Counselling Rooms for Rent, Very Private, in an established practice in the centre of Dundalk, Co. Louth. Free Parking available for you and your clients. Good Rates for Block Booking. Contact the Great Northern Distillery Counselling Centre on 042 938 58 98.

New Radio Documentary on Aiken Barracks to be broadcast on LMFM at 12noon on St. Patrick’s Day.
For most locals living in and around Dundalk and the North-East region, the daily goings-on behind the walls of Aiken Barracks are a bit of a mystery. Despite its rich and varied history – encompassing its buildings, its people, its events, its memorabilia and its artefacts – it remains an unexplored place to most.
For the first time, this one-hour radio documentary ventures behind the walls of Aiken Barracks and offers listeners a chance to partake in a reconstructed oral history of the barracks, told by those who know it best. Through interviews with current and retired defence force members, the documentary explores the past, present and future of the barracks through the stories associated with key buildings, artefacts and places throughout its large campus, including its museum.

As one of only two permanent Defence Forces bases situated along the border and one of only ten permanent Defence Forces bases remaining overall throughout the country, Aiken Barracks is a place of immense importance for both the local community and our national defences.
The proximity of the border to the barracks was for many years an on-going source of tension, and while the advent of the Peace Process may have lessened this tension in the recent past, the impact of Brexit in the not-too-distant future is as of yet unknown for those stationed behind its walls.
Taking the form of a guided walking tour of the barracks, the documentary is interspersed with elements of interviews expanding upon the stories being told at certain locations, with historical sound effects helping to transport the listener back in time.

The barracks is currently home to approximately 440 personnel and it is here that members of both the Permanent and Reserve Defence Forces receive their training. Charting the overall history of the barracks right from its beginnings as an Infantry Barracks to a Cavalry Barracks, through the War of Independence, the Troubles and the current history of the 27th Battalion, the documentary allows the audience to have a brief glimpse behind the walls of a site of enormous historical and social importance for both Dundalk town and its environs.
‘Aiken Barracks: Behind the Walls’ is produced by Sarah McCann of Little Road Productions Ltd. for LMFM Radio and has been funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland with the Television License Fee.
It will be broadcast on LMFM Radio at 12noon on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th 2017

** ONE MONTH TO SUBMIT **

Attention Playwrights! SCRIPTS Ireland’s Playwriting Festival seeks new works

SCRIPTS Ireland’s Playwriting Festival, which is dedicated to new Irish plays, is looking for new works.

Taking place across Birr, Co Offaly from Sunday 9 July- Sunday 16 July 2017, playwrights (both established and emerging) are invited to submit original 15 minute plays on the theme, “What Next?”

Scripts most suited for development will then be chosen by the selection panel headed by playwright Eugene O’Brien.

Deadline for submission is Friday March 31st 2017.

Playwrights must be available to be in Birr from Sunday 9 July -Thursday 13 July 2017, as well as attend the headline event at Birr Theatre & Arts Centre on Sunday 16 July 2017, where the plays will be presented as staged readings.

There will be a prize for “Best Play“.  There are also opportunities for winning playwrights to meet and engage with production and dramaturgy departments of professional theatre companies and network with production partners. The winning play may then go on to represent the festival in further opportunities and events, should production partners deem it appropriate.

Playwrights can submit plays by e-mail to submissions.scripts@gmail.com or by post to “Scripts”, Birr Theatre & Arts Centre, Oxmantown Hall, Birr, Co. Offaly.

For more information as well as the submission conditions, log on to www.scriptsireland.com

SCRIPTS is kindly supported by Birr Theatre & Arts Centre, Jasango Theatre, Offaly County Council, Arts Council of Ireland, Offaly Local Development Company & Birr Municipal District

There are just FOUR weeks left to enter this year’s Caterpillar Poetry Prize.

Your poem 
Should be aimed at 7–11 year olds
Can be on any subject
There’s no line limit

The prize
€1,000 plus publication in the summer issue of The Caterpillar

The judge
John Hegley has been described by The Independent as ‘the poet laureate of comedy’. He has published several collections of poems, including a volume for children called My Dog is a Carrot. He also co-edited an anthology of poetry for young people called The Ropes: Poems To Hold On To. He’s a regular at Edinburgh Festival and on BBC Radio 4. His most recent collections are Peace, Love and Potatoes, New & Selected Potatoes and I am a Poetato.

enquiries@thecaterpillarmagazine.com

This year will see the 38^th annual International Choral Conducting Summer School take place in the beautiful surroundings of the University of Limerick from 6^th – 12^th August 2017.

The International Choral Conducting Summer School, under the artistic direction of renowned Irish conductor Bernie Sherlock, provides conductors, teachers, music students, choral enthusiasts, and musicians with hands on experience through intensive and enjoyable choral instruction from dynamic and inspirational tutors.

The only one of its kind in Ireland, this seven-day intensive course offers a wealth of expertise from six international tutors, all of whom are active conductors and experienced teachers of conducting. These expert tutors, hailing from the USA, Hungary, England, and Ireland, cater for beginner conductors to the more advanced, spanning six levels in total, ensuring that the course is suited to all enthusiasts.

It is the ethos of the course that participants gain from as much one to one tuition as possible from the expert tutors on the course. Regularly operating at maximum capacity, an average of 80 attendees have attended and gained valuable experience from the course:

“I had an amazing week. Thank you so much for this wonderful opportunity. I have learned so much and taken so many ideas away”

“Great to experience different styles of conducting and repertoire”

“It has been a hugely inspiring week, once again. Thank you to everyone involved. Proud to see so many international students attending. Sincerely hope to be back again”

Artistic Director, Bernie Sherlock, says, “The thing that really makes this summer school is that for one week every August, all kinds of conductors — from highly experienced practitioners to complete beginners — can all avail of the finest teachers of conducting from across Europe and around the world, right here in Ireland. And everyone has a great time.”

This summer, participants will engage in daily warm ups and group singing sessions, experience a range of workshops addressing essential and stimulating topics, gain exposure to new repertoire, and will have the opportunities to conduct in a final-day concert, take part in masterclasses, and to arrange private one-to-one lessons. The thorough, varied, and vibrant nature of the conducting course can be enjoyed by all for exceptional value for money.

A special invitation is also issued to choral singers who would like to train their voices further and enjoy seven days of singing a wide range of excellent choral music. This course also welcomes those who simply wish to observe. 

Applications are now open, and booking by Monday 8th May 2017 allows attendees to avail of Early Bird rates.

For further information or to download an application form, visit www.aoic.ie/education_training or call the Association of Irish Choirs on 061 234823.