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Tag Archives: Mountshannon Arts Festival

Scene set for Mountshannon Arts Festival

MOUNTSHANNON Arts Festival gets underway this Thursday, May 26, showcasing a wealth of talent and creativity in music, visual art, literature and more.  The theme of ‘Community’ is at the heart of this year’s event, which will involve performances, workshops and exhibitions, running until Sunday, June 6. As always, the festival’s focus will be on erasing the boundaries between artists and audience. Events range from Full Circle Playback Theatre, a songwriting workshop, Origami workshops, a community art installation and the inaugural Mountshannon Maracatu, a family-friendly community parade.  Mel White, Chair of the Volunteer Committee said the return to full, live, in-person activities is particularly welcome after the pandemic restrictions. “We are so excited for this festival after two years of lockdown and we have been supported by the local community in every way,” she said. “We have brought together an eclectic mix of actors, musicians, artists  and creative writers to create an experience like no other this year. We would …

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Clare characters captured in festival photo exhibition

A festival exhibition will feature portraits of Mountshannon people, one of whom has a tale to tell Dan Danaher LIAM Waterstone still has a glint in his eye when he is asked about the intriguing story behind the stuffed trophy fish, which hangs proudly in a framed glass case at his Moutshannon home. Back in 1997, the 66-year-old father-of-three prompted a manhunt when he decided to spend nine hours in the dark battling with a huge trout before it was eventually brought ashore on a light fly rod. Oblivious to the consternation in the background, as local gardai, friends and neighbours searched the lake and pubs for his whereabouts, Liam explains he would have spent a fortnight in the boat trying to land this “fish of a lifetime”. The well-known fisherman, publican, postman, and bed and breakfast operator, is one of the 12 members of the Mountshannon community, who are part of a photographic exhibition by Clare Champion award-winning photographer, …

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Festival co-operation a great exercise in ‘community building’

REGENERATION and resilience will be celebrated in Mountshannon later this month, thanks to a collaboration between diverse members of the East Clare arts community. The pandemic presented all kinds of hurdles in terms of live performance and, after taking their offerings online in 2020, Mountshannon Arts Festival this year opted for two mini-festivals on the theme of ‘regeneration’. The first event was held in June and the second is scheduled for September 24-26, traditionally the weekend of the Mountshannon Trad Festival, which ran to huge acclaim between 2010 and 2019. Aistear Park will be the focal point for a weekend of arts events and traditional music and will host an open air market for the duration. The collaboration has been made possible thanks to a funding award secured by Cliodhna Donnellan, artist, promoter, producer and co-ordinator of Mountshannon Trad Festival, under the Live Outdoor Local Performance Scheme from Clare County Council. The event will provide a platform for traditional artists …

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Dramatic lighting installation for Culture Night in Tulla

A DRAMATIC lighting installation will create a blaze of colour on the windswept hill of Tulla for Culture Night this Friday. Locally-based artist Tim Humphries is the mastermind behind the LightsUP installation, which will be live-streamed on Tulla Tidy Towns Facebook page and on culturenight.ie, from 8-9pm. It will involve random LED lights illuminating the high crosses in the graveyard and creating what Tim describes as “a connection between heavens and earth”. “I’ve been working with light installations for over 20 years,” Tim explained. “For one of those, I projected light onto the outside of the old Carlton Cinema building in Limerick. In others, for the EVA International, I would have created words through light in public places.” This time, there are no words involved, but a dramatic illumination of Tulla graveyard’s striking high crosses. “I have been transfixed by the location,” Tim said. “I have put in around 30 LED lights and will have six or seven LED torches …

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Killaloe woman takes top photo prize at ‘wireless’ Mountshannon Arts Festival

A KILLALOE-based photography enthusiast has taken the top prize in a competition run as part of this year’s Mountshannon Arts Festival. The event ran over the June Bank Holiday in an alternative format, taking to the airwaves of Scariff Bay Community Radio, as well as YouTube, to ensure continuity on its 25th anniversary. The “wireless” festival also included the highly popular annual photography competition. Entries were invited on the theme of ‘Identity’ and an exhibition is currently in situ on the windows of Keane’s Bar. First place went to Siobhán Cahill for her award-winning picture of the late Willie Connors at the Black Bull Threshing Festival in County Offaly. Siobhán, who is a native of County Cavan described herself as “absolutely thrilled” with the win. “I’m a huge fan of agricultural shows,” she explained. “My father was President of the Virginia Show, and I know the huge amount of work that local committees do. My partner, Robert, and I love to …

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Mountshannon Arts Festival takes to the airwaves

THE Mountshannon Arts Festival will take place this weekend, but not in its traditional format. The creativity and ingenuity of the organisers mean that key elements of the festival programme will now transfer online, on-air and to a special ‘sound sanctuary’ on the shores of Lough Derg. Faced with the restrictions associated with the Coronavirus, the committee has devised an innovative new programme. Among its highlights will be an exhibition of photographs on the theme of ‘Identity’, on the windows of a premises in the town, as well as a ‘The First Sanctuary of Free Sounds’ a special installation located at the harbour. On YouTube and Facebook, next Saturday and Sunday, there will be a specially commissioned conversation between former Wexford hurling captain Diarmuid Lyng and theatre-maker Timmy Creed. As part of the re-worked festival programme, Scariff Bay Community Radio has stepped in to support on-air events on Sunday. Among those will be an interview with musician and foodie Mike …

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Scariff Harbour Festival cancelled due to pandemic restrictions

THERE has been a further blow to the county’s calendar of summer events, with confirmation in recent days that the annual Scariff Harbour Festival will not go ahead this year. The news follows the cancellation of a number of high-profile events, including the Willie Clancy Summer School, Spancilhill Fair, the Feakle Festival and more, and is in line with government recommendations and Covid-19 restrictions. The Waterways Ireland-sponsored festival, scheduled for the August Bank holiday week-end, is internationally regarded for the quality of its contributors, drawing key-note speakers, entertainers and performers of renown. The event, which was to have marked its 18th year, also showcased key attractions in East Clare and offered a host of free outdoor music, walks, talks, guest speakers, boat tours and children’s entertainment, making it a social highlight and a key driver for the local economy. “It is a huge disappointment for the community, festival-goers and the organising committee that this year’s festival cannot happen,” said Chairman, Mike …

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Blow to East Clare as Feakle Festival is cancelled

THE festival calendar for East Clare has suffered another major blow with the cancellation of the Feakle Festival, due to the Covid-19 restrictions. Organisers said they decided to cut this year’s event – which would ordinarily attract thousands to the region at the height of the summer season – “with deep regret,” in order to minimise the risk to the general public. Already, the legendary Spancilhill Fair has been called off, with organisers deciding that they could not guarantee social distancing at the event which draws thousands annually on the now immortalised date of June 23. A number of smaller community festivals, including the Bodyke May Bank Holiday Weekend, have also been shelved, with hopes of postponing some of them as the government’s road map for the re-opening of public life begins to unfold. In Feakle, a world-class programme of traditional music had been under wraps since February and there is widespread disappointment that the hugely popular festival won’t go ahead …

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