Arts & Culture

THE death occurred this week of Brian Prior, a well-known figure in traditional music in the county. Mr Prior was born in Leitrim but he moved to Britain with his family as a child. He worked in England as a technician with British Telecom. Following his retirement, his family relocated to Clare in the early ’90s.Back in Ireland, he became involved with Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, taking up a position as a projects officer at the group’s headquarters in Dublin. He was very involved with Cois na hAbhna and Fleadh Nua and was a fiddle player of some renown.Frank Whelan, chairman of the management board of Cois na hAbhna, paid tribute to Mr Prior. “He was a great organiser and he spent a lot of time with beginners and he tried to get people interested in the music. He put in a lot of effort into running sessions for people and he published three tutorial books, which were very well-known. He …

What’s wild is beautiful

If Michael Bay adapting a children’s toy into a multi-gajillion dollar franchise, and Gore Verbinski turning a rollercoaster into the biggest thing to happen to piracy since Blackbeard decided “Arrrrr” might be a catchy sort of thing to shout, then it should come as no surprise that GI Joe has had magic Hollywood pixie dust (see also: a huge quantity of cash) sprinkled on it. The iconic, and heavily accessorised, Hasbro toy soldier has been knocking around in plastic, comic and cartoon-form for years but has taken till now to make that most important (marketing) step onto film.So with GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra the man who brought The Mummy back to life on screen, Stephen Sommers, was tasked with making the world’s favouite plastic action hero a celluloid cash cow.The only problem is that Joe lacks that certain je ne sais quoi that Transformers, Pirates or even The Mummy had. Think about it – giant fighting robots are …

What to do now on a Saturday night?

His many friends in Clare have fond memories of veteran broadcaster, Ciarán MacMathuna, who was laid to rest on Wednesday. He was a renowned collector and recorder of Irish traditional music who travelled the length and breadth of the country recording material for Radio Éireann’s archives.He was long associated with The Banner County following his many visits to record some of the famous and not so famous musicians and singers in the county for his radio programmes.Born in Limerick in 1925, his name was synonymous with the Irish traditional music scene for nearly 40 years. Over a long period he presented his own programme of Irish music and song, Mo Cheol Thú, on RTÉ radio every Sunday morning. The popular programme started in 1970 and was last broadcast on November 27, 2005. With just one word, “slán”, Ciarán brought an end to the programme and a glorious era on RTÉ Radio. Over the years he shared his deep love of …

THE death occurred this week of Brian Prior, a well-known figure in traditional music in the county.Mr Prior was born in Leitrim but he moved to Britain with his family as a child. He worked in England as a technician with British Telecom. Following his retirement, his family relocated to Clare in the early ’90s.Back in Ireland, he became involved with Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, taking up a position as a projects officer at the group’s headquarters in Dublin. He was very involved with Cois na hAbhna and Fleadh Nua and was a fiddle player of some renown.Frank Whelan, chairman of the management board of Cois na hAbhna, paid tribute to Mr Prior. “He was a great organiser and he spent a lot of time with beginners and he tried to get people interested in the music. He put in a lot of effort into running sessions for people and he published three tutorial books, which were very well-known. He had …

THE Island Music Club will be holding two gigs over the festive period, with the Johnny Fean Band playing in Crusheen and Frankie Lane & Paul Kelly performing in Tulla.The Johnny Fean Band will be playing in the Highway in Crusheen on December 27.The group is led by Johnny Fean, who is fresh from two Horslips reunion shows at Belfast’s Odyssey Arena and Dublin’s O2. He plays guitar and mandolin besides providing vocals, while Steve Travers will be on bass guitar with Kosovan musician Blendi Krasniqi on drums.The band delivers an exciting guitar-oriented rock experience. As the set unfolds, audiences are given a mixture of material, which includes furious-paced rock, grass roots blues and trad/rock. The band also throws in occasional classics from their earlier careers.Two days later, Frankie Lane and Paul Kelly will play in Minogue’s of Tulla. The last time they were in the village they gave an outstanding performance and their shows offer a wide range of …

Shannon Heritage has launched two new Christmas events at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park to meet the growing demand for pre-Christmas entertainment. The Princess & the Dragon Wizard mini panto and dinner takes place this Saturday and Sunday evening at 5pm while a special Christmas Evening event at the Castle takes place on Friday and Saturday at 8pm.Shannon Castle Entertainers will be involved in both events, putting on a series of fun panto with dinner events for all the family and performing a selection of Christmas carols at the evening at the castle events. “This year more than ever, people want to take their minds off the doom and gloom and what better way to do this than by revisiting your childhood panto experience and sharing it with your children,” said John Ruddle, chief executive, Shannon Heritage.A whole host of pantomime characters are involved in The Princess & the Dragon Wizard mini panto. It tells the story of Princess Cora, …