Tag Archives: glor

SOLITUDE is an increasingly rare experience and one that many people don’t want. However, there are some who want nothing more from life than to withdraw from the familiar and late English man, Neal MacGregor, was one of those. He died alone, prematurely, at the age of 44, in a stone hen house that he couldn’t stand up in, where he lived without water, electricity or heating, on a tiny island off the Donegal coast. Neal left behind volumes of illustrated notebooks and diaries and his story is told in Neasa Ní Chianain’s film, The Stranger. Speaking about the film, Neasa said, “I don’t think it’s a depressing film, it’s a poignant film. It’s a story of somebody trying to find their place in the world and I think he does that in the end. It’s kind of a love story as well, about his relationship with an island woman.” Neasa lived in Donegal herself and was intrigued by the …

THERE is a widespread spiritual longing in Irish life, Michael Harding believes, and he feels that may account for the popularity of his own search for meaning. That is the theme that brought him fame, through his book, Staring at Lakes, and his Irish Times columns, while his latest book and show, Hanging With The Elephant, takes another good look at life and death. Harding said the decline of Irish Catholicism has led to a void around the topics he goes after. “The whole religious thing collapsed suddenly and people are still trying to figure that out. What do they do with their own isolation? What do they do with their own anxiety? As an individual, as you get older, you start thinking about what is the meaning of life, is there another life – all those deep questions. Irish people have powerful faith and I don’t think it’s gone away. I think it’s just in a process of transformation. …

The Arts Council today (Wednesday) said it would invest over €210,000 in Clare-based organisations with a proven track record of delivering great arts experiences for people all over the county and beyond. A total of four organisations successfully applied for funding. Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy is a nationally significant event, involving the transmission of all aspects of the traditional arts, with an emphasis on high quality tuition. It also provides multiple opportunities for the public to engage in the traditional arts. Glór Irish Music Centre is an arts resource for Ennis and Clare. It produces work with network partners and hosts multi-disciplinary touring work. It organises a programme of arts engagement with the community. Clare County Council will also receive a grant of €63,000 for its arts service. In addition to this support, the Arts Council will be making significant funding available throughout the year for touring, projects and bursaries for talented artists. The Arts Council, the government agency tasked …

Around 300 revellers packed Dromoland’s Brian Boru Banqueting Hall on Saturday night to attend the Jerry Fish Electric Sideshow, in support of Glór. The evening began with a prosecco reception before guests entered the main hall to dine on a sumptuous four course banquet. After dining, it was time for the main event, with Jerry Fish bringing his Electric Sideshow to Clare for the first time. This was the same act performed for the Electric Picnic earlier this year and it went down well with the enthusiastic crowd at Dromoland. A disco followed to give guests the opportunity to party into the small hours. Our picture gallery from the event is below: [doptg id=”41″]

INTERNATIONALLY renowned wildlife cameraman and TV personality, Gordon Buchanan will give an illustrated talk at Glór on Wednesday next. Perhaps best known for his BBC One series The Bear Family and Me and The Polar Bear Family and Me, he is also a regular contributor to BBC’s Springwatch and Autumnwatch series. In recent years, he has made a name for himself as a filmmaker specialising in big cats. Filming lions and hyenas at night in the Serengeti in 1999 led to him making two films for the BBC’s Natural World series. His Glór appearance will be an evening of exciting personal recollections, inviting the audience into his world of weird and wonderful wildlife, including the footage of his encounter with a hungry polar bear. This terrifying segment of the series has been viewed millions of times on YouTube and will be recounted on the night. Speaking about that incident, he says, “We wanted to have a way of getting close …

THE people of Clare are used to seeing the creative mind of photographer John Kelly jump out of them from the pages of The Clare Champion each week but for the next year, the public will also get an opportunity to view his photography in a new setting. An award-winning photographer, John has worked with The Clare Champion for almost 25 years, displaying his passion for photography and for capturing the unusual of everyday life. In recent weeks, John was invited by Glór in Ennis to exhibit a selection of his favourite photographs from his extensive collection at the café and lobby. Seven of his photographs are on display in the building and take over from an exhibition by Christy McNamara. Sponsored by The Clare Champion, they will showcase until September 2015. “Glór is always looking for ways to support our local artists, photographers, musicians and we see this as an ideal space or opportunity for photographers, in particular, to …

PEMBERLEY Productions and the Lime Tree Theatre are bringing the one man off-Broadway production of In Acting Shakespeare on an Irish tour this month, with dates in Clare, Limerick and Galway. The tour gives Irish audiences a rare chance to see an off-Broadway production on their doorsteps and it comes off the back of a two-month, sold-out run in New York City. In Acting Shakespeare is a funny, touching and uplifting story of one man’s discovery of Shakespeare, acting and language. Freely adapted, with permission, from Sir Ian McKellen’s Acting Shakespeare, James De Vita tells his own story of a young fisherman searching for a new career. This fun, fervent tribute to one man’s personal journey, deftly weaves some of Shakespeare’s most famous monologues with James’ days as a Long Island fisherman and his nights as a classical actor. Speaking to The Clare Champion, Tim Smith, who is producing the play, which is written by and stars Wisconsin native De Vita, …

THE Irish Association of Barbershop Singers will be ‘United in Harmony’ in Ennis this weekend to celebrate their silver anniversary. With a packed programme of competition, and concerts open to the public, up to 400 barbershop singers will converge on Glór from this Friday to Sunday for the 25th Annual Convention of the Irish Association of Barbershop Singers (IABS). The event officially opens at 7pm this Friday with a gala competition and guest entertainment evening. This will by followed by a winners gala concert at 8pm on Saturday. Both of these events are open to members of the public ­ with 200 tickets available per night. Quartets and choruses will compete for the prestigious category prizes of National Male Quartet, National Female Quartet, Opened Mixed Quartets, National Female Chorus, International Quartet and International Chorus competitions over the weekend, with the convention and the competitions kicking off at 2pm. A team of international judges from all over Europe will preside over …