Create Louth » Literature

A Day of Exploration of the Self through the poetry of Patrick Kavanagh.

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:27:56 +0000

A day of exploration of the Self through the poetry of Patrick Kavanagh is planned at the Patrick Kavanagh Centre, in the poet’s native village of Inniskeen for Saturday 3rd March from 10am to 4pm.

Dr Reamonn O Donnchadha, psychotherapist, university lecturer and author, will explore with participants aspects of psychology, the Self, and personal change. The facilitator is a Jungian therapist and author of The Confident Child, and Be Confident. He will weave the psychology of C G Jung and the poetry of Patrick Kavanagh into a meaningful fabric of personal meaning.

For information and booking please phone the Patrick Kavanagh Centre on 00353(0) 42 93 78560

E-mail: infoatpkc@eircom.net

www.patrickkavanaghcountry.com Admission fee: €50 (Prior booking is essential).

‘A True Note on a Slack String’

Molly Keane Creative Writing Award

admin — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:11:24 +0000

Now in its 15^th year, Waterford County Council’s Arts Office is pleased to announce that it is currently accepting entries for the Molly Keane Creative Writing Award.

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life, the County Waterford Arts Office, by kind permission of the Keane family, is inviting entries for a previously unpublished short story to a maximum of 2000 words.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.

Poetry Reading with Martin Dyar in DKIT

admin — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 16:40:23 +0000

Dundalk Institute of Technology Library presents a poetry reading by Martin Dyar on Friday 25th November at 1pm.

Martin Dyar is originally from Swinford in County Mayo. His poetry has recieved the Strokestown International Poetry Award, the In Sight of Raftery Award and the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award. Last year, Martin was selected for the Poetry Ireland Introductions Series and recieved an Arts Council Bursary Award in Literature. Martin has also written a play, Tom Loves a Lord, about the Irish poet Thomas Moore. He has a PhD in English from TCD, where he lectures Medical Humanities in the School of Medicine.

Located in the T K Whitaker Building, Dundalk Institute of Technology Library is open to the public, and hosts various cultural events designed for the college & wider community. This includes a local reading group which meets up every Tuesday at 1 pm and a writing group meets up on the 1st & 3rd Thursday of every month at 7.30 pm. New members are always welcome. Further information is available on our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/dkitlib

Admission to the poetry reading is free and all are welcome. For those who attend there will be a complimentary one year free years membership.

For more information, please contact the Library on 042 9370310.

Kathleen Maddy’s Gold Ray’s book launch

admin — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 18:24:41 +0000

All Ireland Poetry Day Thursday 6 October 2011

admin — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 08:21:25 +0000

“Soundings Live”

1. pm Thursday 6^th October

The Space, Town Hall, Dundalk

Admission free.

Live Broadcast on Dundalk FM 100

The Arts Service of Louth Local Authorities Presents -

“Soundings Live”, a poetry recital and reminiscences featuring poems from

‘’Soundings”, read by a cross-section of Dundalk people who had the anthology as part of the Leaving Certificate syllabus and who are now rediscovering their favourite poem from the book, The event will be broadcast live at lunchtime on Dundalk FM 100.

If you did your Leaving Cert between 1969 and 1995, then you will react accordingly on hearing the word “Soundings”. For some, it was their first introduction to the world of poetry, beginning a life-time romance with words, verse, and the potential of the human imagination. For others, it would have graced the top of the bonfire painstakingly constructed from schoolbooks, and lit with great joy on the day after the completion of the Leaving Cert. Love it or hate it, “Soundings” accompanied over a million students through two of their teenage years, and has left quite an impression on a great many of those erstwhile students.

As part of the activities around All-Ireland Poetry Day, the Arts Service of Louth Local Authorities is organising a reading by six Dundalk-based people, who will each pick a poem from “Soundings”, one that thrilled, frightened, bored, or inspired them. The reading and ensuing conversation will be open to the public – just drop into the Town Hall on Thursday October 6^th at 1pm – and will be broadcast live on Dundalk fm 100. Presented by Eileen Corcoran

The six who will be sharing their poems, and their reasons for choosing them, are –

- Cllr. Marianne Butler, Chairperson, Dundalk Town Council

- Breffni Martin – founder Louth Branch, Birdwatch Ireland, and son of the late Augustine Martin, who edited “Soundings”.

- Fergus Mullen, State Solicitor for Louth, and noted actor and theatre director.

- Alan Anderson, musician, and manager of local hostelry, The Spirit Store.

- Barbara Smith, writer and facilitator, whose first poetry collection, “Kairos”, was published by Doghouse Books in 2007.

- Graham Russell, Manager of Dundalk Sports Centre, based in Muirhevna Mor

Over the years, copies of “Soundings” began to be sold over the internet, sometimes fetching surprising prices. Demand for a re-print began to be heard, and publishers Gill and MacMillan decided to re-issue “Soundings” in 2010. It has since sold very well.

“For many people,” says Louth Arts Officer, Brian Harten, “Soundings is the one thing they remember from their Leaving Cert English course. All of the poems in the volume are still valid, and many became that one poem that stuck in people’s minds, as they grew into adulthood. For that reason, this broadcast is a great way to encourage people to reconnect with poetry.”

So, for a trip down poetic memory lane, tune into Dundalk fm 100 on October 6^th at 1pm, or call into the Town hall to sit in on the live broadcast. This event is part of the celebrations for All Ireland Poetry Day, which is co-ordinated by Poetry Ireland. Soundings Live is an initiative of the Arts Service of Louth Local Authorities.

For further information contact

Denis Darcy

Arts Office

Dundalk Town Council

042 9392950

denis.darcy@dundalktown.ie

A Talk at Anaverna

admin — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 08:40:36 +0000

A talk entitled “THE IRISH NOVELISTS OF THE 19th CENTURY” will be given by Professor James H. Murphy at Anaverna House, Ravensdale, Dundalk, County Louth on Thursday, 25th August, 2011 commencing at 7.30 p.m. followed by a light supper. Admission €10.00 per person (to include supper).For reservations, please email verelc@gmail.com or ring 042 9380836. You can pay at the door but please reserve your place in advance.

The story of the Irish novelists of the Victorian period is an extraordinary one. Lady Blessington was London’s leading society hostess. Julia Kavanagh was a major influence on the Brontë sisters. Charles Lever was more popular than Charles Dickens but was the subject of such jealously that his reputation was destroyed. William Carleton was hailed as the Irish peasant novelist. W.H. Maxwell was a clergyman who wrote about war and whose influence inspired Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace.’ Joseph Sheridan LeFanu was the leading novelist of the supernatural.
Nineteenth-century Ireland was divided above all on the question of land and novelists wrote on the relations between landlords and tenants, culminating in novels about the land war of the 1880s. In the 1890s many of the leading members of the ‘New Woman’ movement in fiction were Irish women. At the same time, Emily Lawless and Somerville and Ross were opening new frontiers for fiction at home.
Most of the novelists had to move to London to gain the attention of publishers. Some wrote novels based on their professional lives such as Charlotte Riddell’s A Struggle for Fame, though many, including Riddell, faced a difficult life financially in old age. Derided by WB Yeats and the Irish Revival, these novelists are now in the process of being rediscovered as their achievement is re-evaluated.

James H. Murphy, Ph.D., D.Litt., F.R.Hist,S., is Professor of English and was also for a time Director of Irish Studies at DePaul University, Chicago, having previously taught in Ireland. He specialises in nineteenth-century Ireland, focusing particularly on the history of the novel and on the political history of the period. He is the author or (co-) editor of ten previous books, including (as author) Abject Loyalty: Nationalism and Monarchy in Ireland, during the Reign of Queen Victoria, Ireland, a Social, Cultural and Literary History, 1791-1891, and Catholic Fiction and Social Reality in Ireland, 1873-1922. His study, Irish Novelists and the Victorian Age, will be published by OUP in 2011. He has twice been president of the Society for the Study of Nineteenth-Century Ireland.

Beta movement present Submarine

admin — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 15:24:29 +0000

On Wednesday 17^th August, The Beta Movement presents Submarine, the story of 15-year-old Oliver Tate, who has two objectives: To lose his virginity before his next birthday, and to extinguish the flame between his mother and an ex-lover who has resurfaced in her life. Check out the trailer: http://youtu.be/P-WCCdkVDr4

Screening is in The Spirit Store. Doors open at 19:30, screening start at 20:00 sharp. Entry €5 with membership. Membership info at www.beta-movement.com/membership

Hope you can join us!

The Beta Movement Team.
Keep up to date with screening dates and more:
web: www.beta-movement.com
facebook: facebook.com/betamovement
twitter: @betamovementDLK

Bernadette Greevy Bursary for Singers 2011

admin — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:12:09 +0000

The National Concert Hall invites singers to apply for the Bernadette Greevy Bursary. One singer per year will be awarded the bursary of €5,000 by The National Concert Hall, in honour of Irish mezzo-soprano Dr Bernadette Greevy.

The winner of the Bernadette Greevy Bursary will give a recital at The National Concert Hall at the end of 2012, featuring a new Irish piece commissioned for the occasion by The National Concert Hall. Winner of the 2010 bursary was baritone Gavan Ring, who will perform at the prizewinner’s recital in the John Field Room on 21 November 2011.

About Dr Bernadette Greevy
Bernadette Greevy was th Dubliner e first Irish winner of Harriet Cohen International Music Award for Outstanding Artistry. Further honours included :

The Order of Merit of Malta

Honorary Doctorate of Music, National University of Ireland
Honorary Doctorate of Music, Trinity College, Dublin
The Holy Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice

She was the founder and artistic director of the Anna Livia Dublin International Opera Festival, and further supported student singers through her masterclasses and work as Artist in Residence at the Dublin Institute of Technology.

She is remembered for wonderful performances and recordings of oratorio and song; her recordings include Handel, Haydn, Bach and she was acclaimed in particular for her interpretation of Mahler. She also championed new Irish music, premiering works by Irish composers.

Guidelines
Entrants may be male or female. They must be resident or domiciled in Ireland, and in third-level education or equivalent.

Each entrant will submit :

three copies of a CD with his or her programme of not more than 15 minutes’ length
an application form with personal details and the details of his or her programme (application forms will be available to download from this page from August 2011 onward)
a letter of recommendation from his or her teacher by the 30 September, 2011 deadline.

First-round entries will be judged during October, and finalists will be called back for a live audition in November. In this audition, each finalist will sing three pieces:

a Mahler song
a Handel aria
a piece by a living Irish composer

The winner of the bursary will receive €5000, and return to The National Concert Hall at the end of 2012 for the Bernadette Greevy Bursary Recital. Please note that previous first prize winners are ineligible to re-enter the competition.

Please return with your CDs and letter of recommendation by Friday, 30 September, 2011 to: Learn & Explore, The National Concert Hall, Earlsfort Terrace Dublin 2

FAQs:

Q: Must my CD include a Mahler song, a Handel aria and a piece by a living Irish composer?
A: No, the CD programme is entirely up to you. Singers who are shortlisted for live auditions must then prepare the requested repertoire.

Q: What do you mean by “resident or domiciled in Ireland”?
A: The competition is open to singers living in Ireland and to singers from Ireland who are currently living abroad.

Download the Bernadette Greevy Bursary Award Application Form here

The National Concert Hall wishes to acknowledge the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht for its kind support of the Bernadette Greevy Bursary for Singers.

Celebrating the Tradition of the Irish Harp

admin — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 14:11:36 +0000

An Chuirt Chruitireachta, the annual International Festival of Irish Harp, opens its doors at An Grianán Arts Centre, Termonfeckin, Co. Louth on Sunday 26thth June to Friday 1st July 2010.

This celebration of our national instrument incorporates a wonderful series of public evening concerts comprising world class traditional musicians and ensembles.

The festival is funded by the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon and sponsored by RTÉ Lyric FM.

In its 26th year, the festival continues to attract harpers from all over the world and offers an opportunity to gain a full appreciation of Irish music, song and dance while developing the skills and repertoire of harpers through total immersion in all aspects of Irish harp playing, singing in Irish, dancing through collaborative workshops, sessions and public concerts. The festival incorporates a residency programme for harpers, ranging in age from 7 years 70 to and a series of public concerts and open rehearsals /sessions held on a daily basis at An Grianan.

The Evening Concert Series for this year’s festival runs from Monday 27th June through to Thursday 30th June. These concerts provide the public with an unrivaled opportunity to explore the cross cutting relationships between Irish harp, its positioning within Irish traditional music and its place within the wider tradition of harping in Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Festival Concert Programme 2011

Sunday June 26th
Fáilte Isteach

Poet and Aos Dána member Moya Cannon, Seán Ryan, whistle and Rick Epping concertina with Kathleen Loughnane, harp.

Venue: An Grianán, Termonfeckin, Co. Louth
Time: 8.00pm

Monday June 27th
‘A Window on The Neal Collection’ (1724)

Nicholas Carolan, Siobhán Armstrong, early Irish harp, singer Áine Uí Cheallaigh, Paul O’Shaughnessy and Paul McGrattan. This will be followed by a late night traditional session.

Venue: An Grianán, Termonfeckin, Co. Louth
Time: 8.30pm

Tuesday June 28th
A Family Affair

The Mulcahy Family and Michelle Mulcahy, harp with Scottish singer Alyth McCormack and Triona Marshall, harp explore and forge new musical connections with a riveting presentation of Scottish and Irish music.

Venue: An Grianán, Termonfeckin, Co. Louth
Time: 8.30pm

Wednesday June 29th
As I see it

Spanning the worlds of trad and jazz, Anne Marie O’Farrell, harp and Scottish harper Maeve Gilchrist share their unique approach in ‘Súil Eile’

Venue: An Grianán, Termonfeckin, Co. Louth
Time: 8.30pm

Thursday June 30th
Gala Festival Concert

Harper Cormac de Barra and Eamon de Barra, flute with special guests, T and the 3 Maggies – Tríona ní Dhomhnaill, Moya Brennan, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and Maighréad Ní Dhomhnaill.

Venue: An Grianán, Termonfeckin, Co. Louth
Time: 8.30pm

A series of public afternoon workshops presented by tutors and performers will also take place throughout the Festival.

All concerts and workshops are open to the public.

Admission €15, Concessions, OAP and unwaged €10

Booking: info@communique.ie or 01-6768998 or 087 2800390

Tickets also available at Droichead Arts Centre at www.droichead.ie
For further information contact:

Aibhlin McCrann: 087 2800390

Karan Thompson 086 2550291

Communiqué International

26 Herbert Place,

Dublin 2,

Three-year PhD Scholarship: Music and Urban Regeneration

admin — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 16:34:05 +0000

What role might music-related outreach initiatives play in the revitalization of urban communities?

How does music interact with other cultural practices in fostering community and renewal in the city? What form might an effective community outreach music project take? What methods might be used to assess the impact of such a project? These are some of the defining questions of an exciting new funded three-year PhD research project based in the Department of Music at University College Cork (UCC). This research will be interdisciplinary in scope, with methodologies potentially drawn from ethnography, ethnomusicology, cultural studies, cultural geography and the sociology of music.

Download this document for further information.