Arts & Culture

IN line with restrictions there are a number of changes to glór’s January programming. The Ennis arts centre has been working with promoters to update the events in January which have been impacted by these restrictions. Some events have been updated and details of these updates have been added to the glór website. A spokesperson stated, “Some events will take a little longer to reschedule and update so please bear with us and keep an eye on our website. “Our Box Office is working hard to contact all customers who are affected and will be in touch to transfer/refund tickets.” “Please bear with us as we manage these changes, and thank you for your patience and understanding,” they added. Among the events affected, this weekend’s performance by Sharon Shannon, Mary Coughlan and Frances Black has been cancelled. Tommy Fleming’s performance on Saturday, January 22 will now take place at 50% capacity at 5.30pm. An additional performance has been added on Friday, …

MYTH, legend and folklore from East Clare have been beautifully brought to life in a new documentary, ‘Born from Fire’. The short feature from Dolmen Films celebrates the legacy of Gráinne and documents how the legendary daughter of a local chieftain came to be buried in East Clare. Her burial place gave Tuamgraney its name and she is remembered in many other features of the local landscape.  “I grew up with these stories and legends,” said Turlough Ó Cinnéide of Dolmen Films, who directed the documentary alongside Marta Di Giovanni and produced it with Joseph Palmer.  The Scariff man, who also shot some of the work and edited it, wanted to create a visual tribute to the area’s mythical landscape.  “East Clare is very beautiful and there’s something magical about the landscape,” he said. “I was reared with stories about the area and when we were young, we had a book of folklore stories by Ruth Marshall. I suppose I …

A CLARE version of the first folk song to ever have been mentioned in literature is included in a new illustrated songbook of traditional Irish songs for children. The song ‘The Frog and the Mouse’ also provides the title for Wexford traditional singer Aileen Lambert’s book, which features the lyrics of 14 songs accompanied by suggested activities, fun facts and other information. Activity pages include word-searches, a crossword and music notation, all linked to the songs. Primary school teachers will be interested in the curriculum links section so that they can integrate the song into various subjects they are teaching. The book features a few well known songs such as the Rattlin’ Bog, I’ll Tell Me Ma and Colcannon, however the rest are not so well known. They consist mostly of songs which Aileen has been singing with children across the country and beyond for the past 15 years as part of the Heritage-in-Schools Scheme and Music Generation. However, Aileen …

Doireann Ní Ghlacáin tells Jessica Quinn about her documentary on the life of her grandfather Sean Ó Riada FIFTY years after the death of influential Irish composer Seán Ó Riada, his granddaughter the musician and broadcaster Doireann Ní Ghlacáin has explored his enormous legacy as part of a brand new TG4 documentary which will be broadcast on St Stephen’s Day. Originally from Clontarf but now living in Clare with her partner, Doireann says the programme ‘Seán O Riada – Mo Sheanathair’ is the result of an “all consuming labour of love over the past two years”. The documentary sees Doireann investigate her own heritage by charting her grandfather’s life and times, uncovering the true Ó Riada in a moving tribute to this giant of Irish cultural life. The programme, the first feature length documentary by Táin Media, is directed by Feilimí O’Connor and produced by Dónal O’Connor. It was co-written by Doireann and Feilimí in collaboration with executive producers the …

A SMALL North Clare national school is celebrating the power of hope, as the festive season approaches and pupils look ahead to the future. The rescue of a wounded bird inspired six-year-old Adam Wall to write a poem called ‘Hope’. The poem then became a video and the message began to spread. The bird flew into the classroom, one summer afternoon, and hurt its wing. A little boy, Cian Vaughan, cupped the frightened bird in his hands until it recovered and was able to fly away. When Adam got home that evening, he wrote the poem. That went on to inspire teacher Miss Dilleen, SNA Mary Lou Moylan and principal Patricia Vaughan to devote a whole school project to the theme of ‘Hope’. All pupils got involved in making an art project and filmed the results. What came as a pleasant surprise was the incredibly positive reaction of the wider community. Pupils had really captured the hearts of parents and …

MOUNTSHANNON Arts will to present an evening of music and poetry at St Caimin’s Church of Ireland, on Friday, December 17 at 8pm.
The night will begin with a recital from Bríd O’Gorman, Cyril O’Donoghue and Clí Donnellan presenting a mix of music, song and familiar melodies. Each of these artists have independently produced their own CDs and have performed together with other musicians over the years. They are very excited to perform as a trio for this recital.
This performance is followed by a poetry reading from Michael Durack, a Ballina poet with East Clare roots. He will include poems from his most recent book ‘Flipsides’. The final performance will be from John Canny, Pat O’Connor and Terence O’Reilly. This trio have performed the best of East Clare traditional music for many years both at home and abroad, having produced CDs independently and together. Mountshannon Arts are delighted to be able to have them perform live on the night.
This is a free Christmas event …

Banner man played key role in modernising the service and giving members a voice THE campaign of a Clare native to modernise Ireland’s police force has been documented for the first time in a new book that sheds light on the development of a representative association for the Gardaí. The late Jack Marrinan from Lisdoonvarna was a campaigner for the rights of Gardaí and his impact on the modernising of the force is traced in Changing of the Guard by Kerry native and former Garda, Tim Doyle. Mr Doyle was at Ennis Bookshop on Wednesday last for the Clare launch of the book, which also features the work of Garda Michael Conway. The Barefield man was instrumental in setting up a medical aid fund for Gardaí. Both men were members of what Mr Doyle describes as “the second generation of An Garda Síochána”. “The first generation started when the force was set up in 1922 and it only began recruiting …

ACCLAIMED singer-songwriter Susan O’Neill has been inspiring students of Ennistymon Vocational School to write and perform a song on the subject of mental health and wellbeing. The talented Ennis woman who performs as SON, who was recently honoured at the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards, has been guiding 24 transition year (TY) students as part of a project that will culminate in a live performance at Dolan’s in Limerick next month. Traditional fiddler player Michelle Fahy-Rynne, who teaches Biology and Science at the school, has been one of the driving forces of the project. “We were invited by Music Generation Clare to take part in the More than Music project which is funded through the Active Inclusion Support Service,” Michelle outlined. “The aim is to collaborate with Susan to write and stage an original song. On January 14, the group will perform at Dolan’s as part of the ‘To the Moon’ charity concert organised by Karl Daly of the social …