Arts & Culture

SHANNON is set to see two festivals this June, one being organised by Damian O’Rourke of Cuppa Tea TV and the other by Chris Walshe of Hippo Sound and Lighting. The Shannon Summer Music Festival, which Chris is working on, will be a one-day event on June 11, while Damian’s one will be over the last week in June, and will be known as the Wings Festival. Both are being supported by Clare County Council and by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. Speaking this week about the Shannon Music Festival, Chris said, “It’s taking place on June 11 in the Town Park. It’ll be taking place around the bandstand, early on there’ll be a family fun day with music, children’s entertainment, cultural performances. “In the evening then, from around 6pm onwards, there’ll be a main stage there where bands and local performers will take over, it’ll be live music for the rest of the evening.” …

AFTER more than a decade with the Irish Chamber Orchestra Jörg Widmann is preparing to bid farewell to his Mid-West residency. A hugely successful spell at the ICO in University of Limerick draws to a close with two concerts this coming week. The first, his home ground lap of honour as it were, is in the University Concert Hall, while he rounds off his tenure with an appearance as St Brendan’s Church in Birr, at the Birr Festival of Music. For his swansong the ICO performs Widmann’s brilliant Oboe Concerto alongside his virtuosic Petite Suite for Flute for the first time. These two works are bookended by delights from Mozart including his Linz Symphony and the gorgeous Cosi Fan Tutte Overture. Jörg reluctantly relinquishes his role with ICO to juggle with the constant demands of his diary and career as one of world’s most prolific composers, clarinetists, and conductors. His contribution to ICO has been immeasurable. ICO chief executive Gerry …

LISCANNOR is set to host a singing competition this weekend between teams from four pubs all in honour of a great local entertainer. This battle of the bars will take place on April 23 in memory of Michael “Loxy” Thynne with four local pubs putting together teams of patrons to rehearse a handful of songs and compete for the aptly-named Loxy Cup. Thynne passed away in 2013, but is fondly remembered locally for his love of singing, regarding himself as the finest singer in Europe with an extensive repertoire of three or four songs, according to his son Michael. Michael said: “Putting it mildly, my dad was fond of a sweet sherry or two. He was called Loxy because of his facial hair, and he would spend his days going between the four public houses, until he had reached his limit. “He was, without doubt, the worst singer in North Clare. The only person who didn’t know this was Loxy.” …

WHEN singer/songwriter Luka Bloom was first approached with the idea of headlining a concert in Ennis supporting homeless people he didn’t hesitate to say yes. The Kildare native, who has been living in Clare for the past decade, will be performing in the Clare Easter Concert this April 21 in glór. The concert, organised by homelessness campaigner Josie O’Brien, was due to be held last Christmas but was postponed due to Covid and Luka is now looking forward to getting on stage. Asked how he got involved with the show he laughs, “I don’t go looking to do benefit gigs,” before adding, “but you get the call and if my sister Anne Rynne or Josie or someone like that contacts me, you know you just have to do it. That it’s the right thing to do and you just say yes and you’re grateful to have been asked and very happy to participate.” Luka has long been an admirer of …

A FULL 26 months after last taking to the stage, the cast and crew of Sixmilebridge Youth Club are ready to entertain and dazzle audiences once again. The club celebrates its 40th anniversary this year and they are marking the occasion by staging ‘Once Upon a Memory’, a nostalgic amalgamation featuring some of the most memorable songs, sketches and shows from the last four decades.  The show runs over three nights, kicking off next Thursday, April 21 at 7pm in Sixmilebridge GAA Hall. The other performances take place on Friday and Saturday, April 22 and 23, also both at 7pm in the GAA hall. Having held pantomimes annually for almost two decades until its most recent performance in 2020, the youth club had also staged a variety of musical productions going back to the 1980s and 90s, winning titles at All-Ireland level in Tops of the Clubs on multiple occasions. ‘Once Upon a Memory’ aims to leave audiences wowed and …

Lahinch-based author Ruairí McKiernan has landed a major US prize for his book Hitching for Hope – a Journey into the Heart and Soul of Ireland. The annual Best Book Awards by the American Book Fest have been in existence for almost 20 years. They celebrate some of the finest writing from the United States and around the world. McKiernan scooped the top award in the travel category, which also included finalists from Spain, Mexico and the United States. Hitching for Hope is part memoir and part hitchhiking travel adventure. An Irish number 1 bestseller, it has also proved particularly popular with US readers. Both Ruairí and his book benefit from strong US associations. He has spent considerable time in the US over the years, including as a Fulbright scholar in Berkeley, California. Hitching for Hope is published by renowned US publisher Chelsea Green Publishing. It has received praise from readers throughout the US, including from well-known Americans such as …

TWO men from opposite ends of the world convened in Kilrush last week to discuss the possibility of shooting a film based in the west Clare town. Joe Riley, now living in Sydney had his autobiography (initially known as Ghosts of Kilrush and now as Life in Kilrush) published a number of years ago and he was in west Clare to meet Chris Cusack from Grafton Productions in Hollywood. “What’s happened is the film rights, I sold them to an American company in Hollywood. The film producer has flown from LA to here, and I’ve come from Australia to here,” said Joe. While there is no indication yet as to when production might start, he said that a script has been written, various other preparations made and an overall investment of in the region of one million dollars made. “I haven’t come from Australia for the fun of it, and he hasn’t come from LA for the fun of it,” …

MODERN media and the knowledge of the older generation have been artfully blended in a project by pupils at a North Clare school exploring the history and folklore of their local area. The result is ‘Faery Tales & Folklore: A Clare Conversation’, a podcast produced and presented by the students of Clouna National School – https://bit.ly/3LHKFze The students worked with local historian Tom Barry to explore folklore and storytelling, and also engaged in a digital conversation with Pat Carroll, Mary Hurley and Bridie Davoren, who are currently patients in the Ennistymon Community Hospital. Pupils from fourth to sixth class in Scoil Cholmcille Clouna spent five weeks working with artist John Lillis on the project and used recording technologies to establish the conversational interaction between the pupils and hospital residents. They recorded questions and answers to document some of the memories of Pat, Mary and Bridie from times gone by. The podcast was co-produced and recorded with John as part of …