Ceoltóirí an Doirín will run a workshop on traditional Irish music in a group environment to children from Ballinderreen and the surrounding areas. Following this, there will be a concert for the wider community.