Arts & Culture

NOT a day goes by that Scariff man Brendan O’Beirne doesn’t put pen to paper to write poetry. Almost as far back as he can remember, he has been expressing himself through verse, so much so that he will soon complete what will be his sixteenth book of poetry.Brendan will read from his latest works and from some of his earlier poems at the next meeting of the Clare Three Legged Stool Poets in the Atrium in Glór, Ennis on Saturday.Brendan was born in Scariff on May 23, 1949. He went to national school in Scariff and Tuamgraney. “I spent one year as a boarder in Mount St Joseph’s Cistercian College in Roscrea, and thereafter, I attended St Caimin’s Secondary School in Scariff, which my father, Seán, had a hand in founding in 1963,” he says. His father was one of the local business people who were instrumental in getting the chipboard factory to locate in Scariff in 1959. “It …

TWO weeks ago, Miltown Malbay teenager Seán Óg O’Malley was a fairly average Clare lad, studying for his Leaving Cert and singing with a band in his spare time.But since May 1, he has jumped to international renown and become a hit – with up to 1,000 hits a day with his debut single I Still Love you Without Your Car on You Tube.But it is not necessarily the song itself that is actually grabbing all the attention but more so the video that depicts it, which has a number of dogs strumming various traditional Irish instruments to the backdrop of a number of recognisable Galway locations.These aren’t just any dogs, however, the featured dogs include three of Sharon Shannon’s – Lily, Daisy and Benji, who is blind. The other two dogs are called Louis Walsh, whose owner is Seamus Walsh, the button accordion player from Quilty and Frank Delaney’s dog. The song and the video are a collaboration between …

ENNIS Players did the town proud in the RTÉ Open All-Ireland Drama Finals in Athlone at the weekend. Their production of JM Synge’s Playboy of the Western World ranked third place overall in the competition, with long-time member of the group, Jackie Scanlan, scooping the best supporting actor role.The competition was held in the Dean Crowe Theatre, Athlone from April 30 to May 8. “We were delighted with our achievement. We feel that coming third out of nine plays in the finals is really wonderful. I am delighted to have been judged as the best supporting actor. I have won awards at preliminary festivals over the years but this is my first All-Ireland Open award, so I am very proud. Honestly, the group coming third in the finals means more to me because it is a group award and shows the team effort and talent,” Jackie commented.Two other cast members of the Ennis production were also nominated for awards. “Bernie …

TRANSITION-year students at St Joseph’s Secondary School in Tulla will be taking to the stage with their Living Scenes partners from the local community to perform Miss Tullabeg on Thursday at 8pm in the courthouse.The Living Scenes project involves collaboration between adults in the community and TY students at St Joseph’s, where it has been running for the past five years. The play offers a humorous look at a rural beauty pageant, with students playing the roles of the entrants but there are a few hiccups along the way and instead, the adults have to step in to provide the entertainment. The production starts with the pageant beauties’ car breaking down, which forces them to take an alternative route in their heels across country. The older members of the project then come into their own, stalling the audience with song and dance awaiting the arrival of the contestants.Having being coaxed into the pageant by their parents, the girls soon realise …

The University of Southern Indiana Chamber Choir will travel to North Clare this week to take part in a fundraising concert. The more than 30 strong choir will play a charity event in the Pavilion in Lisdoonvarna at 8.30pm on Friday night.“I first found out about Lisdoonvarna through the Christy Moore song ‘Oh Lisdoonvarna’,” explains Daniel R Craig, director of choirs at the University of Southern Indiana. “But then in 2001, I had the pleasure to stop there while on tour with our choir. We did not perform but had a moment to stop and stretch our legs.”Though that visit to the area was brief, Daniel returned a few years later for a more prolonged stay.“In 2007, I spent three weeks in County Clare, both in Doolin and Lisdoonvarna while on a sabbatical from my university. “While in Ireland, I was keenly listening to singers and instrumentalists to find inspiration for some of my own creative work in the States. …

A UNIQUE line-up of Irish musicians from Clare and beyond are coming together on Saturday, May 22 in honour of the late Seán Ó Riada.The concert will feature Seán’s own son, Peadar, who will direct the famous Cór Cuil Aodha, as well as the Glackin Family, Seán Keane and fiddler John Kelly. Ceoltóirí Chualann, originally formed by Ó Riada, will reform specially for this tribute concert, and will be led by celebrated Cork singer Seán Ó Sé. The Chieftains’ founder and well-known member of Ceoltóirí Chualann, Seán Potts, will also join in the tribute to Ó Riada. The stellar line-up continues with renowned wildlife expert and musician Éamon de Buitléar and piper Seán McKeown. Together, these musicians made up, at various times, the seminal Ceoltóirí Chualann, who had a profound effect of Irish traditional music. The concert is a unique opportunity to see an outstanding line-up of musicians, paying tribute to tSeán Ó Riada and to his musical legacy. MC …

FOLLOWING his successful performance of Message of Peace last October, Seán Tyrrell will return to Fanore on Friday, May 28, for a solo rendition of The Midnight Court (Cúirt an Mheán-Oíche), the 18th-century poem by Brian Merriman.The concert at Vasco Restaurant will start at 9pm and will be introduced by local actor Gerry Howard. The Midnight Court sees a monstrous female envoy from the fairies appear to the unmarried poet in a dream, summoning him to the court of Queen Aoibheall to answer charges of wasting his manhood when women are dying for the want of love. The storyline carries the audience along with loads of humour, earthy lyrics and a very feminine message considering the lyrics and music were written by two men.This is an Aisling (dream) poem but unlike any other. This is no Éire in the guise of fair young maidens come to redress political oppression but an ugly bailiff whose main concern is sex. It is …

DETAILS of this year’s Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy have been announced. The festival this year will run from Saturday, July 3 to Sunday, July 11.Over the years, the festival has become Ireland’s largest traditional music summer school, with tourists and musicians travelling from all over Ireland, Europe and much further afield to join in the sessions and avail of the workshops. It has been held annually since 1973 in memory of the piper Willie Clancy. Last year, over 1,000 students attended daily classes taught by experts in Irish music and dance, as well as a full programme of lectures, recitals, céilithe and exhibitionsand this year promises to be no different. Enrolment for Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy will be at the community hall in Miltown Malbay from 2 to 6pm. The hall will host this year’s Breandán Breathnach Memorial Lecture, entitled The Traditional Arts and the National Economy, which will be hosted by Philip King, musician, broadcaster and filmmaker.Among the other …