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Creative trio breathe new life into Ennistymon venue

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THE working from home revolution, prompted by the pandemic, has inspired a creative trio to make the move to the Banner county, where they hope to breathe new life into a much-loved North Clare venue.

Kymann Power, Áine Leech and Diarmaid Keane who are all digital creatives, with a strong interest in arts, culture and music, have made Daly’s in Ennistymon their new home. The three have been reaching out to musicians and those in the arts with a view to using their digital skills to support them in finding new audiences online and on social media.

“Before the pandemic, I was working from home in Dublin,” explained Áine, a Westmeath native. “I was tired of looking at the four walls and got out just before lockdown.”

Clare was the destination of choice according to Kymann. “I had travelled here with Áine a few times and when we were looking for a base in the west of Ireland, we happened to come across Daly’s and realised it has all sorts of potential,” he said. “The space is just incredible and so many people have told us their stories of the place. If the walls could talk, you can only imagine what they’d say. We have been in contact with the Daly family and they’ve been so supportive of our ideas about bringing some life back to the place. We want to respect its history. We really to want to contribute to what is a fantastic community here in Ennistymon and to collaborate with the creative community in the area, because there is great vibrancy here”

“We are conscious that it’s a really tough time for the hospitality trade,” added Dubliner Diarmaid. “So many great pubs are closed and that in turn has left musicians without an outlet. All three of us have contacts in the media so we want to use those to help musicians and artists.”

Like Áine and Kymann, Diarmaid realised that he could do his day job without having to be based in the capital any longer. His family have strong connections in the traditional music scene. His grandmother Máire McDonnell-Garvey was a teacher, historian and the author of a number of books on the subject. “I grew up going to her book launches,” he said, “so coming to Clare is a bit of a dream come true.”

The buzzing town of Ennistymon and the hinterland of North Clare are keeping the three busy and they’ve already been making lots of connections. “I’m an avid swimmer,” said Áine. “It’s great to be so close to Lahinch. Ennistymon as a town is great, and we’re really looking forward to creating a community space, when the restrictions lift. But, we’re working to do that in a virtual way for the moment.”

The process of making contact with local musicians and artists has being going well to-date. “Instagram has been great,” said Diarmaid. “Sinéad at The Cheese Press has been so helpful to us. We are aiming to get things going in December.”

With a BA in Music, Kymann who grew up in Westmeath, explained how he sees Daly’s being transformed. “We’re calling it a creative space,” he said. “Given our backgrounds, we’re looking to work with musicians to creative content and promote it. It is such a tough time for the industry. We want to do something to address that and will be looking at how funding can be secured to support this.”

More details can be found on Instagram can be found at dalys.ennistymon.

 

About Fiona McGarry

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