Arts & Culture

TV REVIEW WHEN Brian Cowen inherited Bertie’s hotchpot economic mess, he was always damming the tidal wave of his eventual political demise. But if RTÉ 1’s Crisis: Inside The Cowen Government was attempting in any way to enlighten us as to where it all went wrong, all they achieved was a lesson in how to form the perfect scapegoat.  

AT the start of October, new director Gemma Carcaterra took the reins at Glór.She will be responsible for the venue’s growth and strategic development over the next five years.From England originally, she met an Irish man there and they have been back in this country for some time. “This is my fourth week and I love it. I’m based in Clare anyway, out towards Killaloe, I’ve been here since 2007,” she says.Until earlier this year she had been working with Daghda Theatre company in Limerick. She has worked for a variety of organisations including museums, galleries and design companies and says she is proudest of having been part of a team who designed and delivered exhibitions at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London. The arts are in her blood, she says. “I come from a theatre family. My brother is an actor in London and my parents have a small amateur drama company and they do a lot of …

COMING from what could be described as the Toonagh fiddle nursery, synonymous with such names as Custy and Peoples, Michelle O’Brien will perform as part of Ennis Trad Festival.Joining Michelle on stage witll be Peter Browne, a box player who easily moves between Irish traditional music and jazz and legendary guitar player and stalwart of the tradition Arty McGlynn. The trio will combine to perform the headline gig on Saturday, November 12 at midnight in The Auburn Lodge Hotel.Michelle O’Brien learned her music at her local primary school under the guidance of acclaimed music teacher, Frank Custy. From there, She was taken under the wing of her neighbour, the legendary Tommy Peoples, and latterly Tommy’s daughter, Siobhán. It is Tommy who became Michelle’s main influence and his distinctive style of playing can be heard in her music. Michelle moved to Dublin in the ’90s and is an influential member of the Dublin traditional music scene ever since. Michelle has an …

TWO Clare women talk about their experiences of having premonitions in a new book, Forewarned, by best selling Irish writer Colm Keane.One of the women said she had sensed there would be a serious car accident in her local area, while another felt she was given advance notice of her brother’s death back in the 1970s. The second, Elizabeth, had a dream that her brother was going to die and in the book, she explains her views on premonitions. “I think the dream was some sort of forewarning to prepare me for what was going to occur. I knew something was coming and it did happen. I think people are susceptible to the energies that are there and that pass between us. We all have this ability but some people have thinner veils than others,” she states in the book.“I think that when something really profound is coming towards you, you get messages. I think that your life is known …

GUITARIST and composer Brendan Walsh returns home from Switzerland for a once-off solo guitar recital at St Columba’s Church in Ennis on November 11 at 8pm. The Sixmilebridge musician has been living in Switzerland for the past four years, but returns regularly to play at the Shannonside Winter Music weekend in Sixmilebridge, which is run by his father, Brendan snr. This is the first time in a number of years he will play a solo show and it follows a very successful performance with the Diversus Guitar Group  Speaking to The Clare Champion, Brendan said, “This concert for me is very much about playing at home. It has been a couple of years since I’ve done a solo guitar recital at home. I’ve played at my father’s Shannonside Winter Music Weekend, but I am nearly always collaborating with other musicians, so it’s been a long time doing something on my own here”. Brendan’s solo concert is a celebration of original …

There is a wealth of visual artists drawing on the beauties of Clare or merely using it as a setting for inspiration with many having settled here from other parts of the country and the world. In a new monthly series by The Clare Champion, the public will get an opportunity to learn about the painters, sculptors, photographers and ceramists working and living in the Banner County.The artist will outline the inspiration behind the piece of work, the techniques used as well as giving a bit of information about themselves and their artistic background. We start with artist Rena Casey Lewis. Lisdoonvarna native and Ennis resident Rena Casey Lewis is a painter/photographer and has chosen a painting entitled Vietnam Beauties as her chosen piece of work. Having been a science teacher for 20 years, Rena developed voice problems in 1994 and turned to art.“I started painting as a way of communicating and expressing myself. Initially, I was a self taught …

The Help DIRECTED BY: Tate TaylorSTARRING: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas HowardCERT: 12A The Help was one of the big movies of the year in the States, where it sparked a bit of controversy in my old adopted hometown when some women turned up at the local premiere dressed as Southern society ladies.  Which seemed perfectly sensible, since the women themselves were white and did not disgrace themselves by pretending to be African American housemaids. There were no complaints from the black community either but plenty of people were offended on their behalf and they kept the letters page of the local paper full for a few weeks.That was about as tense as it got because, for the most part, The Help is not the kind of film that challenges anyone to get worked up about anything. It’s a nice movie that plays it safe, presenting the message that racism is terrible but not all white folks …