Arts & Culture

A WEST Clare photographer and gallery owner has come up with a novel idea to challenge artists to complete 12 works in 12 hours in six different media.Katrina Morrison of the Buttermarket Gallery in Kilrush and the Kilkee Marine Gallery is organising the West Clare Art Challenge to take place on Thursday, September 2. She explained the idea stemmed from a conversation she had with one of the artists who is currently exhibiting in the gallery, James Hally. “James is a sketch artist and works mainly with graphite pencil. He suggested that we run a challenge getting artists to do 12 works in 12 hours in 12 different mediums. “We put the idea to Cillian, an art student from the Limerick School of Art and Design who is doing an internship in the gallery and he loved the idea. I then had a chat with my son-in-law, Mark Kelly, who is also an artist, about it and he felt the …

It has been announced that Mountshannon is to host a second festival, this time one dedicated to traditional music.

THE Wild Swan Theatre Company of Gort have returned after yet another sell-out show of their hugely popular farcical play A Wake In the West, by Michael Joe Ginnelly. This time, the show hits the motorway all the way to the Cultúrlann Centre on Belfast’s Falls Road, as part of the local Féile Phobail.

SS Peter and Paul’s Church in Clarecastle will be offering a very special musical evening on Friday when 24-year old local tenor, Dean Power will perform alongside a host of other musical talents.

ENNIS group, Ceoltóirí na Mainistreach will be seeking a national title at the forthcoming Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann this weekend when they will compete in the céilí band competition at the Quinn Direct Dome in Cavan.Ceoltóirí na Mainistreach is a 10-piece band formed five years ago and has pulled talents from across a varied age group from 19 onwards. The group is comprised of two flute players, three fiddles, a banjo, accordion, concertina, piano and drums and half of the band members, Sinéad Heagney, Liam Ryan, Marie Quigney, Mike Butler and John Rynne, have performed with the world-famous Kilfenora Céilí Band. They have had a number of successes in that time and won Ard Ghaisce na mBuíonta in 2007, which was the first year that competition was run. This year they took second place at the Ennis Trad Festival for a second time.At this year’s All-Ireland event the band will be will be performing four selections of music, including a …

THE Celtic Quest is a new book from Shannon resident Rosemary Power, who has been in Clare for the last two years acting as a pioneering minister on behalf of the Methodist Church.

This week, John Keogh reviews The Expendables.

Marguerite McGrath takes a look at this week’s television.