Customs and Traditions of the Festival Days in the Irish folklore calendar, beginning with St. Brigid’s Day (1 Feb).

Bairbre Ní Fhloinn Lecturer in Irish Folklore. U.C.D.

Wed 25 Jan 2012 8pm

Governor’s House, Millmount, Drogheda

February 1st is St. Brigid’s Day (Lá ‘Le Bríde) and in Irish tradition is the first major festival day of the year; a day on which ancient customs and rituals, probably going back to the old Celtic Quarter DayImbolc (pron. “Ivvolg”), are still practiced in many parts of the country. Leading folklorist Bairbre Ní Fhloinn, lectures on this and on the other festival days throughout the year in the Irish calendar which were marked by special rituals or customs, and tells us of their origins and associations and their international connections.

Bairbre Ní Fhloinn lectures in Irish Folklore in University College Dublin. Her research interests include occupational lore, folk belief and associated narratives, and aspects of the work and history of the National Folkore Collection, including Travellers and their traditions. She has also been active in the field of vernacular architecture and had a particular involvement with the Heritage Council’s Mayglass Project in Co. Wexford. She has contibuted to many radio and television programmes over the years, and has also studied folklore abroad, in Helsinki and in Sardinia.

Have a go at making your own St. Brigid’s Cross on the night!

Old Drogheda Society bookstall on the night.

www.millmount.net 041 9833097

Droichead Arts Centre, a dynamic & innovative arts centre based in Drogheda is seeking to recruit a new member to its management team.

The Sales and Marketing Manager at Droichead Arts Centre is responsible for managing the daily activity of the arts centre’s Sales and Marketing Department with a view to selling and marketing the Droichead’s activities and facilities.

The Post holder is expected to prioritise in line with the guidelines of the strategic plan which sets out where Droichead Arts Centre vision and direction.

The post-holder will be responsible to the Director and performance will be monitored quarterly against an agreed set of Key Performance Indicator targets (KPIs).

Droichead Arts Centre is governed by a voluntary board of directors, managed by a small professional team and supported by a community employment scheme.

Experience:

A minimum of three years

Salary: €30,000

Contract: 2 years (probation period of 9 months)

For a detailed job description please contact Carol Ann Brodigan; Droichead Arts Centre on 041 9875140 or email barlow@droichead.com

To apply: Please send your CV and a cover letter to Carol Ann Brodigan, Droichead Arts Centre, Barlow House, Narrow West Street, Drogheda, Co. Louth.

Closing date for receipt of applications is: Friday, February 10^th at 4pm

For further information on Droichead Arts Centre see www.droichead.com

The weekend will run from Friday January 20th to Sunday January 22nd and is expected to attract Set Dancing enthusiasts from all over Ireland not to mention having a global appeal. Local councillor and Chairman of Louth County Council Oliver Tully will perform the official opening around 7pm and this will be followed the launch of a CD by local music group Triskell who will also provide the music for the Friday night Ceili.

On Saturday January 21st there will be a number of workshops covering Seannos Dancing, Tin Whistle, Flute and Singing. Mass will be celebrated in An Grianan at 5pm and Saturday evening will round off with another Ceili with music provided by the Abbey Ceili Band and there will be music sessions in the Front Room with local musicians.

The weekend will conclude with an afternoon Ceili on Sunday afternoon from 2-5pm with the Abbey Ceili Band again providing the music. I am told that bookings are full which shows how popular the event is but all are welcome to come along and join in what is a great weekend of ceoil, damhsa agus craic. Meanwhile the Sandpit Set Dancers have recommenced Dancing Classes on Thursday nights in Sandpit Hall. Again, all are welcome to join in the fun while at the

The late writer lived, until her death in 1996, in Ardmore, Co. Waterford.  Her first ten novels and four plays were published under the pseudonym M.J. Farrell.  In 1981 ‘Good Behaviour’ became a publishing sensation for which she was short listed for the prestigious Booker Prize.  To celebrate this rich literary life, the County Waterford Arts Office, by kind permission of the Keane family, is inviting entries for a previously unpublished short story to a maximum of 2000 words.  There is no entry fee, no age limit and no restriction on the subject matter.  A prize of €500 will be awarded to the winner at a special ceremony during the IMMRAMA Literary Festival in Lismore, Co. Waterford in June 2012.

The closing date for receipt of entries is 5pm on Monday 26^th March 2012.

Full details and an entry form can be downloaded from www.waterfordcoco.ie or by contacting the Arts Office on 058-41416.

]]> http://www.createlouth.ie/molly-keane-creative-writing-award/feed 0 http://www.createlouth.ie/music-commission-competition-drogheda http://www.createlouth.ie/music-commission-competition-drogheda#comments Tue, 20 Dec 2011 10:23:33 +0000 admin http://www.createlouth.ie/?p=3606 The Unification of Drogheda Music Commission 2012 is the 600th anniversary of the unification of Drogheda.

To commemorate the 600th anniversary of the unification,Drogheda Borough Council wishes to commission a
musical composition, culminating in a performance/event in early November 2012.

Please note the deadline has been extended to 24 January 2012.
More details are available here.

Tadhg Murphy, violin and Lance Cobure, piano plan to give a lunchtime violin and piano recital in St. Peter’s Church of Ireland on Friday 23rd December in supportof SOSAD (Save Our Sons and Daughters) and those affected by suicide and depression. The recital will be free of charge thanks mainly to the generosity of Rev. Michael Graham and the Church of Ireland community who are making the church and facilities available.

Tadhg is making Suicide and Depression the focus of the recital because it is the single greatest torment of his generation.

He is from Drogheda (Beamore Road) although now living in Dublin, and went to school there (Scoil Aonghusa and St Mary’s Diocessan School) before attending the Royal Irish Academy of Music where he graduated in violin performance.  Lance Coburn is the pianist for the recital. Lance is an International Prize-winning pianist and is currently on the teaching faculty of the royal Irish Academy of Music.

Give yourself some lunchtime music.

]]> http://www.createlouth.ie/lunchtime-recital-in-st-peters-church-of-ireland-drogheda/feed 0 http://www.createlouth.ie/abbey-gallery-drogheda-exhibition http://www.createlouth.ie/abbey-gallery-drogheda-exhibition#comments Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:53:14 +0000 admin http://www.createlouth.ie/?p=3555

Abbey Group Exhibition

Abbey Gallery, Dominic Street, Drogheda, Co. Louth.

Wednesday 30^th November to Tuesday 7^th February 2012

Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm

Drogheda, Co. Louth – Abbey Gallery is pleased to announce Abbey Group Exhibition, a collection of over 50 pieces of works, many by established artists and also some work by emerging artists.  The gallery will transform into a veritable “pictorial wonderland” that will tingle your imagination and delight your eyes.  The exhibition was opened on Wednesday 30^th November by John McCullen, author and local historian.  The exhibition will be on display through February 7^th, 2012 and is free and open to the public.  Exhibiting artists include: Stephen Doyle, Peter Gibney, Ian Hart, Jackie Hudson Lalor, Margaret Kennedy, Patrick Murphy, Barbara Pepper and Kathleen Smyth.

In conjunction with “Abbey Group Exhibition”, Drogheda Homeless Aid’s Urgent Food Appeal Collection will take place on the opening night and run for the duration of the show.  Due to increasing demand for their services, they are finding it difficult to sustain their food services.  They currently provide over 1,000 meals every week for their residents, resettled residents and for people who are living in poverty.  The gallery is collecting donations of non-perishable food items for this very worthy cause.

Located on Dominic Street, Drogheda, Abbey Gallery was opened by local business people Erin and Ray O’Connor and under the guidance of artistic director and curator, Sinéad Smith and patron to the arts Martin Walsh the gallery has quickly become one of Drogheda’s most exciting and attractive destinations for art.  Abbey Gallery showcases talent-driven art by Drogheda’s top emerging and established artists.  The gallery is a valuable resource for the area, not just for the artists but for the public also, as it gives a chance to see many different styles of art and a chance to meet and talk to the artists at opening evenings, helping to give an understanding of the commitment it takes to be an artist in these times.  You can visit Abbey Gallery Monday through Saturday 10am – 5pm or visit us online at www.abbeygallerydrogheda.com.

‘Home for Christmas’ with St. Peter’s Male Voice Choir and Guests
Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd December at 8.00pm at the
TLT Concert
Hall, Drogheda.

Celebrate Christmas with St. Peter’s Male Voice Choir and guests as
they bring their seasonal show to the TLT Concert Hall Drogheda.
Savour the wonderful mix of Christmas, classical and popular music
with conductor Edward Holly and some of Ireland’s most accomplished
musicians and singers.

Tickets priced €25 (plus €1 Booking Fee) are now on sale online at
www.theTLT.ie or by phoning the TLT Box Office on (041) 9878560

www.stpetersmalevoicechoir.com

Alan will formally launch his latest collection on Friday November 11th at the Gallery from 7pm onwards.

Anyone interested in viewing the paintings are more than welcome to come along to the free wine reception from 7pm onwards on Friday 11th.

Alan Bradshaw – A Biography

Alan Bradshaw was born in Belfast in 1936. During his formative years he painted prodigiously in both oil and watercolour media. In his early twenties a discussion with Maurice Wilks (a family friend) persuaded him to turn his artistic talents towards architecture—”get professional letters after your name young man—the life of a full time artist is far from clever!” Given this advice, Bradshaw qualified as an architect from the Architectural Association, London.

Throughout his busy professional career, although he was committed to improving the environment and circumstances in which people live and work, he never lost sight of his first love—painting. 1992 and for the first time, he permitted his wife, Annette, to exhibit some of his work in the McGilloway Gallery, Derry—with immediate and dramatic results. During the next two years and via six major group exhibitions he firmly established himself by being the most successful painter despite serious competition from seasoned and nationally recognised artists. The steady increase in demand for his work, resulted in him taking early retirement in June, 1995 so that he could devote all his time and energy to painting. He presently works from a home based studio in Omagh, Co. Tyrone.

Bradshaw’s motivation to paint stems from his great love of the natural world and the unique and ever changing nature of the Irish countryside throughout each day and from season to season. While his primary concern is to portray the moods of Ireland in a realistic and unpretentious manner—his interest in sunlight, both direct and indirect and the way in which it variously affects everything, can also be found in his still life and interior paintings. He views his efforts as a painter as a direct link with his maternal grandmother—a Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow lady who was, by reputation, an artist of very considerable talent.

In March, 1996, Bradshaw was lead painter in a “No Boundaries” exhibition staged in City Hall, Boston. U.S.A. at the request of the then major—Mr. Thomas Menino. The purpose of the event was to promote the attractions and great beauty of the N.W. Region of Ireland in furtherance of the peace process and as portrayed through the eyes of local cross border/cross community artists. This was the fourth in a series of “No Boundaries” exhibitions that he and his wife were instrumental in organising in association with a Donegal gallery and the American Embassy, Dublin.

He currently paints in oil, watercolour and acrylic media and has held tutorials for mature students. During the last ten years, Gallery demands for his work have resulted in him staging fourteen solo exhibitions – eight of which have been for the Forge Gallery Restaurant, Collon, Co. Louth. He has also exhibited four times in U.S.A. and, last year, in Boston all his works were sold at the Exhibition opening.

Bradshaw paintings can be found in private collections throughout Ireland, Europe, U.S.A., Canada and much further afield. He has been commissioned by Derry, Limavady, Strabane, Omagh and Donegal Councils to paint for either their Municipal Collections or for presentation to local or visiting VIP’s.

Alan is now proud to present his most recent collection of paintings which will be on display from 11^th November at the Forge Gallery at which there will be a formal launch of the Collection at a wine reception from 7pm onwards. You are cordially invited to send a representative.

This will be Alan’s first exhibition in quite a while and it promises to demonstrate the continued growth and development of his work.

Enquiries to Kevin Smith at the Forge Gallery on 041-9826272 or e-mail: info@forgegallery.ie