Arts & Culture

At the Movies Sex And The City 2 DIRECTED BY: Michael Patrick King STARRING: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon CERT: 15A A few reasons why I might not be the ideal individual to review Sex And The City 2. Firstly, I am a man. I really should need to say no more than that but, for those requiring further clarification let me go on – I am not one of the metrosexual variety, though I have travelled on the metro system in Madrid, if that counts. I do not have a feminine side. Trust me, the doctors have checked.

Channel Hopping The television highlight for most of us last week was of course Sky’s latest adaptation of the Terry Pratchett novel Going Postal. In fact, according to some reports, it was the most watched programme over the seven days.

The horrors of war is a territory frequently trampled on by Hollywood, sometimes to impressive effect (Bridge Over the River Kwai, Platoon, The Deerhunter) and sometimes with all the the subtlety of a brick wrapped in barbed wire being shoved up your… nose (Pearl Harbour).

MEMORIES of a Fleadh Nua past were revived for one local man when he was recently flicking through old photos.

IT’S over 30 years since this group of top traditional musicians played together in Paddy Con’s Hall for the Aos Óg concert. This week, they come together again for a celebrity concert, billed to be the highlight of this year’s Fleadh Nua events.This year’s concert is a tribute to Brian Prior, who passed away last December. Brian worked for Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann as a projects officer since 1998 and was very involved with Fleadh Nua. The concert line-up includes Kieran and Mike Hanrahan, Paul Roche, Helen Murray, Vincent McMahon, Geraldine and Eamonn Cotter, Mary and Josephine Nugent, Cyril O’Donoghue, Séamus McMahon, Noel Hill, and his daughter, Aisling, Eoin Ó Riabhaigh, Conal Ó Gráda and Colm Murphy. “Ennis was a hive of traditional music activity in the ’70s, with the result that Fleadh Nua benefited greatly from the sterling efforts of local families – both parents and children – like the Hanrahans, the Murrays, the Roches, the Cotters, the McMahons and …

PAINTERS basked in the sun enjoying the sea breeze as they put their artistic talents to the test in the Burren Outdoor Landscape Painting Competition on Saturday.The competition, now in its fourth year, attracted up and coming artists from Clare, Limerick, Cork, Dublin and Galway, among other places.Chris O’Neill of the Burren Painting Centre said he fantastic weather made the coastal location “very special” but presented its own challenges for the participating artists. “Last year, participants had to wear wellies and raingear and were almost washed out of it; this year they got sun scorched. The heat and wind, however, make painting quite difficult. One of the locations was Fanore Beach and between the wind and sun there, the paint was almost dry dried as soon as it touched the paper, which is quite challenging for an artist. Some of the paintings, upon completion, unavoidably included pieces of sand and the odd fly, which had dried into the paint,” Chris …

TO COINCIDE with the release of their new album, Lúnasa is returning to Glór this Friday, during the Fleadh Nua celebrations.After a four-year absence from the studio, Lúnasa’s new album Lá Nua, has been highly anticipated and came out of extensive rehearsal and recording on location in the Cooley mountains in the north-east. Inspired by Ireland’s great 1970s group The Bothy Band, Lúnasa use melodic interweaving of wind and string instruments, pairing flutes, fiddle, whistle and pipes in often breathtaking arrangements. “Lúnasa is a gathering of some of the top musical talents in Ireland. Its members have helped formed the backbone of some of the greatest Irish groups of the decade: bassist Trevor Hutchinson was a key member of The Waterboys, and later he, with former Lúnasa member Donogh Hennessy, would form the dynamic rhythm section of The Sharon Shannon Band. Fiddler Seán Smyth is an All-Ireland champion who has played with Donal Lunny’s Coolfin; Kevin Crawford, considered to be …

CHILDREN from as young as three years old will tapping and stepping it out in the Doolin-based Broadway Dance School end-of-term show in Lisdoonvarna on June 3.The talented young dancers will stage a dance spectacular, Let Me Entertain You in Lisdoonvarna Town Hall.Liz Shannon originally from Boston, studied dance in New York’s Wagner College. She moved to Clare six years ago and set up the Broadway Dance School in Doolin four years ago. Last September, she expanded the dance school and classes are now also held in Kinvara and Claregalway. As a dancer she specialised in jazz, tap and ballet, starting when she was just three years old. “It’s great to pass on my love of dance to others now. I take students from three to 18 years. Three is quite young, but people would be surprised how well children can dance at three,” Liz said.She teaches mainly girls, but also a few boys, whom she finds are mainly more …