Arts & Culture

TULLA artist and school teacher Tim Moloney will be opening his new studio to the public next Saturday, where art enthusiasts, locals and Christmas shoppers can view his large body of originals and prints in the idyllic setting of Glendree, Feakle. Tim and his wife, Ann, run the studio in a renovated building next to their home at Glendree. Tim provides a wealth of artistic material, while sales-savvy Ann reproduces his talents in print format and packages the finished products for the market. It is a nice system, which has been running smoothly for a long number of years and, following extensive refurbishment work to an outbuilding on their property, the couple have a tranquil studio setting in which to admire Tim’s work. They are equally proud of this recent development and have decided to host an open day so that others might enjoy the work. The open day will run from 11am to 8pm and all are welcome.  Tim …

CAVAN woman Derbhle Crotty (below) is no stranger to Clare. She loves the streets of Ennis and the history of The Old Ground hotel but most of all she loves to perform here. The actress takes to the Glór stage next week as Mona in Tom Murphy’s The Gigli Concert, directed by Garry Hynes. “It is not an understatement to say The Gigli Concert is one of the great plays of the 20th century and certainly one of the great Irish plays. There is eating and drinking in it. Every time I am backstage and I hear it, new layers are revealed to me. It touches me in different ways every night. I have seen two productions of it and I am very happy and privileged to be in this production. It has everything. It has great soul. It is operatic in its scale and it speaks very particularly to every individual that sees it. It is not aloof; it …

ANY TV programme featuring former showbands trigger wonderful memories. All music lovers would concur that it is highly evocative, prompting precise, exact memories.People who danced to showbands are of a certain age now, so I’m happy to say I was too young to ever see one live. I say “happy” because we get a bit protective about our age as we get older, don’t we? Although I never actually saw a showband live, there was a TV show called The Showband Show, featuring a different band weekly. It was unmissable. Showbands performed cover versions of American and British hits, so it was a way of hearing The Top 20 in pre-MTV days. Although reluctant to criticise anyone, stuff like I Gave My Wedding DressAway gave showbands a seriously bad name. Derek Dean and The Freshmen, with the late, great Billy Brown, were world class. Their main hit, Papa Oom Mow Mow, a reworking of the original Rivington’s hit, could hold …

THE hallowed aisles of Ss Peter and Paul’s Church, Clarecastle will reverberate to the sound of music but it won’t be to the vocals of the local church choir but rather Ireland’s Young Tenors, which includes local man Dean Power.Dean, one of the Young Tenors triumvirate, will be joined by Peter O’Donohue from Fanore and Ross Scanlon from Bray, County Wicklow, for the concert on Saturday, December 19. The musical director  for the evening is Mary Scarlett.The three tenors came together in 2006 to form Ireland’s Young Tenors, for the Irish dancing show Rhythm of the Dance. With the show, they have performed in Portugal, France, Spain and Palestine as well as all over Ireland. In 2008, they were asked to open the show for Rebecca Storm at the Storm by the Sea gala concert in Doonbeg. Such was the success of their performance that they were asked back for this year’s concert with Colm Wilkinson.  The three young tenors …

SPANCILLHILL Drama group take to the stage again this Christmas with two comedic productions – Backwards going Forward and Money Talks.Both productions will be staged at Tulla Courthouse from December 18 to 20 at 8pm.New to the stage this year is the one-act comedy Money Talks, which tells the story of an average family living in the present economic climate.The busy Flanagan household is home to three generations of the Flanagan family. Some are fortunate enough to be employed, while more have been made redundant and now survive on the dole. Another member of the family must return home from London as a result of the recession. The Flanagans are lucky to still have Nana living with them and although well on in years, she does all in her power to keep things ticking over. Meanwhile, the second play, Backwards Going Forward, is a short comedy that tells the story of Casper’s maturity at birth and youthfulness in old age.Tickets …

  STUDENTS from Mary Immaculate Secondary School, Lisdoonvarna take to the stage at the Pavilion Theatre with their production of Bugsy Malone next week. This fast-moving musical features a large cast of male and female characters with dance troupes in great costumes, singing memorable songs. Bugsy Malone is a show for all ages.Bugsy Malone, played by Mark O Donnell, lives on the Lower East side of New York. He spends his life trying to keep on the straight and narrow. One day he bumps into Blousey Brown, played by Marie Carkill, who intends to become a famous singer. Bugsy falls for her and fills her with dreams of Hollywood and stardom. She finally gets her big break singing in Fat Stacetto’s (played by Kieran Thynne) speakeasy.Although the show portrays the lives of hoodlums and gangsters, not one bullet in fired in anger. Weapons include cream pies and splurge guns, so the students promise lots of sticky situations.The show takes place …

FIREBRAND comedian Alan Shortt will perform at Finnerty’s in Tubber on Friday night.

FOLLOWING a successful preview at the Cork Film Festival, the North Clare-made film Seaside Stories premieres at the Courthouse Studios and Gallery in Ennistymon on Saturday.There will be two screenings on Saturday, one at 5pm and another at 7pm. The money raised will go to the Friends of Ennistymon Hospital, who play an important role in support of the day care services for the elderly in North Clare. The writer/director, Fergus Tighe ,will be at both screenings as will most of the actors including 11-year-old Fionn de Búrca of Kilcornan, who plays Locky, the boy at the centre of the film’s story. The film was made over the past three years from Gallivanting Media’s base at the Courthouse Gallery and Studios.In the film, Locky is a boy who has been flourishing since his mother, Anna, gave up drinking three years ago. When Anna’s old boyfriend Mick gets out of prison she falls back into her old ways of daytime drinking …