Arts & Culture

ENNIS-born artist Mick O’Dea is still obsessed with toy soldiers. He doesn’t actually play with them but he’s still intrigued with what they stand for and the times they represent. His fascination is borne out of his interest in history, a passion, that was sparked at a very young age from the stories he grew up listening to in the family’s pub in Ennis from war veterans.

IT’S said that the family that prays together, stays together but at Tulla Traditional Music Festival, the reality is that the families who play together stay together.

FOLLOWING on from hugely popular TV programmes including Gotta Dance and Dancing with the Stars, more and more parents are opting to send their children to dance classes. More teenagers are continuing on with the hobby and opting to stick with it in their adult years.

Grown UpsDIRECTED BY: Denis DuganSTARRING: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, David SpadeCERT: 12AYou can’t help but have a soft spot for Adam Sandler and his gang. When they get together for a movie, it’s like hanging out with your friends – some weekends are more memorable than others, but it’s always fun just having them around.

The events of this week have made it so that this column can start no other way than to pay tribute to the late Mick Lally.

Life in the American suburbs doesn’t half come in for a kicking from filmmakers.Whatever end of the spectrum portrayed – the rich, the poor or the comfortable middle – there is always a thin veneer of normality laid on top of a bubbling, babbling brook of tongue-wagging, arm-flailing craziness.

IT’S tough to be in business today. A poor economy, so many without jobs and those who have work very aware the rug could be pulled from under them at any minute. All of it makes it very hard to be self-employed, especially when you’ve taken the big step of moving to a premises which carries high rent, maintenance charges and don’t get me started on council rates. Now we’ve all seen those businesses that boomed in the Celtic Tiger, making money that seemed endless and a lot of those found it hugely difficult to survive when faced with taking in real normal money.But there are other stories out there, stories of business that happened a little too late and this is my story. The kind of business that I have was one that was a dream for a very long time, one that would’ve boomed during the Celtic tiger but alas, had I been that wise. In January 2008, …

A HOST of musical talent will be coming together in St Mary’s Cathedral in Limerick next Thursday as part of a benefit for local singer Róisín Walsh who has received an unprecedented five offers to study at prestigious colleges in England.The event, entitled A Grand Night for Singing, will feature the mezzo-soprano Róisín Walsh and Owen Gilhooly, among others. Currently a staff nurse in Limerick’s Regional Hospital, Róisín has also been studying singing with Olive Cowpar for a number of years, winning numerous awards and competitions in that time, including second place in the RTÉ Radio 1 All-Ireland Talent Showcase, The DIT Thomas Moore Festival for Young Singers, the Margaret Dillion Cup for overall voice of the Feis and the Alec Redshaw Cup for senior recitals. Following the receipt of offers to study in five prestigious UK colleges, Róisín has opted for the renowned Guildhall School of Music and Drama.Róisín is well known in local musical theatre circles having taken …