The Irish in Britain, including those of Irish descent, make up a significant part of the UK population. Here, you will find news, entertainment, events, sports and features from the local Irish Post newspaper.
Director charms audience at film premiere
POIGNANT messages about immigration, friendship and the bond afforded by a shared mother
tongue provoked an excited response at a London cinema.
more...
Irish actress is streets ahead
Despite being a star of British institution Coronation Street and counting
members of the royal family among her friends, Katherine Kelly remains
fiercely proud of her Irish roots as Bruna Zanelli discovers.
more...
(Irish Post) 29 March 08
Preview
Celtic Jazz pioneers Carmina are launching their new studio album at the
Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith this week.
more...
(Irish Post) 29 March 08
No choice but to take the stage
Belfast band Oppenheimer are hoping to make people smile and dance with
their second album. Sharon ní Chonchuir talks to them about their
inspirations and how they were forced to perform live.
more...
Manchester Tradfest sets a world record
This year’s Manchester Irish Festival Tradfest in Levenshulme set
a brand new world record for the largest Irish music session ever held
in a pub when 116 musicians packed themselves into Union Irish Pub on
Stockport Road in Levenshulme village.
more...
(Irish Post) 29 March 08
Children’s Arts Festival
FÉis Ghlaschu is a week-long music and art festival for children and young people
in Glasgow aged 4-15.
more...
(Irish Post) 29 March 08
St. Pat’s revellers party on across Britain
Keen to be green took on a whole new meaning during the St. Patrick’s weekend
as thousands of people turned out in their 40 shades to take part in Irish
celebrations in towns and cities across the country.
more...
(Irish Post) 22 March 08
Review : Sive
Tom Begley’s interpretation of John B Keane’s Sive looks
unpretentiously at the complexities of match-making, marriage and money
alongside the conflicts of greed, lust and love.
more...
(Irish Post) 22 March 08
Unearthing Bloom’s roots
After a personal and musical epiphany in 1981, Kildare musician Kevin Barry
Moore relocated to the United States, reinvented himself as Luka bloom
and saw his career soar.
more...
(Irish Post) 22 March 08
A knees-up in Mansfield
The Mansfield and Dukeries Irish Association was formed after a response to
the great demand for tickets for a concert organised by the local St.
Patrick’s Social Committee featuring Diarmuid O’Leary &
The Bards in April 2005.
more...
The 27th Edinburgh Harp Festival
THERE is a strong Irish presence in the 27th Edinburgh International Harp
Festival with Irish acts opening and ending the programme.
more...
(Irish Post) 22 March 08
Comhaltas Convention
The annual Convention of Comhaltas
Ceoltóirí Éireann in Britain took place over the
weekend of February 15-17 at the Holiday Inn, East Kilbride, Glasgow.
more...
Kennedy’s take on the classics
FROM humble beginnings as a busker Brian Kennedy carved a career which has
spanned decades, boasts 10 albums and includes working with more than
a few of the industry’s greats.
more...
(Irish Post) 15 March 08
Chieftains honoured by the BBC
The Chieftains helped to save Irish traditional music from disappearing —
so it’s claimed in a BBC 4 programme to be transmitted on Friday,
March 14 at 9pm.
more...
Tribute single will aid cancer charity
The Ballad Of Ronnie Drew by U2, Kila, The Dubliners and the Bowsies including
Christy Moore, Shane MacGowan, Damien Dempsey, Andrea Corr, Sinead O’Connor,
Moya Brennan and Glen Hansard received its first play on radio stations
across the country after the 8am news on Tuesday, Februay 19.
more...
Mayor praises Post at St. Pat’s launch
The Irish Embassy played host to the official launch of the London St. Patrick’s
Day Festival with the luminaries of the city’s Irish community turning
out for the occasion.
more...
St. Pat’s celebrations dedicated to teacher’s memory
TRADITIONAL music, dance and Irish craft will be performed and created
by hundreds of rising young stars in honour of a popular Manchester Irish
music teacher who died of cancer.
more...
(Irish Post) 15 March 08
Patrick, parades and parties
TO mark the Apostle of Ireland’s day, this column is pleased to present
a short history of Ireland over the last 12,000 years.
more...
(Irish Post) 15 March 08
Urban life scene reaches out to cardboard citizens
A POIGNANT example of life imitating art is on show at a London theatre this month
as a troupe infused with Irish people touched by homelessness tell a fictional
tale of a life ruined by poverty.
more...
Two’s company for Camden’s finest
A chance meeting resulted in two workers at the London Irish Centre in Camden joining
together for what will be a unique evening of Irish music.
more...
(Irish Post) 08 March 08
Officially the best band in Ireland!
Shell-shocked. That was the reaction of Aslan when they were voted the best band in Ireland
in 2008. It had been a worthwhile struggle to claw their way back to the very top.
more...
(Irish Post) 08 March 08
Legend of Lir comes to life
Pupils at St. Paul’s School for Girls in Birmingham have been creating
a special project centred on the famous Irish legend The Children Of Lir.
brendan farrell takes a look at their work — and explains the famous tale.
more...
Famed dance tutors are honoured
Joe and Siobhán O’Donovan from Cork are among the most highly-regarded
teachers and collectors of dance memoribilia in the country.
more...
(Irish Post) 08 March 08
The Rebel Hearts’ first tour of Britain
CELEBRITY endorsements, a new album and a debut tour in England are propelling a
Tipperary-born band into the British limelight just in time for the St.
Patrick’s celebrations.
more...
Naked truth on Jordan
With Oscar mania having reached fever pitch at the 80th ceremony in Hollywood
on Sunday, The Irish Post speaks to acclaimed Irish director neil jordan,
who picked up one of the coveted statuettes in 1993 for the screenplay
of his movie The Crying Game.
more...
(Irish Post) 01 March 08
Let The Fureys entertain you
If you’ve had a hard week, the boss has been a tyrant or the strain
of everyday life is taking its toll why not relax with The Fureys —
who promise to take the strain away on their 30th anniversary tour.
more...
(Irish Post) 01 March 08
Kyron takes a walk on the wild side
Co. Dublin-born kyron bourke talks to Tom Fitzpatrick about his latest journey
into the world of music — fronting new band Kyron And The Strangels
— and how he’s still enjoying the experience despite previous setbacks.
more...
(Irish Post) 01 March 08
Gradam Ceoil 2008
WORLD-renowned fiddler Martin Hayes heads the list as the recipient of the TG4 Gradam
Ceoil (Traditional Music Awards) 2008.
more...
See Róisín White live
RÓISÍN White has become one of the foremost song carriers of the Ulster tradition.
more...
(Irish Post) 01 March 08
Get into Irish history
IRELAND History Month is launched in Leeds on Sunday, March 2 at the Carriageworks Theatre
in Millennium Square.
more...
(Irish Post) 01 March 08
Surprise concert marks Ethna’s achievements
Eloquent instruments joined magnificent voices at a surprise tribute event held
in honour of the woman who has kept Irish culture alive in the capital
for more than 30 years.
more...
(Irish Post) 23 February 08
Actors try to help kids perform in classroom
A pair of ambitious actors who descend from Ireland’s culturally bountiful
shores are taking their talents into schools in the hope of shaking up
curriculums on both sides of the water.
more...
Feud between warring authors set to hot up
A controversial book penned by an Irish journalist claims to show a fellow
author’s autobiographical tome to be full of false allegations,
although she continues to stand by her story.
more...
(Irish Post) 23 February 08
Ten years on Fr Ted is still as popular as ever
Ten years on from the death of Dermot Morgan — undoubedly best
remembered for his role as the rancorous but loveable Fr Ted — actress
Pauline McLynn recalls the fantastic times she spent on the show.
more...
(Irish Post) 23 February 08
A savage tale of colonialism
Martin doyle talks to Leo Butler about his controversial new play I’ll
Be The Devil which shows the brutality of the Penal Laws brought into
force in 18th century Ireland.
more...
(Irish Post) 23 February 08
Comedian hits the big time
No Message is the title of Neil Delamere’s first stand-up comedy
DVD and No Image could be a fair description of his on-stage appearance
— think of a dressed-down Frank Skinner.
more...
(Irish Post) 23 Febuary 08
Echoes Of Erin Tour 2008
THE 2008 Echoes Of Erin concert tour of Britain (February 23 to March 1) is
a colourful and exciting show of Irish traditional music, song and dance.
more...
(Irish Post) 23 February 08
Music speaks in volumes
BOOKS can be a great way to
learn Irish traditional music — but be sure to supplement your study
with actual session experience or at least some recordings.
more...
(Irish Post) 23 February 08
Celebrate your county!
SCORES of people are stepping forward to add the colour to this year’s
London St. Patrick’s Day Parade — by celebrating their home county.
more...
(Irish Post) 16 February 08
Traditional music troupe to tour britain
A father and daughter double act is just one of the highlights on this year’s
Echoes of Érin tour — the 2008 Comhaltas Ceoltóirí
Éireann Concert Tour Of Britain which will visit seven venues from
February 23 to March 1.
more...
(Irish Post) 16 February 08
Irish star wins Best Actor Bafta
There were no surprises in the Best Actor category at this year’s Baftas
when Irish star Daniel Day-Lewis took the prize for his role in There
Will Be Blood —beating the likes of James McAvoy for Atonement and
George Clooney for Michael Clayton.
more...
(Irish Post) 16 February 08
McEvoy ensures Tradfest pre-launch is a success
LEVENSHULME village in South Manchester was packed with Irish music fans and musicians
last week for the pre-launch of this year’s Manchester Irish Festival Tradfest.
more...
(Irish Post) 16 February 08
Voiceovers propelled Mullen to Holby City fame
As maverick medic Stuart McElroy in the BBC’s award-winning soap
Holby City Irish actor Conor Mullen wooed a nation with his Steve McQueen
looks and sharp mid-Atlantic accent.
more...
(Irish Post) 16 February 08
Worthy of note
After six years spent nurturing their talent in the natural habitat of the session
circuit one band has taken to the road to bring their unique sound —
a vibrant blend of Celtic connections — to a much wider audience.
more...
The Gathering in Killarney
THE NINTH Annual Gathering Festival descends upon The Gleneagle Hotel and
The INEC in Killarney from February 20-24 for a celebration of the rich
culture and diversity of traditional Irish music.
more...
New venue for Bolton session
The Comhaltas music session on Sunday, February 17 organised by the Bolton branch of
CCE will be held at the Sweet Green Tavern, Trinity Street, Bolton (between Bolton railway
station and Sainsbury’s).
more...
(Irish Post) 16 February 08
Discovering her Nu Routes
From Kerry airs to laid-back Caribbean rhythms and intricate Bulgarian
melodies singer-songwriter ELEANOR McEVOY has never been afraid to experiment
with new and eclectic sounds.
more...
(Irish Post) 09 February 08
Sultans back on song
Derided by the media during their first incarnation, Cork band THE SULTANS
OF PING are back with a carefree attitude to delight fans both old and
new alike. Sharon Ní Chonchúir speaks to the group, who
are planning to play in Britain in 2008.
more...
(Irish Post) 09 February 08
Manchester Tradfest launch
The legendary Irish singer-songwriter Eleanor McEvoy will pre-launch this
year’s Manchester Irish festival Tradfest on Thursday, February
7 at m19 bar in Levenshulme village.
more...
Traditional harpist plays in Lichfield
Lichfield Arts folk season continues at the Lichfield Guildhall on February 8 with
a concert from award-winning Irish harpist Marie Ni Chathasaigh and guitarist
Chris Newman.
more...
Derby prepare for St. Patrick’s festival
Derby’s St. Patrick’s Day committee have been hard at work planning the
city’s 13th annual celebrations and are promising it will be a festival
to remember.
more...
An Oedipus complex
AH, THE classics! The tragedy of a young Greek who will kill his own father
and sleep with his mother — this is the dramatic tale that is Oedipus Tyrannus.
more...
(Irish Post) 02 February 08
Juno Falls’ star is on the rise
Something of a musical nomad when it comes to influences, MYLES O’REILLY
describes his unique sound as a cross between Radiohead and Lionel Richie.
more...
(Irish Post) 02 February 08
Dervish set for Lichfield date
One of the mostly highly-acclaimed traditional Irish bands, Dervish will
be bringing their wonderful music to Lichfield Guildhall on Sunday, February 3 at 8pm.
more...
(Irish Post) 02 February 08
Four years of Nyah festival
Now in the fourth year, the Nyah Arts festival celebrates the traditional
music, song, dance and culture of Co. Cavan, the Ulster tradition and
the county’s very own musical style.
more...
(Irish Post) 02 February 08
Stepping up to height of fashion
With British fashionistas gearing up for next month’s London Fashion
Week one Irish shoe designer is preparing for her busiest time of the year.
more...
Inspiration for novel came from Ireland
A British-born author from northern England has released his debut novel
having begun the early steps of his career as a child in Bangor, Co. Down.
more...
(Irish Post) 26 January 08
Humour isn’t just for laughs it’s more a philosophy for Julian Gough
JULIAN GOUGH, a pop singer turned award-winning author, tells Martin
Doyle why comedy is greater than tragedy, how the internet has reinvented
the novel and how swapping London for Tipperary as a child helped make
him an artist.
more...
Sounds of the Underground
His music has been compared to that of the great Tom Waits, JJ Cale and
John Martyn but singer/songwriter Seán Taylor is a musician in
his own right.
more...
(Irish Post) 26 January 08
Imelda May has her cake and eats it!
For music lovers across Britain the name IMELDA MAY is definitely one
to watch out for in 2008. Here the Dublin jazz singer talks bouncers,
boyfriends and big bad handsome men with The Irish Post’s Tom Fitzpatrick.
more...
(Irish Post) 26 January 08
Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow
The Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow has some of the finest Irish traditional
musicians appearing at various venues around the city. Venue and admission
details are listed below.
more...
(Irish Post) 26 January 08
Reunion of the best Irish band of all times
For music lovers across Britain the name IMELDA MAY is definitely one
to watch out for in 2008. Here the Dublin jazz singer talks bouncers,
boyfriends and big bad handsome men with The Irish Post’s Tom Fitzpatrick.
more...
Female authors take Britain by storm
Two female Irish authors are taking the chick-lit genre by storm after their books made
the Top-20 fiction chart in Britain last week.
more...
(Irish Post) 16 January 08
New play gives insight into Behan’s last days
With fallen pop stars such as Britney Spears, Amy Winehouse and Pete
Doherty filling newspaper columns on a daily basis there is no mistaking
the effects that fame can have.
more...
Roisin rides the waves
Roisin Gibbons is the Irish girl causing a big stir on the airwaves in
the Midlands. Brendan Farrell listens in — and discovers how her
charms helped save a cow in Ireland.
more...
An open and shut Casey
Irish musician PADDY CASEY has been nominated for Best Irish Male and
Best Irish Album at this year’s Meteor Music Awards, which will
be held in Dublin on February 15.
more...
(Irish Post) 16 January 08
Vin Garbutt back on Tyneside
TYNESIDE Irish Cultural Society opens its 2008 season with a return to the Tyneside
Irish Centre of legendary singer Vin Garbutt on Thursday, February 7 at 8pm.
more...
Get connected in Glasgow
An essential part of the Irish music calendar, the Celtic Connections
festival plays hosts to over 1,000 artists from 20 countries.
more...
(Irish Post) 16 January 08
Brent book is a study in tolerance
An Irish politician living in Britain has written a book about the racial
tensions that threatened to engulf a north west London borough in the 1980s.
more...
Fans bid farewell to musical legends
Thousands of people from across Ireland and Britain have attended the funerals of
two of Ireland’s best loved singers to bid them a heart-felt farewell.
more...
Bee Gee wife Dwina more than a woman
She is married to a member of one of the biggest pop groups in the world
and divides her time between homes in Oxford, London and Florida.
more...
(Irish Post) 12 January 08
Gallagher brother in oasis of green
In a rare interview paul gallagher, the brother of Oasis duo Noel and
Liam, chats to Richard Purden about life as the other Gallagher sibling
and giving Irish history lessons in Mayo.
more...
(Irish Post) 12 January 08
Countdown to Celtic Connections
Glasgow’s Celtic Connections Festival, January 16 to February 3,
will celebrate the links between Scottish and Irish musical traditions
with a top line-up of Irish artists, including Moving Hearts, Liam Clancy,
Luka Bloom, Cara Dillon, Flook, Damian Dempsey, Andy Irvine, Paul Brady
and Cherish The Ladies.
more...
(Irish Post) 12 January 08
The Shindig is a January highlight
The Shindig traditional music and set dance festival weekend 2008 takes place
on January 18, 19 and 20 at the Brandon Hotel conference centre Tralee.
more...
Delaney takes the slow road to success
Despite being one of Ireland’s greatest Hollywood successes last year, star
of the BBC series The Tudors padraic delaney doesn’t want silly
tag-lines alongside his name pointing to his remarkable rise to fame.
more...
(Irish Post) 05 January 2008
What is Irish traditional music?
I RECENTLY came across the following definition of traditional Irish music
which readers of this page might find useful:
more...
(Irish Post) 05 January 2008
Farewell to Christie: A true legend
It was a sad week for Irish music with the passing of folk legend Christie
Hennessy. Speaking in his last ever interview on the BBC Irish Eye programme
he told host Graham Clifford how writing music and entertaining fans brought
massive joy to his life.
more...
(Irish Post) 22 December 2007
Is Charlie walking out on Casualty for good?
From playing an assassin in the North of Ireland to much-loved nurse Charlie
Fairhead in BBC TV series Casualty, DEREK THOMPSON has never been afraid
to tackle any role.
more...
(Irish Post) 22 December 2007
A musical evening without compare
TOM Beaumont the West London Rúnaí sent the Irish music page
a review of the recently-held London regional concert which I’m
going to share with the readers as it conveys the unique atmosphere of
a Comhaltas concert.
more...
(Irish Post) 22 December 2007
Frankie Kennedy annual concert
THE 14th Scoil Gheimhridh Frankie Kennedy takes places from December 27, 2007
until January 2, 2008 in Dunlewey, Gaoth Dobhair in the Donegal Gaeltacht.
more...
(Irish Post) 22 December 2007
Clooney in line for Irish peace prize
Actor George Clooney, who has Irish ancestry on his father’s side,
has been nominated by the Irish public for the Tipperary Peace Prize for
his work on Darfur.
more...
Ken’s going to work his magic on opera
It’s been a busy 47 years for Belfast son Kenneth Branagh —
the acclaimed actor, Oscar-nominated director, and a theatrical impresario.
more...
(Irish Post) 15 December 2007
From Sugababe to Rent girl
Singer/songwriter SIOBHÁN DONAGHY is currently starring alongside
Denise Van Outen in the London West End production of Rent.
more...
Fungal horror grows on you
Cinema-goers across Britain have been lining up to see new feature film
Shrooms — the latest Hollywood blockbuster which tells the story
of a group of students who go to Ireland in search of fabled magic mushrooms.
more...
(Irish Post) 8 December 2007
Irish arts renaissance in Co. Leitrim
BALLINAMORE in Co. Leitrim is experiencing something of a renaissance through the efforts
of local Irish dance and music group Shaylyn — who — thanks
to cross-border funding support of almost €500,000 — have established
a traditional performing arts centre and college in the town.
more...
Brush with Ireland from Britain’s living rooms
From Cong in Co. Mayo to the very place that John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara
were filmed in Galway for the movie The Quiet Man Ireland has no shortage
of beautiful landscapes and scenery.
more...
Why Seamus is so snap happy
Irishman Seamus Ryan is a renowned photographer — and now he’s training
his lens on hundreds of ordinary people in a quirky new venture. Tom FitzPatrick
discovered what it’s all about.
more...
Appeal raised to help with Sligo Teach Ceoil
AN APPEAL has been issued to Irish traditional music lovers and supporters throughout
Ireland and abroad by the Riverstown branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí
Éireann during the formal launch of a campaign to raise ?30,000
towards the cost of building the ?250,000 Morrison Teach Ceoil in the
Sligo village.
more...
(Irish Post) 01 December 2007
Musical youth exchange
CEOLTÓIRÍ na Breataine had the privilege to host the very first international youth
exchange within Comhaltas worldwide.
more...
Review : LED ZEPPELIN Mothership
This 24-track, 2CD comprehensive collection spans Led Zeppelin’s illustrious
career and contains material from all eight of the band’s classic
studio albums, with the tracks being personally selected by Jimmy Page,
Robert Plant and John Paul Jones.
more...
(Irish Post) 21 November 2007
Hot Shots
The influence of Ireland runs through the veins of many of Britain’s
most iconic musicians and bands.
more...
(Irish Post) 21 November 2007
The Poozies play Tyneside
IT’S 15 years since the Poozies first hit the road and in that time they have
been ambassadors for women in folk music.
more...
(Irish Post) 21 November 2007
Any clues to AJ’s life
AJ SCOTT played the melodeon and made his first recordings in July 1906 and
his last in May 1912.
more...
Dickie Rock: From Cabra to cabaret…
DICKIE ROCK is the first to admit that he was never one of music’s pretty
boys at a time when Elvis, Cliff Richard and Tom Jones had hordes of adulating
women flinging underwear on to world stages.
more...
Stormont hosts concert
THE PARLIAMENT buildings of the North of Ireland known as Stormont takes its
name from the estate on which it was constructed.
more...
(Irish Post) 14 November 2007
Viewers to discover fate of
heroin addict
Award-winning Irish journalist Alison O’Reilly is hoping to make headlines
this Christmas when a follow-up documentary about a young Dublin drug addict
hits British television screens. more...
China falls
for Irish sweetheart Fiona
A second-generation Irish singer has been handpicked to perform in front
of some of the most powerful world figures at the Festival of Culture in
China.. more...
14th Ennis Traditional
Festival
IT’S that time of the year again when the people of Co. Clare prepare for
the hundreds of musicians, singers, dancers and revellers who swarm into
the county for the 14th annual Ennis Traditional Festival. .more...
Waxing
lyrical about Ireland’s best trad songs
Few songs have made an impact on the Irish folk scene as much as those written
by Pete. St. John. Although this tune was only written in the ’70s, it creates
the feeling of having always been there.more...
(Irish Post) 03 November 2007
Canavan art exhibition
AN EXHIBITION of paintings by a renowned Irish artist goes on display in
London next week.more...
(Irish Post) 03 November 2007
Musicians
help to jazz up Cork festival
JAZZ fans from Britain and across Europe descended on Ireland for this year’s
Guinness Jazz Festival the biggest in the Cork event’s 30-year history.
.more...
World pageant
dream for Yorkshire beauty
We are all too familiar with the Irish beauty that is described as ‘lovely
and fair as the rose of the summer’ but little is known about Miss Globe
Ireland.more...
(Irish Post) 23 October 2007
Lord Of The Dance chooses Kerry island for a holiday home
Unlike previous property purchases such as one in London’s exclusive Knightsbridge
district Lord of the Dance Michael Flatley has chosen an exclusive Kerry
island as the site of his next holiday home..
more...
(Irish Post) 23 October 2007
Tribute
book inspired by band of brothers
An eyewitness account of coming of age in a large Irish family before and
during the Second World War has been published to celebrate the contribution
the London Irish have made to Britain’s capital..more...
(Irish Post) 23 October 2007
Getting to the
root of Ireland’s music
Shane Mitchell plays major music festivals all over the world as the accordion
player with Dervish but he is also a bit of a Pied Piper — if another act
pushes the right buttons for him, he will try and persuade them to follow
him home..more...
Devon
writer’s book is food for thought
A second-generation Irish foodie has put the knife into British cuisine
by comparing it unfavourably with Irish food in a quirky new book. .
more...
...The people’s priest
Ardal O’Hanlon has likened his Father Ted co-star Dermot Morgan to Princess
Diana and fears the 10th anniversary of Morgan’s death next year will be
commemorated in a similarly extravagant fashion to hers this summer.more...
(Irish Post) 19 October 2007
The
original jet-setting philanthropist
Greek singer Nana Mouskouri, currently travelling the world on what she
calls her Thank-you tour, claims she can’t wait to get back to Ireland before
heading to Britain. .more...
(Irish Post) 19 October 2007
Show us your support
THIS is the time of year when all branches of Comhaltas hold their annual
general meetings..more...
(Irish Post) 19 October 2007
Harpers show their mettle in Tara motorway protest
THE HARPERS of Ireland recently demonstrated their objection to the continued
destruction of the historic and cultural sites at the Tara/Skryne valley
resulting from the current route of the M3 motorway.more...
(Irish Post) 19 October 2007
Branch faces axe
THE NORTH London Branch of Comhaltas was formed in 1970, and has a long
history of success throughout its 37 years as part of the London Region.more...
(Irish Post) 19 October 2007
The man with
the golden trumpet
Johnny Carroll celebrates 50 years in showbusiness this year — the longest
stretch by any musician in the history of Irish music. .
more...
(Irish Post) 13 October 2007
Bono pens Spice Girl song
Irish rocker Bono has written a song for reuniting popstars The Spice Girls
which will be included in the group’s forthcoming greatest hits album and
performed on their up-coming world tour.
more...
(Irish Post) 13 October 2007
Dad’s
the word for Irish comedy health project
A new comedy health project focusing on children’s metal well-being is looking
for Irish fathers to come together and talk about their experiences of being
dads.. more...
(Irish Post) 13 October 2007
Let the music play
Born in Quilty, Co. Clare, Patrick and his family moved to Enfield in north
London when he was two years old. .more...
(Irish Post) 13 October 2007
Full Irish Radio
Show says let’s party
A village in the heart of Manchester’s creative corridor will celebrate
its ninth annual community festival with a little help from local Irish
talent. .more...
Film world
mourns the death of young star
The Irish film world is in mourning after the premature death of one of
its brightest young stars award winning actor Tom Murphy, who died from
cancer last weekend.more...
(Irish Post) 13 October 2007
Oireachtas na Gaeilge
Ireland’s oldest cultural festival Oireachtas na Gaeilge will this year
be held in Westport in Co. Mayo after a successful application to bring
the Irish language festival to the west.
more...
(Irish Post) 13 October 2007
Piping hot in Manchester
An evening concert of outstanding Irish traditional music will be held at
The Carlton Club, Carlton Road, Whalley Range, Manchester, on October 20
featuring superb Uilleann piper David Power. .more...
(Irish Post) 13 October 2007
Storytelling
festival to last five days
This month the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith is hosting a festival
of Irish storytelling which will include a programme of storytelling performances,
workshops, films, music concerts, theatre and ceili over five days..
more...
(Irish Post) 03 October 2007
Celebrity uncovers
his Irish roots
Impressionist Alistair McGowan has a unique flair for mimicking accents
but his previous attempts at taking-off the Irish brogue could have more
to do with genetics than talent.
more...
(Irish Post) 03 October 2007
Filmstars line-up for photo protest to save Hill of Tara
Hollywood actors Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Stuart Townsend joined over 1,500
people from all over Ireland and Britain on the Hill of Tara to pose for
the world’s first giant human harp photographed from the air. .
more...
It’s back to
the ’40s for Puppini Sisters
Two vivacious singers with Irish connections have adopted the sultry sirenesque
qualities of the 1940s to carve out a niche in the music business. .more...
Death of London stalwart
Tom Nally born in Lissatava, Hollymount Co. Mayo on May 8, 1935 passed away
on September 7. more...
(Irish Post) 03 October 2007
Young musicians in exchange
Twenty-five young musicians from Ennis, Co. Clare led by Majella Bartlay
and 16 young musicians from Tullamore led by James Hogan will arrive in
Glasgow on Friday, October 12.
more...
(Irish Post) 03 October 2007
Daughter’s big
day brings joy for Keith
Ex-Coronation Street star and former Boyzone singer Keith Duffy has spoken
out at the joy he felt when his young autistic daughter walked through the
gates of her local mainstream primary school earlier this month. .
more...
(Irish Post) 25 September 2007
Hundreds revel at music fest
Another dismal game of rugby for the Irish last Friday didn’t totally dampen
the spirits of those who turned up to this year’s Big Shindig.more...
(Irish Post) 25 September 2007
Mum’s love gives Lindsay a belief in the life hereafter
Irish singer LINDSAY ARMAOU shot to fame as part of the pop group B*witched.
She now lives in Middlesex with her husband — former boy-band member Lee
Brennan. Having just become lead vocalist of new Celtic country band Clayton
she spoke to Peter Robertson for the first time about her late mother’s
battle with cancer and why she believes in life after death..
more...
(Irish Post) 25 September 2007
Grafitti pair suffer for their
art
Hundreds have joined an online campaign to protest against the lengthy jail
sentences handed down to two young graffiti artists in Manchester. .more...
Get your
glad rags on it’s festival time again
This autumn the Irish across Britain are being urged to grab their diaries
and pencil in a date to visit one the many festivals taking place in cities
nationwide.more...
Foy hoping
to strike a balance in his music
With a new single due out this week singer/songwriter FOY VANCE has spent
the last number of years in London at odds with the dichotomy of making
music and the music industry itself. A great musical storyteller he feels
more at home at low-key gigs than in the midst of celebrity. The Co. Down
songwriter chats to Elaine Sheridan about why a cottage in the Mourne Mountains
helped him create a unique sound for his debut album. .
more...
(Irish Post) 22 September 2007
Actor Paddy now moving in a different direction
Currently playing the role of a journalist in critically-acclaimed spy epic
The Bourne Ultimatum, actor PADDY CONSIDINE has been gracing British cinema
screens since he shot to fame in the Jim Sheridan classic In America. The
second-generation Irishman has now decided to go behind the lens to direct
his first short film. He spoke to Richard Purden about how having an Irish
family has been an inspiration. .more...
World’s largest
session
An attempt to stage the world’s largest session as part of Fleadh Cheoil
na hÉireann was the brainchild of James Hogan, Comhaltas youth officer.
more...
Sharon
Shannon on British tour
Sharon Shannon is on tour this September with the most talented and innovative
line-up of musicians ever to tour Britain. .
more...
Moving
tale is looking for British premiere
A Donegal film-maker is hoping to win audiences in Britain with his gripping
tale of the lives of Irish emigrants living in London in the mid 1970s.
more...
Dubliner’s
documentary gets online premiere
An Irish man’s documentary that has garnered impressive plaudits from hardened
movie critics across the globe is about to be broadcast free for the first
time online. .more...
(Irish Post) 12 September 2007
Fundraisers
held in aid of star’s charity
Two British hoteliers with a passion for country music artists from Ireland
have raised £25,000 for a charity run by Irish singer Daniel O’ Donnell..
more...
Irish open London
Fashion Week
London Fashion Week is here again with a glimpse of what we will or will
not be wearing next spring and summer. .more...
(Irish Post) 12 September 2007
City celebrates
golden jubilee of music
Liverpool boasts a proud Irish legacy and music has paid an integral part
in that heritage. JOE MULLARKEY looks back on 50 years of making music on
Merseyside. .more...
(Irish Post) 12 September 2007
Liam’s got the
X Factor
A teenager from Co. Mayo has reportedly become the only Irish entrant to
make it through to the live finals of British talent search The X Factor.
more...
Ireland comes third in Eurovision Dance
Ireland finished in third place behind Finland and the Ukraine at the first
ever Eurovision Dance Contest which was aired on the BBC on Saturday night.
more...
(Irish Post) 06 September 2007
Browne
is anchor for TV news
Vincent Browne is to anchor Irish television station TV3’s new late-night
news and current affairs show from November 5.
more...
Keeping up with The
Smiths
It’s been 20 years since The Smiths split just before the release of their
fourth studio album Strangeways Here We Come.
more...
(Irish Post) 01 September 2007
Hammersmith hosts stars to promote Camden festival
The next in a series of concerts to publicise the 2007 Return To Camden
Town Festival will take place on Saturday, September 8 at the Irish Cultural
Centre in Hammersmith.
more...
Looking at it from
both sides
Virtuoso fiddle player NIAMH NÍ CHARRA made her mark on the Irish traditional
music world following a 10-year stint playing for the dance phenomenon Riverdance.
more...
(Irish Post) 21 August 2007
Skids off road for good says punk legend Jobson
The British punk movement was the ultimate expression of youthful rebellion
and brought about a do-it-yourself attitude among those who reveled in the
era’s music and ideologies.
more...
Mother Maria
About to become a mother for the fourth time Maria Doyle-Kennedy will hit
British television screens this autumn when US series The Tudors, in which
the Irish woman plays a starring role, airs on the BBC.
more...
(Irish Post) 16August 2007
Paris researching
Irish roots
American hotel heiress Paris Hilton will travel to Ireland in a bid to find
out if she is a distant relative of British pop star Lily Allen.
more...
(Irish Post) 16August 2007
Acclaimed musician Makem dies
Acclaimed folk musician Tommy Makem, best known for songs like The Four
Green Fields, Red Is The Rose and Gentle Annie, has passed away at his New
Hampshire home in the United States at the age of 74 following a long battle
with lung cancer. more...
(Irish Post) 09 August 2007
Brothers’
worldwide Irish dance connection
Irish dancing is no longer limited to the confines of the Emerald Isle and
now a new venture by two Tipperary brothers is helping to connect dancers
from all over the world.
more...
(Irish Post) 09 August 2007
Des is Lynam up for
Setanta
One of the most captivating clashes of the imminent soccer season will not
be fought on the pitch between superstar players like Steven Gerrard or
high-profile managers like Roy Keane.
more...
Artist Gemma’s
Burren desire
A prodigious artist has been rewarded for graduating from London’s most
prestigious art school with a unique opportunity to undertake an artistic
residency in the Burren in Co. Clare. more...
(Irish Post) 02 August 2007
Kate keeps it real
Following a rapid and somewhat unpredicted rise to fame Kate nash looks
set to take the music world by storm. more...
Star
line-up for return of World Fleadh
The World Fleadh will commence on Bank Holiday Monday, August 6 and run-over
a seven-day period in a custom-built festival village in the host town of
Portlaoise. more...
(Irish Post) 02 August 2007
The British National Championships
Two major national Irish dancing competitions held in England each year
are the British National Championships and the Great Britain Championships.
more...
(Irish Post) 02 August 2007
Manchester
Mani has Irish soul
GARY ‘MANI’ MOUNFIELD has one of the most distinct and influential bass
styles in British rock and indie music circles. Formerly linked with The
Stone Roses and now with Primal Scream the second-generation Irishman remains
a celebrated figure throughout Britain and Ireland for his genial nature
and positive spirit. The Mancunian is currently on a summer festival tour
of both islands but took time out to chat to Richard Purden about how the
Irish are the ones who have real soul. .
more...
Galway welcomes
back Trad On The Prom
TRAD On The Prom returns to the Salthill Hotel in Galway for its third successive
season and continues on a weekly basis until the end of September. .more...
Stepping into
alien territory
Success can be startling especially when it’s unexpected. Praise can be
pressurising particularly if it’s accompanied by a persistent demand for
more. more...
(Irish Post) 24 july 2007
21st Fiddler’s Green
Festival
It's hard to believe 21 years have passed since the Fiddler’s Green Festival
in Rostrevor in Co. Down hung out its banners to welcome the late, great
musician Sean McGuire into its Hall of Fame in 1987.
more...
Trad music
event will benefit Irish fiddler
A benefit night is taking place for one of London’s finest exponents of
traditional Irish music who has been unable to work for some time due to
illness. more...
Donleavy introduces
new films
Author, playwright and artist JP Donleavy is to introduce two films on Irish
novelist and playwright Brendan Behan at the IFI on Wednesday July 18. .more...
(Irish Post) 14 july 2007
Last chance for
Doherty to kick drugs
Junkie Pete Doherty was given another chance to kick his drug habit after
the weeping rockstar told a judge he was no longer living with supermodel
Kate Moss. .more...
Word to the wise for queen of the romantic novel Maeve
When asked to speak of Ireland’s greatest writers, there is little doubt
that the name MAEVE BINCHY is one that will come up time and time again.
With a film due for release in November and a new book in the pipeline,
Martin Doyle spoke to the Dublin author about her teenage love affair with
Marlon Brando, losing her faith in Jerusalem and her life in Dalkey with
British husband Gordon Snell.
more...
(Irish Post) 03 July 2007
Parky’s Irish chat
show memories
When veteran television presenter Michael Parkinson announced his retirement
last week for many it signalled the end of a golden age of entertainment.more...
Brosnan’s fall
from grace with Liam
The full programme for the Galway Film Fleadh has been announced, with world
premieres, classics and Irish and international documentaries among this
year’s screenings..more...
Civic welcome for
Argentinians
COMHALTAS has launched its first branch in South America. The River Plate
Branch of Comhaltas held its inaugural meeting in Ceolaras Coleman in Gurteen
in Co. Sligo.more...
Camden Festival
previews
The next preview concert for the 2007 Return to Camden Town Festival will
take place on July 13 at the London Irish Centre. .
more...
(Irish Post) 27 june 2007
Destined to become
a musician
Phew! My brain is reeling. I’ve just had an intense conversation with Fionn
Regan one of the most enigmatic artists on the Irish music scene today.more...
Apprentice runner-up plans return to Ireland
The Yorkshire woman who was the runner-up on this year’s reality business
television show The Apprentice has said she would love to return to her
native Ireland. .more...
(Irish Post) 23 June 2007
New York’s
Irish stars come Home to London
A host of Hollywood actors star in a new poetic documentary about the life
of an Irish immigrant in New York that is set to screen at a London exhibition
centre.more...
Celtic Women craic
They’ve enchanted audiences across the globe selling 500,000 tickets in
the US alone toured Japan, South Africa, Germany and Canada. Now, the biggest
show to come to out of Ireland since Riverdance Celtic Woman is set to take
Britain by storm. more...
(Irish Post) 23 June 2007
Arcade Fire to hit Dublin?
Arcade Fire are strongly rumoured to be lining up a Dublin headliner, possibly
at the Point Depot, in early November..
more...
(Irish Post) 23 June 2007
Slide release third
album
OVERNEATH is the third CD by Slide and the culmination of three years musical
evolution that has seen the group grow from the original quartet to encompass
the vocal talents of Andrew Murraymore...
(Irish Post) 23 June 2007
11th Blas
summer school of music and dance
THE IRISH World Academy Of Music And Dance at the University of Limerick
hosts its 11th annual Blas summer school of Irish traditional music and
dance from June 25 to July 6.more...
(Irish Post) 23 June 2007
Irish rockers to wow summer festival-goers A group of second-generation Irish rockers have put their
necks-on-the-line to produce a musical mix of Irish trad and punk for British
festival-goers.
more...
Seány gets
his chance on Big Brother Reality television series Big Brother has propelled a number
of Irish contestants to stardom and this year Irish entrant Seán O’Kane
from Derry is hoping to enjoy a similar route to fame. .more...
Michael looks
a winner in the fame game He might keep you waiting but it will be worth it. Bruna Zanelli
meets michael english to find out why Louis Walsh rates him so highly and
why he’s destined for stardom.
more...
(Irish Post) 16 June 2007
George watches
over son Calum George Best refused to leave drug-taking son Calum cash in
his will because he feared he would be signing his death warrant..more...
(Irish Post) 16 June 2007
O’Toole is canvassing
for more success Peter O’Toole is in final negotiations to star in a new film called
The Christmas Cottage which is based on a painting by American artist Thomas
Kinkade. .more...
(Irish Post) 16 June 2007
Remembering
one of Ireland’s greats WITH his new CD Michael Davitt The Forgotten Hero ballad
singer Dónal Maguire succeeds in capturing the events around the life and
troubled times of the man himself in his collection of 16 songs.more...
(Irish Post) 16 June 2007
We’re upbeat
to make our tunes uplifting STEVE Wall has a problem. He and his bandmates in The Walls have
a mantra a mantra which dictates that their music must be uplifting. At
the moment, he’s finding it a challenging task.more...
Irish redhead is the belle of the
acting world
With a fiery mix of Irish and Scottish blood acting sensation kathleen mcdermott
caused quite a stir when she starred in the recent Channel 4 film Wedding
Belles. The actress, who counts fellow Irish actress Brenda Fricker as a
mentor, spoke to Richard Purden about her new-found fame.
more...
(Irish Post) 6 June 2007
Irish
pair’s hope for West End debut in final stage
Irish eyes are smiling in the BBC1 show Grease Is The Word as Dubliner Susan
McFadden and second-generation Irish singer Anthony Kavanagh also known
as Kavana have made it through to the grand final. .
more...
(Irish Post) 6 June 2007
Irish
comic O’Briain is making airwaves
Irish comedian Dara O’Briain has to be one of the busiest men in British
comedy as this week saw the funnyman stand in for Radio 2 DJ Steve Wright
on his afternoon show where he interviewed fellow Irishman and Irish Post
Award winner, investigative reporter Donal McIntyre. .more...
Stephen muscles in
to new movie
Irish film star Stephen Rea is set to team up with hardman Vinnie Jones
for a new crime thriller called The Heavy.more...
U2 rock on the red
carpet
U2 rocked Cannes’ famous red carpet last week, playing to thousands of filmgoers
and fans before a late-night screening of their new concert movie. For the
showing of U2 3D, the band performed a two-song set on the steps of the
Festival Hall as thousands of people crammed the street in front of the
seafront building. . more...
(Irish Post) 02 june 2007
Nicky and Georgina
get the twins home
After more than a month in hospital, the Taoiseach’s grandchildren Rocco
and Jay have finally made their way home. While little Jay made his first
trip home the week before, new parents Georgina Ahern and Nicky Byrne got
an unexpected present last week when doctors gave the go-ahead for Rocco
to join them too. more...
(Irish Post) 02 june 2007
Irish film wins Cannes
award
Cinema in Ireland received a welcome boost this week when an Irish film
won a prestigious award at the 60th Cannes Film Festival in France..
more...
Ramsay
raves about Ireland’s fine cuisine
WITH just over four months to go before the kitchen opens at Gordon Ramsay’s
first Irish restaurant the firebrand celebrity chef has been busy extolling
the virtues of Ireland’s culinary output. .
more...
(Irish Post) 02 june 2007
Flatley
‘angry and hurt’ by false rape claims
Lord of the Dance star Michael Flatley has said he has been completely vindicated
by last week’s decision to disbar a US attorney who tried to coerce him
into paying $30million to keep false rape claims quiet.
more...
(Irish Post) 02 june 2007
When Irish eyes are
watching
Hot weather, longer days and co-workers gossiping around the watercooler.
It can only mean one thing — the return of Big Brother. Siobhan Breatnach
looks at the impact the Irish have had on the reality TV phenomenon.more...
(Irish Post) 02 june 2007
Louis buries
hatchet after bust-up
Irish music mogul Louis Walsh has made up with his former X Factor colleague
Simon Cowell following a bust-up between the two when Walsh was fired from
the show. .more...
U2 top Hillary’s
handful of campaign tunes
Irish rock superstars U2 are leading the race to land the campaign song
for US Senator Hillary Clinton’s Presidential campaign, with two songs in
the Democrat’s shortlist .more...
Movie
extras needed for Northern agency
A PAIR of entrepreneurial Irish women have taken inspiration from Ricky
Gervais’ comedy smash Extras to set-up the North of Ireland’s first dedicated
extras agency. more...
(Irish Post) 17 May 2007
A short
story or just caught short
Julian Gough, the Galway writer who recently won Britain’s National Short
Story Prize, appeared on The Late Late Show last week. more...
(Irish Post) 17 May 2007
Euro Pop making way for traditional Irish music
IT SEEMS that all the corners of Europe are finally catching on to what
the Irish have known for many centuries that Irish traditional music is
one of the finest forms of expression the musical world has to offer.more...
Humiliated
Ireland hit bum Euro note
RTÉ WILL review its Eurovision entry selection process after the disastrous
showing by Ireland at the weekend final in Helsinki more...
(Irish Post) 17 May 2007
Midlands prepares for Irish music festival
THE popular Irish Midlands Music Festival in Mullingar is taking place again
this year with a super line-up bound to attract concertgoers from all over
Ireland and Britain. more...
(Irish Post) 17 May 2007
Irish film gets
Cannes boost
Garage, the follow-up film to Adam And Paul, has received the backing of
the most prestigious film festival in the world. more...
(Irish Post) 17 May 2007
Lindsay’s lawyer criticises her so-called friends
Lindsay Lohan’s lawyer has criticised his client’s so-called friends who
he fears sold images of the actress and singer allegedly snorting cocaine
in a bathroom to a British newspaper. more...
(Irish Post) 17 May 2007
Julie’s
still just getting started
Listening to Julie Feeney’s 13 Songs on my iPod as I wait to interview her
in the foyer of an upmarket Dublin hotel, I can’t help being seduced by
the discreet opulence of both. more...
Actress Lordan tells of struggle
to survive
SECOND-generation Irish actress Elaine Lordan has suffered an agonising
few years. In 2004 she was sacked from her role as Lynne Slater on EastEnders
amid claims of heavy drinking on set. more...
(Irish Post) 10 May 2007
Soapstar superstar Kazia hopes to
solve her Irish family mystery
Brookside, The Bill and Family Affairs — KAZIA PELKA has established herself
as a favourite in our TV screens. But there’s one thing she’d love to do
— and that’s find out more about her Irish family background. Bruna Zanelli
meets the woman carrying on the tradition of a famous Irish acting dynasty.
more...
Jungle king Brian?
IRISH pop star Brian McFadden is reportedly set to take part in the next
series of British reality show, I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here! after
music mogul Louis Walsh recommended him for the programme.
more...
Stephen Rea gets
street credibility
OSCAR nominee Stephen Rea was taken under the wing of Ireland’s two newest
stars as he took to the streets of Dublin for a new movie.
more...
Midlands
Fleadh is a real musical education
EVERY year since The Irish Post began publishing in 1970 Princethorpe College
in Warwickshire has hosted at least one annual Comhaltas event with echoes
of Irish traditional music, song and dance taking place within the walls
of this lovely building.more...
(Irish Post) 01 May 2007
Oasis pair invited
to family reunion
HUNDREDS of people named Gallagher from across the globe will descend on
Donegal’s shores in September for the first- ever gathering of the clan.
more...
(Irish Post) 28 April 2007
Irish singing duo
spread the word
GREASE is the word for a couple of ambitious Irish actors fighting it out
to win places in the new theatre production of the hit film Grease.more...
Rhys Meyers back as
Henry VIII
The second series of the acclaimed, Jonathan Rhys Meyers-starring Henry
VIII drama The Tudors is to shoot in Ireland in the coming months.
more...
(Irish Post) 28 April 2007
Morrissey
not ready to forgive and forget
Second-generation Irish singer Morrissey is reportedly set to snub the induction
ceremony of The Smiths into the US Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall Of Fame. more...
(Irish Post) 28 April 2007
Nora-Jane’s stage ambitions
Irish actress Nora-Jane Noone is ready to swap the small screen for the
stage. The 23-year-old, who shot to fame after a stint in Coronation Street,
is hoping to hone her talent by treading the boards in Dublin. more...
(Irish Post) 28 April 2007
Irish Music
London banjo maestro Brian Kelly releases new CD album - 13th Féile Chois
Cuain in Louisburgh - Cheoil agus Damhsa weekend - Skerries Trad returns
in May more...
(Irish Post) 28 April 2007
Banville
named for top authors award
IRISH novelist John Banville was named among the 15 writers on the contenders’
list for the Man Booker International Prize for 2007 announced in Toronto.
more...
(Irish Post) 18 April 2007
Looks and charm,
the Irish stars have it all
IT has never been so cool and sexy to be Irish. It may be the accent, the
looks or even the charm but all around us Irish people seem to be hitting
the headlines with news of record deals, movie blockbusters and bestselling
novels. more...
Noel making
a solo effort
Oasis’s Noel Gallagher will take time out from performing with his successful
band to release a solo album. more...
(Irish Post) 18 April 2007
Gleeson completes world domination
Irish actor Brendan Gleeson has landed the role of wartime leader Winston
Churchill in a major new movie about the Prime Minister. more...
(Irish Post) 18 April 2007
Traditional
duo return to Tyneside for concert
FIDDLE player Aly Bain and accordion player Phil Cunningham are two of the
most celebrated musicians on the traditional/folk music scene and are to
return to the Tyneside Irish Centre on Thursday, April 26 at 8pm..
more...
Trad Festival Will
Reach for your Heart
THE CELTIC Heart Festival at the Riverside Theatre in Hammersmith is to
present a series of headline concerts, which brings to the stage some of
Ireland’s most exciting and dynamic musicians who have taken the old traditions
to new heights and have attained worldwide admiration and acclaim..
more...
(Irish Post) 10 April 2007
O’Toole to Play
Artist Kinkade in Next Movie
IRISHMAN Peter O’Toole is in final negotiations to star in a new film called
The Christmas Cottage, which is based on a painting by American artist Thomas
Kinkade. . more...
Short Stories
Posing a New Challenge for Billy
Responsible for bringing Ireland and in particular Wexford to the international
stage, award-winning Irish playwright Billy Roche has completed a collection
of short stories called Tales From Rainwater Pond. more...
(Irish Post) 04 April 2007
Grainne
Reflects on her Dream Career
From a child’s love of Irish dancing to working on giant opera sets in the
US, second-generation Irish woman GRAINNE SWEENEY has always loved the arts.
Now she’s the creative director of Britain’s National Glass Centre. Brendan
Farrell hears her story. more...
(Irish Post) 04 April 2007
A
New Omen for Damien as Lisa’s Ditched
SINGER-songwriter Damien Rice has ended his professional relationship with
vocalist Lisa Hannigan saying that the partnership has “run its creative
course”. more...
Boys will be Boys
FRESH from an appearance on BBC’s Celebrity Fame Academy comes a massive
line-up of interviews followed by a string of late nights and early mornings.
more...
Woe for Wogan
after Eurovision gaffe
IT IS not unusual for Ireland’s golden boy Terry Wogan to hit the headlines
but recent weeks have seen the Limerick man attract attention for all the
wrong reasons. more...
Mumba at centre of
racism storm
Miss Scotland Nicola McLean sparked an international bust-up on the airwaves
last week when she called Samantha Mumba a monkey. more...
OH, WHAT A DAY!
IRISH President Mary McAleese has praised the part played by the Irish in
Britain and predicted a bright future for the community. more...
(Irish Post) 22 March
2007
Moore
vocal inspiration from Christy
CHRISTY Moore’s latest album Burning Times is a collection of moving and
inspirational songs by various artists which he and Declan Sinnott have
recreated whilst still retaining the core elements that first made each
song so great. more...
(Irish Post) 22 March 2007
New role for
Cullen
ALLISON Cullen has recently taken up her position as the new full-time development
worker for Comhaltas in Scotland. . more...
(Irish Post) 22 March 2007
Traditional music
masterclasses
MASTERCLASSES in traditional music, song, dance and storytelling are being
held at Scoil na Mainistreach in Celbridge from 11am to 4.30pm on Saturday,
March 31. more...
Look at me! I’m heading
to Hollywood
DUBLIN actress Sarah Bolger has been signed up to star in a new Hollywood
movie based on an extraordinary love story which began at a Nazi concentration
camp. . more...
(Irish Post) 14 March 2007
Two new language courses
TWO brand-new Irish classes are being offered at the London Irish Centre
in Camden next month. more...
Mama Mia! Pierce sings!
Former James Bond Pierce Brosnan is turning his talents to singing in a
Hollywood movie version of smash-hit musical Mama Mia. more...
(Irish Post) 14 March 2007
Shane’s wedding plans to go up in smoke
Hard-living singer Shane MacGowan has insisted on getting married in a tent
so he can smoke through the ceremony and the reception at his planned wedding
in Ireland this summer. . more...
(Irish Post) 14 March 2007
Another day... another
award
U2 frontman and activist Bono was presented with the Chairman’s Award at
the prestigious 38th NAACP Image Awards in Los Angeles. more...
Oscar Wilde Awards
The Academy Awards were not the only Oscar ceremony held in Hollywood as
more than 500 people turned up at the nearby Wilshire Event Ebell Theatre
to attend the Oscar Wilde Awards, designed to honour Irish film writers..
more...
(Irish Post) 07 March 2007
Brave Kylie
handed song by legend Boy George
Eighties pop icon Boy George has reportedly written a song for Australian
singer Kylie Minogue about her relationship with former boyfriend Olivier
Martinez.. more...
Frances
banishes the dark days of addiction
Irish singer-songwriter FRANCES BLACK has endured a dramatic past of drug
and alcohol addiction. She talks to Alison O’Reilly about her past, her
recovery and her hopes for the future. more...
(Irish Post) 07 March 2007
Return of the charming
man
He was a star in the making and ready to hit the big time but just as the
future looked bright singer sean o’farrell quit the music business. Now
he’s back and ready to charm us all over again. Bruna Zanelli hears his
story. more...
Fureys blow in on tour
THE FUREYS are back in town. The legendary group embark on a British tour
this month with venues expected to be packed out again.. more...
Lights to go out
on Electric Ballroom?
THE death knell was sounded for the Hammersmith Palais in January just a
few months after staging the first Big Shindig but that is not the only
historic Irish venue under threat. more...
(Irish Post) 3 March 2007
Artist to show work at City
Hall
THE work of renowned London-Irish artist Brian Whelan is set to be exhibited
in both the Mayor’s City Hall offices and in an upcoming book. more...
(Irish Post) 3 March2007
All-Ireland Championships
Some Irish dance historians would insist that the All-Ireland Championships
are over a century old. Although it is true that the Cork feis had featured
an All-Ireland challenge belt since 1895 the championships in their current
form under the rules of An Coimisiun were not established until 1932. This
year, therefore, marked the 75th anniversary of those championship.
more...
(Irish Post) 3 March 2007
Leonardo set to
play Irish legend
Irish legend Brian Boru is to get the Hollywood treatment with Leonardo
DiCaprio and Christian Bale in starring roles. Movie bosses are in negotiations
with the Tinseltown idols for a ¤40million epic called Freedom Within The
Heart. . more...
(Irish Post) 3 March 2007
Kerry’s bundle of joy
Former Atomic Kitten Kerry Katona has given birth to a premature baby daughter
by Caesarean section. more...
Landmark Dublin theatre
is set to close
One of Dublin’s best loved theatres is to close. Andrew’s Lane, which is
located in the heart of the city between Trinity College and the Central
Bank, has been purchased by property developers. more...
Cillian’s city life
HOLLYWOOD star Cillian Murphy has revealed he will never return to live
in Ireland despite his strong ties to home. more...
(Irish Voice) 24 February 2007
Enya’s carpeted over missed
gong
SHE is renowned as a recluse who shuns the celebrity limelight so when Enya
ventured to Los Angeles to accept her latest Grammy her fans tuned in en
masse. . more...
(Irish Voice) 24 February 2007
Echoes of Erin tour
THE ANNUAL Echoes of Erin Comhaltas concert tour is now in its 33rd year
and forms a vital part of the movement’s annual work programme. .
more...
All Ireland Championships
Set against the scenically magnificent backdrop of the Killarney National
Park, the Gleneagle Hotel with its vast Irish National Events Centre (INEC)
auditorium was once again the splendid setting for the All Ireland Irish
Dancing Championship more...
Public to vote
on Irish entry for Eurovision
THE Irish public will be asked to pick Ireland’s entry for this year’s Eurovision
Song Contest this week from a shortlist performed by traditional music band
Dervish. .
more...
(Irish Voice) 17 February 2007
Future
still looking bright for musical legend Black
She’s a musical legend and set to thrill her fans in Britain with two intimate
concerts this month. As she prepares to step on stage at the fabulous Pigalle
Club Mary black chats to Elaine Sheridan. more...
Memories of Irish Minstrels
Club
ON SUNDAY, January 20 in 1957 the first craobh (branch) of Comhaltas outside
Ireland was established in Glasgow at a meeting in the Diocesan Centre in
Charing Cross. . more...
(Irish Voice) 17 February 2007
Film review: Notes on a scandal
NOTES On A Scandal is notable for several reasons. First of all it’s one
of the more adept literary adaptations of recent years. Secondly it takes
a highly controversial subject a teacher/underage student seduction and
bravely treats it as just one of those things involving humans rather than
just condemning the teacher. Thirdly it requires Dame Judi Dench to act.
more...
Showbusiness
Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody is leading a host of other Irish stars
throwing their weight behind a radical new music hub in his native Belfast.
more...
Music’s finest
caught on camera by Loreana
Carreers in professional photography and music are notoriously hard to break
into.But for Irish girl Loreana Rushe all it took was determination, know-how
and a little bit of luck. more...
Ruby was hot stuff
Her name has become famous as Cockney rhyming slang — but Irish singer RUby
murray was also renowned for her vocal talents. Fellow singer Ronnie Carroll
tells Henry Wymbs the story of the Belfast crooner who became a household
name.more...
(Irish Post) 08 February 2007
Let it Snow
Snow Patrol stole the show at last week’s Meteor Ireland Music Awards at
the Point Theatre in Dublin walking away with four awards: Best Irish Band,
Best Irish Album, Best Live Performance for their gig at Dublin’s Marlay
Park last year and Most Downloaded Track for Chasing Cars. more...
O’Toole’s in search of Oscar
WHEN he was offered an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement four years
ago Peter O’Toole requested more time to “win the lovely bugger outright”.
Now he’s got his chance. more...
Lúnasa on the road
LÚNASA are appearing at the Guildhall in Lichfield on Saturday February
3. The band contains some of the best musicians on the Irish traditional
music circuit with the current line-up of bassist Trevor Hutchinson, guitarist
Pat Meehan, Sean Smyth on fiddle, Cillian Valley pipes and flute player
Kevin Crawford. more...
Girls Aloud singer
Nadine in drugs shock
Girls Aloud star Nadine Coyle told how a quiet night in with her mum was
shattered when an alleged drugs gang gate-crashed her luxury apartment.
more...
(Irish Post) 25 January 2007 - 03
Febuary 2007
Trad music goes online
Michael Queally from Co. Clare is the founder of QOD Music — an interactive
music download site on the web which focuses on traditional musicmore...
Time to party like it’s 2007
Christmas has come and gone but 2007 is set to be a year to look forward
to. With hundreds of festivals dotted all over Ireland and Britain in the
coming months here is a list of the ones not to be missed.more...
(Irish Post) 18 January 2007 - 25
January 2007
FACE OFF!
Hollywood hunks Colin Farrell and Cillian Murphy could be sparring for a
top movie gong next month. more...
(Irish Post) 18 January 2007 - 25
January 2007
Delaney’s aiming high
Pádraic Delaney, who stars opposite Cillian Murphy in The Wind That Shakes
The Barley, has been chosen as the Irish Shooting Star for 2007 for next
month’s Berlin Film Festival.
more...
Louise’s love affair with
music
After taking a break from the music business Irish singer louise morrissey
is back — and sounding better than ever. She talks to Bruna Zanelli about
her plans for the future. more...
(Irish Post) 11 January 2007 - 18
January 2007
Arise Sir Bono?
As we shake off the final hangover of 2006 and kick off 2007 anew we are
left with the resounding debate which was the centre of most New Year’s
Eve conversations in Dublin bars: Should Bono accept a Knighthood from the
Queen of England?more...
Gloria calls on celebrity friends
for a new show
She’s back with a new series of Gloria’s Greats. GLORIA HUNNIFORD talks
to Elaine Sheridan about past and future interviews and coping with the
loss of her daughter Caron Keating. more...
McCauley’s merry melodies
Without him Daniel O’Donnell might not be the international star he is today.
He’s also written hits for Big Tom and Larry Cunningham and at one time
was a favourite at London’s legendary Galtymore. Henry Wymbs meets Johnny
McCauley. more...
Most likely to succeed...
Who will be the bands making the headlines and topping the charts this year?
Alison O’Reilly lists the Top 10 bands to keep an eye on over the next 12
months. more...
(Irish Post) 6 January 2007
Clare Comhaltas development
THE CLARE Comhaltas cultural centre Cois na hAbhna is to be one of the main
beneficiaries of the organisation’s development programme.
more...
(Irish Post) 6 January 2007
Oireachtas Rince na hEorpa
Vienna, city of my dreams. So sang the famous Austrian tenor Richard Tauber
over 70 years ago. But little did he dream that one day his beloved capital
city would play host to Oireachtas Rince na hEorpa, the qualifying feis
for mainland Europeans who wished to become eligible to compete in the World
Championships in Irish dancing to be held in Glasgow this Easter.
more...
(Irish Post) 6 January 2007
We’re together and it’s forever
They have sold more albums than Oasis and Westlife put together — and they
are still a firm Irish favourite. Henry Wymbs meets FOSTER AND ALLEN.
more...
(Irish Post) 21st December 2006
Looking back...on a star-studded year
2006 was a year to remember; With so much happening from Jan to December.
There’s been lots of antics on the showbiz scene; Here’s just a glimpse
of what I mean. From Pete and Kate to Kerry and Brian; Here’s a look back
at a memorable time. more...
(Irish Post) 21st December 2006
Reviews
WHAT a year it has been for entertainment. The best film, CD, gig, theatre
and book reviews that have packed our pages throughout 2006. Happy New Year!
more...
A musical holiday
IF YOU are looking for a holiday with a difference in Ireland during 2007
then a week at the Fiddlers Retreat Irish music and culture experience is
the place for you. more...
Funnyman Dara has ’em laughing in the
aisles
IRISH funnyman Dara O’Briain is rapidly becoming known as one of Ireland’s
greatest exports. In as quick a time as he can talk, the Irishman has achieved
what most comedians can only dream of. more...
Family is still top priority for Nolan
star Coleen
We’ve had The Spice Girls and then Girls Aloud — but before that there was
The Nolan Sisters. Bruna Zanelli talks to Coleen Nolan about her days in
the famous band — and her transition to TV presenting. more...
(Irish Post) 21st December 2006
Icing on the cake
How Bell X1’s Brian Crosby brought together some of the top Irish musicians
to produce an album in support of HIV/AIDs treatment in Africa. more...
Ronan’s a country boy
Looking at Ronan Keating’s career trajectory — from boy band heart-throb
to multi-platinum selling solo artist — ‘country’ may not be the first word
that comes to mind. more...
Colm trekking onto
the West End stage
Known best to Irish fans for his roles in the movie adaptations of Roddy
Doyle’s Barrytown series, colm meaney went on to become one of the most
recognised faces on television playing Chief Miles O’Brien in the cult Star
Trek spin-off Deep Space Nine. Now Meaney — one of Ireland’s most prolific
and respected actors — is sharing the West End stage with Kevin Spacey.
more...
Sing a song for Christmas
Former Westlife favourite Brian McFadden has been keeping a low media profile
since his solo career got off to a shaky start but we can reveal that he
has a song out this Christmas. more...
Dervish take
on Europe in traditional fashion
Irish traditional group Dervish will bid to bring further Eurovision glory
to Ireland after being announced as the nation’s representatives in Europe’s
premier song contest.more...
(Irish Post) 30 November 2006
Nadine and Jesse split?
Girls Aloud singer Nadine Coyle and Desperate Housewives actor Jesse Metcalfe
have reportedly ended their relationship. more...
The traditional X-Factor
SIiansa Gael Linn is a renowned competition for young traditional music
and singing groups organised by Gael Linn and supported by RTÉ Raidó na
Gaeltachta now entering its sixth year.more...
(Irish Post) 30 November 2006
Traditional music
in your area
Bolton - Bradford - Cambridge - Chesterfield - Coventry - Derby - Gloucester
- Heston - Huddersfield - Lancashire - Leamington Spa - Leeds - Leicester
- Liverpool - London - Luton - Maidenhead - Newport - Northampton - Notthingham
- Oxford - Tyneside - Slough - Sheffield - Swindon - Sligomore...
(Irish Post) 30 November 2006
Westlife: Closing
in on Elvis and The Beatles
Irish boyband Westlife can count themselves amongst the most highly-regarded
musical artists in he world — and that includes The Beatles and Elvis Presley.
more...
McGrath is match for Wayne
Rooney
Ireland football legend Paul McGrath is outscoring today’s young guns Wayne
Rooney and Frank Lampard — in the book charts. His gritty autobiography
about his battle with the booze during his amazing career on the pitch is
in the top five selling soccer books in Britainmore...
The Paddy and Liam show
Paddy Glackin and Liam O’Flynn are also heading for the Hammersmith Irish
Centre this month.more...
(Irish Post) 23 November 2006
Traditionnal music in your
area
BOLTON - BRADFORD - CAMBRIDGE - CHESTERFIELD - COVENTRY - DERBY - GLOUCESTER
- HESTON - HUDDERSFIELD - LANCASHIRE - LEAMINGTON SPA - LEEDS - LEICESTER
- LIVERPOOL - LONDON - LUTON - MAIDENHEAD - NEWPORT - NORTHAMPTON - NOTTINGHAM
- OXFORD - TYNESIDE - SLOUG - SHEFFIELD - SWINDON - SLIGO more...
(Irish Post) 23 November 2006
Who’s not who
Apparently Van Morrison, Robbie Keane and Eddie Irvine aren’t, but Paris
Hilton, George Clooney and Mariah Carey are — our own Irish A-list celebrities
that is. more...
Ronnie rallies
Singer Ronnie Drew has admitted he was a “gobshite” not to seek medical
treatment sooner than he did. more...
(Irish Post) 15 November 2006
Simon and Louis’ gay day
Reality show judges Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh launched gay insults at
each other during last weekend’s X Factor resulting in an off-camera confrontation
according to reports. more...
U2 to be 3D on the big screen
U2’s Vertigo world tour may soon create a real sense of vertigo among moviegoers
as the Irish rockers are planning to release their first 3D concert film
next year. more...
Irish Post 09 November 2006
Heading in the right direction
YOUNG Dublin four-piece Director are the hottest band in Ireland at present.
Thrilling critics and audiences alike on their extensive national tour,
they come to Britain later this year to promote their debut album, We Thrive
On Big Cities. more...
Irish Post 09 November 2006
Liverpool Comhaltas welcome
Liverpool Comhaltas musicians were out in force recently on the Albert Dock
on the banks of the Mersey. more...
Irish Post 09 November 2006
Kennedy piping festival
The kennedy piping festival commencing on November 15-19 in Armagh City
celebrates the blind piper William Kennedy who was born near Banbridge in
1768. more...
Novelist Cecelia’s popularity
shows no signs of abating
The daughter of Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was signing copies of her latest
novel A Place Called Here at Waterstone’s bookshop in Enfield. The young
author was greeted by an appreciative queue of fans eager for her to sign
copies of her novel.
more...
Irish Post 09 November 2006
Piers to terminate Arnie’s plans
Former Bond star Pierce Brosnan is squaring up against Hollywood toughman
Arnold Schwarzenegger — to protect the stunning Malibu beach in his backyard.
more...
Snow more tour
Northern Irish band Snow Patrol have been forced to cancel some of their
European tour dates after bassist Paul Wilson injured his left arm and shoulder.more...
Irish Post 02 November 2006
Music’s biggest little secret
The Devlins tell Alison O’Riordan why they are happy staying in the shadows
and how you may have heard their music without knowing.more...
Irish Post 02 November 2006
Music Review
Van Morrison Live At Montreux - Various Artistes Twice As Nice - Various
Artistes Now That’s What I Call No.1smore...
Irish Post 02 November 2006
Ennis Festival 2006
This year’s Ennis Festival takes place between November 9-13 in almost every
venue in the town of Ennis. It is a non-stop intensive programme of free
events, day and night sessions with afternoon, evening and night-time concerts,
recitals, singing, workshops, presentations and CD launches. more...
Music lover Paddy honoured
PADDY RYAN, former chair of the provincial council of Britain, was the recipient
of the 2006 Gradam an Chomhaltais at Tionól Leo Rowsome. more...
Irishman getting to grips with
world sumo attempt
LIFE is just one big adventure for Kerry-based solicitor Colin Carroll.
And next week he is set to continue in that vein as he dons his mawashi,
or belt, in the Japanese city of Sakai to represent Ireland at the Sumo
World Championships. more...
The man who transformed
Irish music
On the release of the DVD of Mise Éire Malcolm Rogers pays tribute to one
of the most significant figures in Irish music during the last century —
the legendary SEÁN Ó RIADA. more...
Irish Post 11 October 2006
Van’s night at Oscars
Van Morrison is to be honoured with a prestigious award ahead of the Oscars
next year. more...
Irish Post 11 October 2006
Now this you have to hear
Have you heard the one about the Irish hip hop duo? Well Padraic Halpin
has. He spoke to Messiah j & The expert on their forthcoming album, their
love of The Smiths and their distaste for all things P Diddy.more...
Irish Post 11 October 2006
Fatherhood is no fairytale
if you have daughters
The room in Norwich was packed with people out for a good night. There were
a whole manner of celebrations going on but the one that took my eye was
directly in front of the stage. more...
Irish Post 11 October 2006
New album but still
trademark Warfield
DEREK Warfield is a singer, songwriter, mandolin player, noted historian
and charismatic founding member of the celebrated Irish rebel group The
Wolfe Tones. more...
McCabe still staying true to his
Irish roots
Playwright and author PAT McCABE will be back in the public eye next month
with a new book, Winterwood. He chats to Alison O’Reilly about The Butcher
Boy and Breakfast on Pluto, which catapulted him to stardom, and looks forward
to his upcoming novel. more...
(Irish Post) 7 October 2006
Crowe flies in to pay tribute to Harris
Movie star Russell Crowe travelled to Ireland over the weekend to unveil
a bronze statue in honour of his friend and late Irish actor Richard Harris.
more...
(Irish Post) 7 October 2006
Desmond waits on Academy ruling
Irish music promoter Denis Desmond’s plans to gain control of the Academy
Music Group in Britain, in conjunction with American entertainment giant
Live Nation, has encountered a significant speed bump. more...
Pitt and Jolie get in on the picture
HOLLYWOOD superstar couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie now have a little
piece of Ireland hanging in their home — courtesy of illustrator Annie West.
more...
(Irish Post) 7 October 2006
Scorsese an Irishman at heart
HOLLYWOOD legend Martin Scorsese says his Italian-American heritage has
left him head-over-heels in love — with all things Irish. more...
(Irish Post) 7 October 2006
Love of Furey’s music knows no boundaries
FATHER Joe Maier — the compassionate Irish priest they call The Mother Teresa
of Bangkok — is in mourning for the loss of his Irish mother. And although
separated by thousands of miles, legendary Irish folk singer Finbar Furey
sang at her wake. more...
Marc’s a man with one helluva voice
It started with a school performance of American Pie — and led to MARC ROBERTS
becoming an international star. Bruna Zanelli charts the Mayo man’s rise
to fame. more...
(Irish Post) 7 October 2006
Dornan’s star is rising fast
He’s a model, musician and soon-to-be movie star, making his debut in Sofia
Coppola’s Marie Antoinette next month. more...
(Irish Post) 7 October 2006
Taking Harte
Mickey Harte has just released his latest album. The singer-songwriter has
experienced a turbulent career to date — from winning You’re A Star to Eurovision
to parting company with Sony to go solo. Alison O’Reilly caught up with
him. more...
(Irish Post) 7 October 2006
Irish Music this week
Munster performers set to shine in Britain | IN SEISIÚN | Is Bedford in
tune with the demand for music? | Tyneside Irish Festival boasts exciting
line-up more...
(Irish Post) 7 October 2006
Charlie’s back and ready to bare
his Heart and Soul
He’s been at the top for more than 10 years and now CHARLIE LANDSBOROUGH
is returning with a new album and tour. Bruna Zanelli chats to the quietly-spoken
singer/songwriter about life on the road, Catholicism and his love for Ireland.
more...
(Irish Post) 27 Sept 2006
Why U2 have the Edge
The Edge insists U2 have enjoyed such longevity in the music industry because
the four band members compliment each other perfectly. more...
(Irish Post) 27 Sept 2006
Byrne dodges death
Irish actor Gabriel Byrne has revealed how he cheated death an astonishing
five times during his last two movie shoots. more...
Flatley ties the knot in local ceremony
Michael Flatley plans to marry his fiancée in his local church. The wedding
to fellow dancer Niamh O’Brien will take place on October 14 at St. Patrick’s
Church in Fermoy, Co. Cork. more...
(Irish Post) 27 Sept 2006
It’s good to have Friends
Lisa Kudrow from Friends is joining Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler in the
big screen adaptation of Cecilia Ahern’s best-selling book PS, I Love You.
more...
(Irish Post) 27 Sept 2006
A walk on the wild side with Dillon
Author and playwright DES DILLON has just finished a spellbinding appearance
at the Edinburgh Book Festival. He spoke to Richard Purden about his latest
work, his inspirations and living in Scotland. more...
(Irish Post) 27 Sept 2006
Irish Music
Gerry and Gilles go live - British contingent in Comhaltas Concert - IN
SEISIÚN - Musicians protest at ban on buskers more...
(Irish Post) 27 Sept 2006
Room service — wake me up before
you go-go
It was nearly two o’clock when I finally got to sleep after the gig in Liverpool.
I find it hard to rest in hotels — they are no fun and the time drags.
more...
Irish Post 20 September 2006
Music Reviews
Dublin band The Frames have long been among the most popular bands in Ireland,
they enjoy a massive cult following without ever achieving massive popular
appeal.more...
Irish Post 20 September 2006
Pulling in the right direction
Scots/Irish filmmaker and actor PETER MULLAN is one of the most significant
presences in both European and Hollywood cinema. He spoke to Richard Purden
about his career and forthcoming role as socialist Scots/Irish icon James
Connolly. more...
Irish Post 20 September 2006
Irish singing star on Tyneside
The Tyneside Irish Centre is the place to be on Thursday, September 28 at
8pm, for on that night it hosts a very special guest singer.more...
Irish Post 20 September 2006
All-Ireland seisiún 2006
The Seisiún na hÉireann music festival in Quin, Co. Clare takes place from
September 29-October 1 2006. more...
After the bombing they
are friends in adversity
The Bomb is a new play based on the first meeting between Jo Berry — daughter
of MP Anthony Berry who was killed in the Brighton Bombing of 1984 — and
Pat Magee, the man who planted the bomb.more...
Let me entertain you —
for free!
Pop heart-throb Robbie Williams intends to honour his promise to perform
a free concert in Ireland after admitting his June show was not his best.
more...
Irish Post 13 September 2006
A touch of Irish Klass
TV STAR Myleene Klass plans to down plenty of pints of Guinness when she
ties the knot with her Irish boyfriend. more...
Band with Immediate presence
For the first time in a long time Dublin has produced an excellent young
rock band with a great new album.more...
Irish Post 13 September 2006
The songs of Donegal
Music Network kicks off its 2006 Autumn Season (September 20-30) with a
nationwide tour celebrating the traditional songs of Donegal featuring the
outstanding talents of Maighread Ní Dhomhnaill (voice), Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill
(voice and keyboard) and Tony McManus (guitar, Scotland). more...
Irish Post 13 September 2006
Secret sounds
‘Niamh de Búrca is one of Irish music’s best-kept secrets. She possesses
a voice that stays with the listener.’ So says Altan’s Mairéad Ni Mhaonaigh
about this debut album from Dubliner Niamh de Búrca. more...
Zara Philips
dedicates victory to Irish rider
ZARA Philips — the daughter of Princess Anne — has dedicated her gold medal
in the World Showjumping Championships to the Irish rider Sherelle Duke,
her close friend who was killed eventing recently.more...
Daniel’s sadly
lacking in X Factor, blasts Louis
POP impresario Louis Walsh has caused consternation among Daniel O’Donnell’s
loyal followers after describing the singer in an Irish newspaper as “camp”,
“soulless” and “shite”.more...
Rose of Tralee Festival
can only get bigger and better
Reporting on her first visit to the Rose of Tralee Fesitival, Maggie Fogarty
described the experience as a real eye-opener and plans a documentary on
the event for her television production company BFM Productions, to be filmed
during next year’s festivities in the Kerry town.more...
Irish Post 07 September 2006
Actor Broderick in
accident in Donegal
HOLLYWOOD superstar Matthew Broderick broke his collarbone in a horse-riding
accident last week while on holiday with his wife Sarah Jessica Parker in
Ireland. more...
Irish Post 07 September 2006
Still going strong...
After more than 40 years in the music industry, Ronnie Drew was honoured
last week in a ceremony at Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre’s Walk of Fame, where
a cast of his handprints will go on display. But the former Dubliners frontman
reveals he has no plans to hang up his guitar just yet. more...
Irish Post 07 September 2006
Calum’s Love Island
win is best by far
Calum Best has been talking about what winning the reality show Love Island
means to him. Speaking after the show, Calum said that he was delighted
to win. more...
Irish Post 07 September 2006
Survival among strangers
Critically-acclaimed author and poet kerry hardie talks about her new novel
The Bird Woman and explains how her own experiences influenced those of
her protagonist Ellen.more...
Irish Post 07 September 2006
Bigger isn’t always better
The Irish Curse is almost like a male version of The Vagina Monologues.
Tied up with the size of these characters’ mini-man-hoods are man-sized
dilemmas. more...
Hey Judas — you’re losing the public
sympathy vote
WHAT bloody hell difference does it make whether Heather Mills McCartney
eventually manages to get £50million, £100million or £200million out of
her former Beatle husband Paul.more...
Irish Post 23 August 2006
What Katie did
Katie Melua may well be a worldwide star — but her first taste of life outside
of her birthplace in Georgia came in the North of Ireland. She tells ELAINE
SHERIDAN how growing up in Belfast shaped her music.more...
Ghostly voices
Traditional Irish solo artist and lead singer in the part-Irish band Henry
Marten’s Ghost, Padraig Lalor is on the way up. And according to alison
o’riordan nothing is going to come between this rising star and his dreams
of success in the music business.more...
(Irish Post) 10 May 2006
Shayne’s no dummy
Things just couldn’t get any better for second-generation Irish lad Shayne
Ward. Apart from still celebrating the release of his new single No Promises
which sold over 200,000 copies in just a couple of days he has gone one
step further by unveiling his own waxwork at Madame Tussauds in London.
more...
(Irish Post) 10 May 2006
Bell X1’s annus
fabulous
Bell X1 were confirmed as one of Ireland’s hottest bands when their recent
album Flock hit number one. Frontman Paul Noonan chats to alison o’reilly
about losing former band member Damien Rice to a solo career and being nominated
for two Meteor awards.
more...
BOOK REVIEWs:
Bringing the Post to book
Tony Beatty was behind the launch of The Irish Post some 36 years ago. His
autobiography From Post To Post tells the story of his journey from a rural
Irish post office to the heart of London’s Irish community. In an exclusive
extract he recounts the birth of the paper which became the voice of the
Irish in Britain.more...
(Irish Post) 10 May 2006
THEATRE REVIEW:
PARADISE BOUND
IRISH writer Jonathan Larkin’s new play Paradise Bound opens at the Liverpool
Everyman Theatre on Friday April 28 and runs until Saturday May 20.more...
(Irish Post) 10 May 2006
Kidding around Ireland
MALCOLM ROGERS looks at what is available for the kids in Ireland — no matter
what the weather. more...
(Irish Post) 10 May 2006
Spellbinding role
As Irish actress Elaine Cassidy takes to the stage in her latest role in
the RSC’s production of Arthur Miller’s classic tale The Crucible she chats
to neil davey about her rise to fame and how as an actress she always aspires
to be part of something that makes a difference.more...
(Irish Post) 3 May 2006
A silver lining
Irish nurse-cum-singer Carmel Silver has turned her hobby of singing into
a career with the launch of her debut album Sound Of Silver. Here she chats
to alison o’riordan about making the album and her long-lived passion for
music.more...
(Irish Post) 3 May 2006
Boyzone singer
abused for being gay
Former Boyzone singer Stephen Gately has experienced a homophobic attack
in Kent, where he is appearing in the stage adaptation of the Wizard Of
Oz.more...
(Irish Post) 3 May 2006
Riding high on the catwalk
Ireland’s only international supermodel Catriona Balfe has just finished
the Fall 2006 Dolce and Gabanna campaign with notorious fashion photographer
Steven Meisel. Here the Monaghan beauty chats to alison o’reilly about being
plucked from obscurity and having to get used to life in the fast lane.
more...
(Irish Post) 3 May 2006
Bookshelf
A look inside the Lodge-The Triumph Of Failure - Cloud Boy-The Tricky Part
— One Boy’s Fall From Trespass Into Grace-I Love You, Little Monkeymore...
(Irish Post) 3 May 2006
Theater Review:The Ash
boy
London-based Irish playwright Chris Lee has something of an unexpected hit
on his hands with his latest play at the tiny venue with a growing reputation
— Theatre 503 above the Latchmere pub in Clapham. more...
(Irish Post) 3 May 2006
CD REVIEWs
VARIOUS ARTISTES-80s Movie Hits, VARIOUS ARTISTES-Housework Songs 2, ALI
B-Air Breaks, SOUL AVENGERZ-Singmore...
(Irish Post) 3 May 2006
Nesbitt paints a pretty picture
Grainne McLoughlin talks to actor James Nesbitt about the work he is doing
for the charity Wave which help victims of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
more...
Morrissey aims to rule Dublin
NOT content with having one of his lyrics named amongst the best ever written
second-generation singer Morrissey seems determined to take over Dublin.more...
Now that’s called jazz
Dublin-born jazz singer Helena Jessie is taking Britain by storm and in
doing so has found a fan in legendary chatshow host Michael Parkinson. NEIL
DAVEY finds out how a girl form Dublin ended up in the world of jazz. more...
(Irish Post) 26 April 2006
Ward predicts x-factor will help him top
charts
Second-generation Irish star and X-Factor-winner Shayne Ward is set to prove
he’s no one-hit wonder with predictions he will reach the top of the British
album charts.more...
Celebrity chef stamps his
foot and departs from La Stampa
Celebrity sex-symbol and occasional chef Jean-Christophe Novelli’s rollercoaster
career shows no sign of settling down with his much-hyped association with
iconic Dublin restaurant La Stampa suddenly — although not entirely unexpectedly
— severed with immediate effect.more...
(Irish Post) 26 April 2006
Just good friends...
Rumours that Brian McFadden is engaged to Australian singer Delta Goodrem
have been rubbished by the former soapstar’s mother.more...
U2 lyrics are best bar none
Ireland’s rock group U2 have been voted responsible for the Best Lyric in
a new poll carried out by music channel VH1.more...
(Irish Post) 26 April 2006
Festival festivities
SENATOR Labhras Ó’ Murchú was the special guest at the recent opening of
the newly re-furbished theatre at the Coleman Music Centre in Gurteen in
Co. Sligo. more...
(Irish Post) 26 April 2006
First World Bodhrán titles
THE FIRST ever World Bodhrán Championships will take place in Milltown in
Co. Kerry from June 2 to 5.more...
(Irish Post) 26 April 2006
Bookshelf
Ireland’s not so green history - Festive Cooking - Gael - The Free And Easy
- Tenderwire more...
(Irish Post) 26 April 2006
Reviews
16 Blocks - Richard Donner’s latest police-centric thriller, 16 Blocks,
makes an interesting companion piece to Spike Lee’s recent ’70s heist movie
tribute, Inside Man. more...
(Irish Post) 26 April 2006
World Championships
IRISH dancers from across the world descended on Belfast as the city played
host to the most important event in the calendar.more...
(Irish Post) 26 April 2006
Moore still the merrier
Grainne McLoughlin talks to one of Ireland’s musical icons Christy Moore
about his colourful career and how he still enjoys performing even now 40
years on. more...
The Bond scars that
won’t heal
Just when it looked like Irish actor Pierce Brosnan was over the snub of
not being asked to star in another James Bond film, the Hollywood heartthrob
launches an angry tirade at Bond bosses calling them all “arses”.more...
The actor and the Pogue
In a rare interview Hollywood actor Dermot Mulroney speaks to richard purden
about his Irish background, film career and his role in Irish band The Cranky
George Trio with Pogues accordion player James Fearnley.more...
(Irish Post) 19 April 2006
Finest at Tyneside
WOLFE TONES founder member Derek Warfield is appearing at the Tyneside Irish
Centre in Newcastle on Friday April 28 for a night of rousing ballads and
music.more...
Teenage rebellion
is put to life’s test
Acclaimed Irish actress Juliet Crawford is set to star in Irish playwright
Enda Walsh’s latest production of Disco Pigs in London’s Pleasance Theatre.more...
Painting The Troubles
A new art exhibition — which opened on St. Patrick’s Day — examines The
Troubles from a fresh perspective and has found an unexpected home at the
National Army Museum. GRAINNE McLOUGHLIN reports on the work of Ralph Lillford..more...
Shooting from the lip
One of Ireland’s top acting talents Brendan Gleeson is as busy as ever.
Having starred in high-profile movies including Cold Mountain, Troy, Harry
Potter and The Field the Dubliner just seems to get better and better. Gleeson
tells alison o’reilly about his latest Oscar success — Six Shooter. more...
Frankie speaking...
IRISH play Trad has been a major hit at arts festivals in Galway, Edinburgh
and Adelaide before coming to London’s Bush Theatre. more...
(Irish Post) 12 April 2006
Bookshelf
Oh Danny Boy is a Molly Murphy mystery featuring Irish immigrant Molly Murphy.
Agatha Award-winning author Rhys Bowen brings turn-of-the-century New York
City to life as Molly — desperately trying to make ends meet as a private
investigator — tries to free her ex-love-interest from felonious charges.
more...
(Irish Post) 12 April 2006
Fleadh festivities
THE FLEADH Cheoil is a unique part of our cultural heritage deserving the
support of all traditional music fans.more...
Theatre Review: Mushroom pickers can’t avoid spectres from the past
Theatrepublik are set to present the World Premiere of The Mushroom Pickers
by Irish playwright Jaqueline McCarrick. The darkly humourous play — which
stars Catherine Cusack and John Kirk — focuses on a group of people who
sell mushrooms for a living.more...
(Irish Post) 12 April 2006
New role for angel Gabriel
Actor Gabriel Byrne has worked in the worlds of film, literature and theatre.
But recently the star has become more renowned for his work with Irish charity
UNICEF. He chats to alison o’reilly about this very different role.more...
(Irish Post) 5 April 2006
Daniel Day
Lewis’s eccentric new role
Irish actor Daniel Day Lewis stars alongside Camilla Belle and Catherine
Keener in Rebecca Miller’s movie The Ballad of Jack and Rose.more...
Hall of Fame award
for Colum
The 2005 Hennessy Literary Awards in Dublin last week showed the best of
Irish writing talent with Oscar-nominated Colum McCann receiving the prestigious
Hall of Fame Award.more...
(Irish Post) 5 April 2006
Norton comes out
batting for Bono
It’s not often the word humble and U2 frontman Bono belong in the same sentence
but it’s exactly that quality that has drawn the musician praise from Hollywood
actor Edward Norton.
more...
(Irish Post) 5 April 2006
Day of the Jack L
Kildare-born singer Jack Lukeman worked as a street singer in Europe before
moving to Ireland and finding his own voice and music. The multi-platinum
selling singer-songwriter tells The Irish Post how he had to lock himself
away in the country to record his first album in five years.more...
(Irish Post) 5 April 2006
Classy concertina
CONCERTINA legend Noel Hill is joined by a select few of Ireland’s finest
musicians on a new tour de force recording by a master of his instrument.
more...
Well I never knew that...
Christopher Winn is a writer, quizmaster and producer for theatre and television.
Combining this with his work as a tour guide and his passion for Ireland
he has explored the length and breadth of the country to research and compile
I Never Knew That About Ireland.more...
A Mexican wave
Mexican duo Rodrigo y Gabriela have created a musical phenomenon in their
adopted country of Ireland by being the first instrumental duo to reach
No.1. The long-term friends, lovers and musicians are now hoping to take
their success to Britain and beyond as TARA McWEENEY found out.more...
(Irish Post) 29 march 2006
Shayne’s
the apple of his mum’s eye
Irish mothers and their sons — it’s a relationship renowned worldwide as
impenetrable. Now X-Factor star Shayne Ward has proved it’s not only one
way traffic by buying his mother her dream house. more...
(Irish Post) 29 march 2006
A merciful release
The story of singer-songwriter Evon Brenna is one of triumph over adversity.
Brought to Ireland at two months old along with her twin sister Evon found
herself placed in religious care for no other reason than her mother being
Irish and unmarried and her father African — a devastating combination in
1970s Ireland.more...
(Irish Post) 29 march 2006
New World Fleadh
THE WORLD Fleadh is a new seven-day international festival which will premiere
from August 14 to 20 in Co. Kerry. more...
(Irish Post) 29 march 2006
Bookshelf:
Easter Rising gets a Welsh perspective
This book was first published in Welsh last year. Written by journalist
and self-confessed Hibernophile Lyn Ebenezer, Fron-Goch And The Birth Of
The IRA is dedicated to Fron-Goch veteran Joe Clarke who the author befriended
subsequent to attending the Easter Rising commemoration in Dublin in 1966.more...
FILM NEWs
Directing legend John Boorman, whose film credits include Excalibur and
Deliverance, is currently in Ardmore where work is continuing on his latest
movie Tiger’s Tail.more...
(Irish Post) 29 march 2006
CD REVIEWs
NOW 63-Planet 70s-Massive R&B Spring Collection-Dreamsmore...
(Irish Post) 29 march 2006
Reckless abandon
Irishman Tom Begley is a filmmaker, director and actor rolled into one.
Speaking with NEIL DAVEY about his latest filmmaking foray Reckless Minds
the 39-year-old reveals why he felt compelled to take the bold subject matter
of the IRA bombing of the Baltic Exchange to the big screen. more...
(Irish Post) 22 march 2006
Lydon makes
it blue for Green Day
Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon has never been one to mince his words but
in saying punk trio Green Day were just “silly fat kids” he may have crossed
the line.more...
(Irish Post) 22 march 2006
Sir Bob
ready to receive top award
Former Boomtown Rats star Bob Geldof is set to receive a top award at the
Irish Recorded Music Association Honours at the end of the month in Dublinmore...
(Irish Post) 22 march 2006
Gately steps
up the aisle
Former Boyzone member Stephen Gately has followed in the footsteps of Elton
John by formally marrying his boyfriend Andy Cowles.more...
(Irish Post) 22 march 2006
No break-up
says Charlize
Oscar-winning beauty Charlize Theron has slammed reports she has split from
her Irish boyfriend Stuart Townsend, insisting the couple are still together.more...
(Irish Post) 22 march 2006
Son of Bond?
It doesn’t look like the controversy surrounding the casting of Daniel Craig
as James Bond is going to go away any time soon.And in the midst of it,
former 007 agent Pierce Brosnan has said something very interesting indeed
about the rumours his 22-year-old son Sean might play the British spy some
day.more...
(Irish Post) 22 march 2006
Whistling up a storm
Irish playwright Tom Murphy has been writing plays for over 40 years but
for many it was his debut A Whistle In The Dark that will be remembered
as his most forceful piece of realist theatre.more...
(Irish Post) 22 march 2006
Death of a legend
THE WORLD of traditional Irish music is mourning the death of Dermot Grogan
from Kilkelly in Co. Mayo.more...
(Irish Post) 22 march 2006
Bookshelf
Death Of A Naturalist-The GPO And The Easter Rising-Sea Change-Ruairí Ó
Brádaigh: The Life And Politics of an Irish Revolutionary more...
Mothering instinct
Actress Fionnula Flanagan has had a long and successful career in both television
and theatre. Here she talks candidly with NEIL DAVEY about her more recent
projects including new movie Transamerica, her desire to be a mogul and
her love for her native land.
more...
(Irish Post) 15 March 2006
Kian and Jodi set up home
News that Westlife star Kian Egan and his actress girlfriend Jodi Albert
have just bought a house together has sparked rumours that they may be planning
a trip down the aisle.more...
Colin acts the real gentleman
Despite what’s been said about actor Colin Farrell in the past, he’s always
been a star in our eyes. And the Dubliner’s co-star in new movie Ask The
Dust Salma Hayek has agreed. more...
(Irish Post) 15 March 2006
Claws out for Kerry
Irish adopted Kerry Katona has revealed she’s sick of people selling stories
about her just because they’re jealous.more...
(Irish Post) 15 March 2006
Timewasting by George
Controversial singer Boy George was last week fined $1,000 and ordered to
attend a drug rehabilitation centre after being charged with wasting police
time.more...
(Irish Post) 15 March 2006
Stone age primal rocker
Second-generation Irish musician Mani has been an essential part of both
The Stone Roses and Primal Scream. His lively nature and stage presence
have also made him a firm fan’s favourite. richard purden caught up with
him to discuss the Irish influence on his life with two of Britain’s most
respected bands. more...
(Irish Post) 15 March 2006
Fermanagh’s music comes
to Lewisham
LEWISHAM Irish Festival on Saturday, March 18 features some of the regional
music of Ireland — in this case the traditional sounds of Co. Fermanagh.more...
Reviews - Blossoming
onto the silver screen
Bloom - With St. Patrick’s Day on our doorstep, there should no better or
more cultured way to spend a few hours than watching Sean Walsh’s Bloom
— an award-winning film based on James Joyce’s Ulysees. more...
Raising the ante
Resurrection Blues star actor Peter McDonald chats with GRAINNE McLOUGHLIN
about the highs and lows in the industry and how he avoided doing something
‘bookish’ by taking to the stage.
more...
Singer Feeney’s the
top Choice
Classically-trained singer Julie Feeney scooped the top prize at the inaugural
Choice Music Prize, which celebrates the Irish album of the year.more...
Irish Post 8 March 2006
Rhys Meyers in a Rush
Cork actor Jonathon Rhys Meyers has started work on Kirsten Sheridan’s new
film August Rush.more...
Irish Post 8 March 2006
Bono certainly gets
around
Could someone please tell me where Bono gets the time. One day he’s collecting
a string of Grammys and the next he’s having lunch with Brazilian President
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to discuss new ways to tackle poverty.more...
Bond
villain Lee claims Brosnan was the best
As criticism for the casting of Daniel Craig as the new 007 agent James
Bond continues to grow, Christopher Lee — who played Bond villain Scaramanga
in The Man with the Golden Gun — has lauded Irishman Pierce Brosnan as the
best Bond to date.more...
Bookshelf:
Julie O’Toole’s life is picture-perfect. At 32, she is pretty, fit and happily
married. She has a job she loves, a large circle of friends and a supportive
family. It is hard to believe that only a few years ago she was a hopeless
heroin addict.more...
Irish Post 8 March 2006
Reviews:Every
picture tells a story Over The Water
After two sell-out shows artist Bernard Canavan in his latest exhibition
— Over The Water — offers us memories of life in Ireland and London in the
1950s and ‘60s.more...
Irish Post 8 March 2006
THEATRE PREVIEW One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Hollywood actor Christian Slater is set to reprise his role as Randall Patrick
McMurphy in the returning production of Dale Wasserman’s hugely-acclaimed
play One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.more...
Irish Post 8 March 2006
Merry Derry and
awesome Antrim
Derry conjures up a variety of images. A lot of them, it would have to be
said, are connected to the Troubles, which got underway here some 400 years
ago. Always ahead of its time, Derry.more...
Folk’s rising star
With the release of her acclaimed third album After the Morning Cara Dillon
has establshed herself as a musical force to be reckoned with. In a revealing
interview, the Derry singer chats with GRAINNE McLOUGHLIN about life, love
and her place in the Irish folk lineage.more...
Irish Post 01 March 2006
Farrell to sue over
video tape
It’s 15 minutes Colin Farrell has surely lived to regret. The X-rated tape
which features Hollywood heartthrob Farrell and his then girlfriend Nicole
Narain together has caused him nothing but heartachemore...
Irish Post 01 March 2006
European adventure
It’s Eurovision time again and this year’s bunch of hopefuls ready, willing
and able to take a stab at representing Britain include Four Story — a new
all-male vocal harmony band. trevor o’sullivan caught up with Irish vocalist
Tony Thompson and asked him about Four Story’s hopes for success.more...
Cartoon causes
Catholic uproar
The cult cartoon series South Park has infuriated Catholics after it produced
an episode featuring a bleeding statue of the Virgin Mary.more...
Irish Post 01 March 2006
Vince powers on
with a new venture
Vince Power left his native Waterford for London and worked as a shop assistant,
furniture dealer and demolition man before making his fortune by founding
and turning the Mean Fiddler promotions group into a major force in British
music. Then he sold up — but now he’s back as Neil Davey discovered.more...
Irish Post 01 March 2006
Encore
as performers Peter and Joe return
A not to be missed evening of music, song, and humour with Peter Donnelly
and Joe Giltrap is set to take place on Friday, March 10 at St. Joseph’s
Parish Centre, Highgate Hill, London.more...
THEATRE REVIEW - HONOUR
IRISH actress Natascha McElhone stars in West End play Honour as Claudia
an ambitious journalist who ignites a crisis.more...
Irish Post 01 March 2006
Show is not game of just
two halves
COLIN Teevan’s new production Missing Persons: Four Tragedies and Roy Keane
is something audiences rarely get a chance to see.more...
CD REVIEWS
REAL- Give Me A Reason, Alan Jackson - Precious Memories, BR549 - Dog Daysmore...
Irish Post 01 March 2006
The showband
revolution
Half a century ago a new musical phenomenon emerged from Ireland — the showbands.
Radio presenter HENRY WYMBS looks back at the history of the genre and explains
why they’re still popular toda more...
Irish Post 01 March 2006
Smooth criminals
Brash, sincere and flamboyant — the Fun Lovin’ Criminals have all the traits
of quality entertainers. The New Yorkers have a long-standing relationship
with Ireland. Chatting to lead singer with the band, Huey, Laura Wells finds
out why their love affair with the Emerald Isle is still going strong.more...
(Irish Post) 23 February 2006
Neil Jordan to be honoured
Given that Neil Jordan is rumoured to be directing a new thriller The Brave
One starring Jodie Foster, it’s perhaps no surprise the Silence of The Lambs
actress will be presenting him with an honorary award in America.more...
(Irish Post) 23 February 2006
Bono set to croon
along with Tony
There’s just no escaping the U2 frontman Bono. The rocker is set to duet
with Tony Bennett on a new album to celebrate the singer’s 80th birthday.more...
(Irish Post) 23 February 2006
Reality is new album
Propelled to stardom after winning the RTÉ reality TV show You’re A Star
in 2003, Mickey Joe Harte is back with a new album. Determined to establish
himself more firmly in Britain, the Donegal man chats with Trevor O’Sullivan
about his most recent work and what he’s been up to since Eurovision.more...
Sinead in duet with
dub legend
Controversial singer Sinead O’Connor is reported to have recorded a duet
with legendary dub reggae star Lee Perry for his new album Panic in Babylon.more...
(Irish Post) 23 February 2006
Kila man’s solo debut
Piper Eoin Dillon —one of the founding members of the international touring
outfit KILA — is set to release his debut album The Third Twin this week.more...
(Irish Post) 23 February 2006
U2 in award failure shock
After U2 sweeping the board at the Grammys last week, you’d be forgiven
for thinking they might have done the same closer to home. But last week’s
Brit Awards proved it wasn’t to be. more...
(Irish Post) 23 February 2006
Liam’s
neighbours are running out of patience
There’s never a dull moment when the Oasis boys are around. Rock star Liam
Gallagher has been threatened with receiving a noise abatement order after
complaints to the council from neighbours.more...
(Irish Post) 23 February 2006
The language of youth
Irish Television channel TG4 is set to launch a new drama based on the life
and times of three siblings sent to the Gaeltacht for a summer. john crowley
and frances dorcla chat with writer and director Audrey O’Reilly as well
as some of the cast about how the six-part series Teenage Cics came about.
more...
(Irish Post) 23 February 2006
Chronicling the Papacy
Described as a highly-readable popular history and a unique work of reference,
Chronicle of the Popes includes biographical accounts of all the 266 Popes.more...
Masterful Miller
raises the standard
Resurrection Blues-Irish actor Peter McDonald is set to take part in an
all-star cast for the British premiere of Arthur Miller’s penultimate play
Resurrection Blues. more...
A Traveller’s tale
Pavee Lackeen — The Traveller Girl — hits British screens this weekend.
The Perry Ogden film has already garnered a number of trophies, including
Best Film at the Irish Film and TV Awards and the Satyajit Ray Award at
last year’s London Film Festival.
more...
(Irish Post) 15 February 2006
Performing religiously
The band formerly known as Slainte is no more. Bible Code Sundays — which
was the title of Slainte’s debut album — is the new moniker for the six-piece
group brimming with passion, verve and desire. Band member Andy Nolan chats
with trevor o’sullivan about how their latest album Ghosts Of Our Past is
the first step in the band’s reinvention.more...
No need to get wed says Charlize
Charlize Theron has ended speculation she is set to wed her long-term love
Stuart Townsend, insisting they will never marry.more...
(Irish Post) 15 February 2006
The gift of second sight
Sharon Neil began to realise she was special when at the age of five she
started to dream in pictures and images. You’d be forgiven for wondering
what is special about that — people have been doing it for centuries — but
when you’ve been blind from birth as has Belfast-born Sharon it becomes
clear her ability is something extraordinary. Now Ireland’s most successful
clairvoyant, Sharon talks to grainne mcloughlin about her national British
tour and how she’s come to cope with who she is. more...
Bookshelf: Watching the detective
and other books
Robert B Parker has just published his latest thriller Cold Service in which
Spenser and Hawk come up againt the Ukrainian mob. Rí-rá looks at the latest
adventure for the detective and his ally and also reviews the best of the
rest. more...
CD REVIEWs
Arious Artistes: Celtic Woman, Shapeshifters: Incredible, Kirsty Hawkshaw:
Reach For Me, MYNC Project & Danny Rampling: Strobelightmore...
(Irish Post) 15 February 2006
THEATRE PREVIEW: Death row drama’s
shocking tactics
The Exonerated: London’s Riverside Studios in Hammersmith is set to play
host to some of Hollywood’s greats including Stockard Channing, Kristin
Davis, Danny Glover and Aidan Quinn in its upcoming production of The Exonerated.more...
A big man, a big legend
He started off playing guitar in a London pub, moved back to Ireland and
then forged the genre that is now known as Country and Irish. More than
40 years on the legend of Big Tom is still going strong.more...
(Irish Post) 15 February 2006
Siúlach Scéalach
Focal dainséarach is ea é an focal náisiúnachas. Is é is cúis leis na mílte
coimhlintí ar fuaid an domhain. Is mar sin a bhí againn anseo in Éirinn
ar feadh na céadta bliain. Agus, gan dabht, is mar sin atá go fóill i dtuaisceart
na tíre.more...
(Irish Post) 15 February 2006
Animal attraction
Ex-Boomtown Rat Gerry Cott is enjoying life in a most unexpected fashion.
His successful animal training business has provided some of the most well-known
animals in film and TV today. NEIL DAVEY caught up with him to discuss career
change.more...
Kate gathers no moss
As if there weren’t enough reasons to suggest troubled rocker Pete Doherty
and model Kate Moss were a complete mismatch — the gorgeous model has just
been voted by Glamour magazine as the World’s Best-Dressed Woman.more...
Ireland’s magical location
Moves and shakers in the Irish film industry will be no doubt rubbing their
hands together in delight at the news that their small island is being considered
as the location for the filming of the next film in The Chronicles of Narnia
series.more...
Damien shooting from the hip
Powerful Dublin Balladeer Damien Dempsey will be taking to the Hammersmith
Irish Centre’s stage on Saturday, February 11 to mark the British launch
of his new album Shots.more...
(Irish Post) 8 February 2006
Sky’s the limit for Grainne
Newsreader Grainne Seoige made her first appearance on Sky News’ global
service last weekend — though it was on the station’s graveyard shift.more...
(Irish Post) 8 February 2006
Bookshelf: Hell of an experience
Rí-rá looks at Co. Monoghan businessman Colin Martin’s account of his harrowing
time spent in Thailand. He is swindled out of money, accused of murder and
spends eight years in the infamous Bangkok Hilton prison. more...
(Irish Post) 8 February 2006
Linane’s Irish night
THE MUSICAL Traditions Club is hosting a London Irish night with the Linane
family on Friday, February 10. It will see the Linanes — Sinead (fiddle),
Maureen (accordion) and father Michael (fiddle) along with Reg Hall (piano)
— take to the stage and also mark the debut of young Liverpool-Irish singer
Helen Roche.more...
(Irish Post) 8 February 2006
Bruce Scott plays
Inishowen festival
THE 17th Inishowen International Folk Song and Ballad Seminar takes place
0n March 24-27 in Clonmany and Ballyliffin in Co. Donegal. more...
(Irish Post) 8 February 2006
Fronting affordable fashion
Irish designers are at the forefront of world fashion. Claudia Redmond talks
to one of the Emerald Isle’s brightest stars Ciaran McSweeney who not only
designs affordable fashions for every type of person but has also branched
out into interiors.more...
(Irish Post) 8 February 2006
CD REVIEWs
Various Artistes: Big Softies, Various Artistes: Godskitchen Anthems, Various
Artistes: Rock The Discotheque
more...
O’Rourke’s on the up
Twenty nine-year-old Declan O’Rourke has taken Ireland by storm with two
sell out national tours. His platinum-selling, top-five album Since Kyabram
looks set to repeat that success in Britain. richard purden caught up with
the Dubliner in Glasgow to discuss his startling rise.more...
Brosnan lacking Steele appeal
Hollywood heartthrob Pierce Brosnan has refused to star in the movie version
of his 1980s TV show Remington Steele — a role which launched him on the
international movie scene.more...
(Irish Post) 1 February 2006
When folk is a four-letter word
Irish and British music enthusiasts are expected to be out in force this
weekend for Folk Britannia — the Barbican and BBC-supported two-day festival.
Daughters of Albion organiser Bryn Ormrod chats with TARA McWEENY about
what to expect. more...
(Irish Post) 1 February 2006
All eyes are on Q’Orianka
Teenager Q’Orianka Kilcher has attracted the attention of Hollywood’s bad
boy Colin Farrell — although thankfully the lady-killer is not breaking
any rules. The Hollywood heart-throb has not set his sights on the young
actress but rather tipped her for greatness.more...
Brian Kennedy is Eurovision
secret weapon
It’s started already. Next month RTÉ will screen a Late Late Show special
featuring singer Brian Kennedy performing Ireland’s four potential Eurovision
songs.more...
(Irish Post) 1 February 2006
BookShelf: Taylor-made for suspense
Galway-based author Ken Bruen continues his series of Jack Taylor novels
with The Magdalen Martyrs. Rí-rá looks at the latest adventure by the award-winning
writer and reviews the best of the rest.more...
(Irish Post) 1 February 2006
Echoes of Erin tour
THE annual event celebrates its 33rd year with a line-up of some of the
most accomplished musicians, singers and dancers on the Irish traditional
music scene.more...
Loving every minute
Daniel O’Donnell is one of Ireland’s most enduring and celebrated entertainers.
International sell-out tours, 3million album sales in Britain alone and
endless personal accolades have ensured Daniel iconic status all over the
world. richard purden caught up for a chat with one of Donegal’s finest
sons.more...
(Irish Post) 25 January 2006
Flower power is making music
Tara Burke is a musician with a difference — employing voice, guitar, organ,
dulcimer, accordion, Casio organ and much more to create her unique psychedelic
sound. The young singer chats with TARA McWEENY about her Irish roots and
her passion for the job.
more...
(Irish Post) 25 January 2006
Pogues lifetime reward
It’s come as welcome news that the Pogues are to pick up a lifetime achievement
award at the glamorous Meteor Ireland Music Awards next month.more...
Life’s in the fast-lane for Farrell
The Hollywood heart-throb that is Colin Farrell has made no secret of loving
the fast life — with a public penchant for drink, cigarettes and the company
of beautiful women. But behind the hell-raising front lies a different character
as robin marchbank discovers. more...
A political struggle
Seán MacBride had many roles in life from IRA chief of staff to founder
member of Amnesty International. Rí-rá looks at an account of the Nobel-winning
politician and reviews the best of the rest.more...
(Irish Post) 25 January 2006
CD Reviews
Daniel O’donnell: From Daniel With Love, VARIOUS ARTISTES: The Love Songs
Album, Don Mescall: Innocent Run more...
An Irish Eye and an ear to the ground
Radio presenter Henry Wymbs’s Irish Eye radio programme has become essential
listening across the south of England. PETER FOLEY caught up with the man
to find the secret of his success.more...
(Irish Post) 25 January 2006
Brian’s best of times
Brian Kennedy is recognised as one of Ireland’s most talented singer-songwriters.
Here he talks to Grainne Mcloughlin about his emotional performance at Best’s
funeral and his excitement at representing Ireland at this year’s Eurovision
Song Contest.more...
(Irish Post) 18 January 2006
Breakfast at the Savoy
Dublin’s Savoy cinema played host to Neil Jordan’s hugely anticipated film
Breakfast on Pluto last week.more...
(Irish Post) 18 January 2006
Northern rockers are wired
for sound
Northern-Irish trio Fighting With Wire are building a solid rock fan base
in both Ireland and Britain. Frontman Cahir O’Doherty takes time to chat
with Grainne Mcloughlin about their latest single and the secret to making
it as a musician.more...
(Irish Post) 18 January 2006
Sham reward for Saw Doctors
show
The Saw Doctors are to see their good charity in the aftermath of the Asian
Tsunami repaid in Sri Lanka where a town is set to be named in their honour.
The Galway rock group raised thousands of euros for locals after the disaster,
which claimed the lives of countless people.more...
(Irish Post) 18 January 2006
Ronan says no to a reform
It seems Ronan Keating has scuppered the chances of Boyzone ever following
in the footsteps of Take That and reforming.more...
Paddy Punk power is still
alive ‘n’ kicking
The Paddy Punk and folk rock scenes thrived in 2005. But what does the next
12 months hold? IAN CHAMBERS reviews the past year and looks ahead to 2006.more...
(Irish Post) 18 January 2006
That was then...this is now!
The new year holds plenty of musical promise with a wealth of jigging, foot-tapping
and gigging to be had by all — so here is just a small selection of new
releases that will hopefully appear throughout the course of the year...more...
Book reviews: Tales of an ombudsman
Michael Mills spent 20 years as political correspondent for The Irish Press
and was Ireland’s first Ombudsman. Rí-rá looks at his account of that time
and reviews the best of the rest.
more...
(Irish Post) 18 January 2006
Cd Reviews
Elvis Presley: Love Elvis, Reactivate 9: Razorsharpbeats +bytes, Reactivate
10: snappycracklepop technomore...
Lynott’s anniversary is marked by
ceremony
DOZENS of black roses have been placed in a quiet corner of a Dublin cemetery
to mark the 20th anniversary of the tragic death of Thin Lizzy frontman
Phil Lynott. more...
(Irish Post) 11 January 2006
Applauding Ahern
Last year there was no escaping Cecelia Ahern. The 24-year-old has had her
debut novel made into a film, published another two books in as many years
— of which the third as been optioned by Disney — and been nominated for
a host of awards. The author tells Grainne Mcloughlin just how she’s dealt
with her phenomenal success. more...
(Irish Post) 11 January 2006
Life’s a drag
Irish heartthrob Cillian Murphy is known for his penchant for tackling risky
roles and Breakfast On Pluto is no different The Cork actor, who plays a
transvestite in the Neil Jordan film, candidly chats about his latest on-screen
character and his normal family more...
(Irish Post) 11 January 2006
Irish Music
Time to make the right connections again - Jimmy McHugh Annual Concert
more...
(Irish Post) 11 January 2006
Fond farewell to one of the finest
THE START of a new year is a time when people invariably reflect on those
who passed away over the past 12 months. And one who will be remembered
fondly is Paddy Reynolds who died aged 84 on June 15 in New York.
more...
(Irish Post) 11 January 2006
Raising himself up to new heights
The hit song You Raise Me Up recently gave the popular Irish popband Westlife
its 13th number one. But the real winner is the Irish novelist and songwriter
who wrote it — Brendan Graham. The 60-year-old from Tipperary chats to martin
doyle about the song’s phenomenal success and his latest literary offering
The Brightest Day, The Darkest Night which came out on the shelves last
month. more...
(Irish Post) 11 January 2006
Book Reviews
Maestro of Crystal [Brian F. Havel] - The Greatest Educators Ever [Frank
M. Flanagan] - Holy Cross — A Personal Experience [Fr Aidan Troy]
more...
(Irish Post) 11 January 2006
CD REVIEWS Norah Jones New York City: The Chill Album - VARIOUS ARTISTES
George Best — A Tribute more...
Up against a Wall
Set to launch an attack on Britain and the US, brothers Steve and Joe Wall,
of The Walls fame, have released their second album New Dawn Breaking. Steve
Wall chats with Steve Cummins about his musical ambitions, their new album
and life since leaving successful Irish band The Stunning.
more...
A Celtic get together
Music lovers from near and far are set to descend on Glasgow this month
for Britain’s biggest Celtic festival — Celtic Connections.
more...
(Irish Post) 5 January 2005
Hackles raised as Mr Pussy awaits an
invite
IT’S NOT even out in Ireland yet — but claws are already being sharpened
over Irish director Neil Jordan’s latest film. Jordan’s eagerly-awaited
movie Breakfast On Pluto has raised the ire of Ireland’s longest-established
female impersonator Mr Pussy. more...
Darina’s got a lot on her plate
Forget Paul Rankin and Richard Corrigan, Darina Allen is the original Irish
celebrity chef. With another new book under her belt, Ireland's best-known
food ambassador chatted with neil davey about the joys of cooking and the
key to entertaining. more...
From Belfast to the Bard
A new biography of Belfast-born Kenneth Branagh has just been published.
SHAUN TRAYNOR looks for insights and revelations.
more...
Music Preview - A trad treat
Dublin is preparing itself for a four-day celebration of Irish traditional
music and culture in the city’s cultural quarter of Temple Bar later this
month. more...
(Irish Post) 5 January 2005
FILM REVIEW - Monster of a movie:
KING KONG
JUST about everybody knows the story here. Boy meets girl, they fall in
love and it all ends tragically. The only difference here is that the boy
in question is a 30ft gorilla named King Kong. more...
(Irish Post) 5 January 2005
FILM REVIEW - Exorcism
aims higher than normx The Exorcism of Emily Rose - The modern horror genre is one inundated
with exploitative shlock or lazy remakes so it is always pleasing to see
a film that isn’t afraid to aim a bit higher.
more...
(Irish Post) 5 January 2005
Brosnan to star in Dylan
Thomas biopic
IRISH movie production company Merlin Films is set to team up with actor
Pierce Brosnan to make a $9million film about the life of Welsh poet Dylan
Thomas. more...
(Irish Post) 24 December 2005
Shambolic or genius?
A drug addict, charmer, trouble-maker and musical genius. These are just
some of the labels applied to the controversial second-generation Irish
rocker Pete Doherty. But who and what he really is, remains a mystery. At
a time of growing concern over his stability. STEVE CUMMINS spends time
with him in an attempt to shed some light on the enigma that is Pete Doherty.
more...
(Irish Post) 24 December 2005
Chieftains get Grammy nod
Renowned Irish band the Chieftains have been nominated for the Grammy Awards
in the category of Best Traditional Folk Album for Live From Dublin, A Tribute
To Derek Bell. more...
(Irish Post) 24 December 2005
Not fading away
Where has British punk and rock music gone? Our airwaves are crammed with
melodic monotony. The days of raw, in your face music with attitude seem
lost. However The Fades from west London won’t stop doing what they do best
— rocking a joint. GRAHAM CLIFFORD spoke to lead singer Dave Lightfoot about
the band’s plans for the New Year including a possible Irish tour.
more...
Ireland’s film appeal
Hollywood is set to come to Ireland next year with actors Robert Carlyle,
Donald Sutherland and Matthew McFadyen all heading to film there.
more...
(Irish Post) 24 December 2005
Golden Globe triple for acting’s elite
The Irish film industry is delighting in a Golden Globe triple after Cork
actors Cillian Murphy and Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Hollywood heartthrob
Pierce Brosnan were all nominated in the prestigious awards.
more...
(Irish Post) 24 December 2005
Farrell gets the sympathy vote
Hollywood heartthrob Colin Farrell has received thousands of get well letters
from well-wishers following the news he is suffering from exhaustion and
dependency on prescription medication. more...
(Irish Post) 24 December 2005
The Year of the Bob Cat
Having seen the release of Martin Scorsese’s documentary No Direction Home
and the 40th anniversary celebrations of Like A Rolling Stone 2005 has undoubtedly
belonged to the living legend that is Bob Dylan. RICHARD PURDEN looks at
the Irish influence on the American folk singer and the highlights of his
resurgence this year. more...
(Irish Post) 24 December 2005
Cambridge Comhaltas celebrate
fleadh success
More than 40 musicians and singers recently came together to celebrate the
Cambridge Comhaltas branch’s successes in both the All-Britain and the All-Ireland
fleadhs. more...
(Irish Post) 14 December 2005
CD Reviews
Various Artistes - Urban Dance Explosion , Various Artistes - Best Of Air
Guitar , Various Artistes - Frantic Euphoria , Bonkers 15 - Legends Of The
Core , ALI B vs Jungle Bros - Beats On A String more...
(Irish Post) 14 December 2005
Digging for chart gold
The second-generation Irish duo that make up Nizlopi are set to launch an
assault on the Christmas charts with their single The JCB Song. Luke Concannon
and John Parker chat with Tara McWeeney about what it would mean to follow
in Cliff Richard’s footsteps and how they plan to ward off Westlife.more...
(Irish Post) 14 December 2005
Exorcising spirit
With the release of their latest album Kick Out the Ghosts, Pipedreams —
formerly the Jimi McRae Band — have fashioned an original and unique sound.
Grainne McLoughlin chats with frontman Jimi McRae about the band’s contemporary
brand of music.more...
(Irish Post) 14 December 2005
Film and DVD Reviews
The Chronicles Of Narnia: The lion, the witch and the wardrobe - Mr and
Mrs Smith more...
(Irish Post) 14 December 2005
Gig Guide
Britain Gig Guide from Thursday 15th of December to Wednesday 21st of December.more...
(Irish Post) 14 December 2005
Shane shirks work for sun,
sea and sand
Shane MacGowan has fallen out of favour with his enraged band The Pogues
after he shirked rehearsals and instead took an impromptu holiday to Morocco.
more...
(Irish Post) 14 December 2005
Robbie sells out Dublin in
20 mins
If you weren’t within 20 minutes of Robbie Williams’s concert tickets for
Dublin’s Croke Park going on sale, you’ll have been disappointed.more...
(Irish Post) 14 December 2005
The happy couple...
In what was probably the strangest thing Tipperary had ever seen, controversial
rock star Marilyn Manson married his long-time girlfriend Dita Von Teese
last week in Castle Gurteen.more...
(Irish Post) 14 December 2005
Theatre Reviews
A Reading of Celebration - After scoring a major hit in Dublin’s Gate Theatre,
Celebration — a staged reading of Harold Pinter’s Celebration — transferred
to London’s Albery Theatre.more...
(Irish Post) 14 December 2005
Sisters doing it for
themselves
Sibling quartet The Conway Sisters look set to follow in the footsteps of
one of Ireland’s biggest success stories — The Corrs.more...
A Dazzling Debut
Irish film director Tara Norris is looking to steal Jim Sheridan’s crown.
And with her first short film having been accepted at the Magners Irish
Film Festival it looks like she’s off to a good start.more...
(Irish Post) 7 December 2005
The Road to Carlyle
Robert Carlyle is one of the finest actors of his generation starring in
iconic films such as Trainspotting, The Full Monty and Angela’s Ashes. He’s
played a Bond baddy, Hitler, a cannibal and a terrorist. more...
(Irish Post) 7 December 2005
Doherty Dumped by Model Kate
Pete Doherty has well and truly messed up it would appear. He’s only gone
and ruined his one chance to save his relationship with supermodel Kate
Moss. more...
(Irish Post) 7 December 2005
Gig Guide
Britain Gig Guide from Thursday 8th of December to Wednesday 14th of December.
more...
(Irish Post) 7 December 2005
Prime Time for Prine
Singer and songwriter John Prine has secured himself a place in the music
hall of fame. Delighting audiences for over 30 years with his story-like
songwriting, Prine has seen his work covered by people from Bonnie Raitt
to Bette Midler and the Everly Brothers. On the release of his new album
Fair & Square the former postman and cancer victim tells Grainne McLoughlin
how it all came about. more...
Film and DVD Reviews
Even the most ardent of Neil Jordan fans must admit his career has fluctuated
wildly — from highs like The Crying Game to lows like In Dreams. Breakfast
On Pluto is, happily, somewhere towards the better end of the Jordan spectrum.
more...
(Irish Post) 7 December 2005
CD Reviews
Going on the assumption that a lot of people listen to CDs in their car
this double-CD collection is released in conjunction with the popular TV
series Top Gear and the top tunes that are a must for driving. more...
(Irish Post) 7 December 2005
Theatre and Gig Reviews
Marking the 20th anniversary of the death of Orson Welles, second generation
Irish playwright Mark Jenkins has brought to the stage Rosebud - The Lives
of Orson Welles. more...
(Irish Post) 7 December 2005
Black is Back
Cast your mind back to 1999. Bill Clinton was US President. The Euro had
just been launched. Treble-winning Manchester United were the team to beat.
And the greatest threat to the world was the Y2K bug rather than Weapons
of Mass Destruction. It has, then, been some time since Mary Black released
a new album.more...
(Irish Post) 30 November 2005
Reverse Psychology
Although born and bred in Manchester, the alternative comedian that is Sean
O’Shaughnessy was never in any doubt of his Irish roots. more...
(Irish Post) 30 November 2005
Another Peace Award for
Bob
No doubt Irish philanthropist Bob Geldof will soon need to purchase yet
another awards cabinet. Because it’s been announced the singer has received
a peace award in Rome to add to his vast collection.
more...
(Irish Post) 30 November 2005
Gig Guide
Britain Gig Guide from Thursday 1st of December to Wednesday 7th of December.
more...
(Irish Post) 30 November 2005
Ireland’s Medicine Men
There’s something reassuring about meeting a top musician who truly believes
in what he or she does. Someone who’s proud of their work. Leo Moran of
The Saw Doctors fits into that bracket excellently.
more...
(Irish Post) 30 November 2005
CD Will Help Tsunami Kids
Rebuild their Lives
As John Cutliffe recalls: “It was December 28, 2004, and I was watching
the horrific news, which had been coming out of south east Asia for the
last two days. more...
(Irish Post) 30 November 2005
Film and DVD
Reviews
It’s easy to turn your nose up at films that are deemed to be worthy. The
Constant Gardener is one such film but it is made with such depth and genuine
emotion that you will be hard pressed not to get caught up in it.
more...
(Irish Post) 30 November 2005
CD Reviews
Yes it’s Christmas again and as is customary at this time of year the compilation
albums are coming thick and fast. more...
(Irish Post) 30 November 2005
Theatre and Gig Reviews
Irish dramatist Tom Murphy, author of Famine, The Gigli Concert and The
Wake has offered in his new play The Alice Trilogy an in-depth look at the
psyche of an Irishwomen and the life she lives. more...
(Irish Post) 30 November 2005
Kennedy in a Eurovision
Shocker
In the shock showbiz news of the week it was announced Irish singer Brian
Kennedy will perform in next year’s Eurovision Song Contest.more...
(Irish Post) 23 November 2005
A Colourful Conscience
Kate Hennessy’s paintings are a passport to another world. The vibrancy
captured within the lucid colours render the image being painted alive and
tangible. more...
(Irish Post) 23 November 2005
No Bull with Brosnan
It’s 10 years since Pierce Brosnan first played James Bond in GoldenEye
and the Irish-born actor has just handed over the 007 baton to Daniel Craig.
Now the Hollywood heartthrob is looking forward to gauging reaction to his
latest film The Matador scheduled for release this week.
more...
(Irish Post) 23 November 2005
Gig Guide
Britain Gig Guide from Thursday 24th of November to Wednesday 30th of November.
more...
(Irish Post) 23 November 2005
A Shining Star is Reborn
Writing songs since her early teens Kate Bush was something of a gifted
and eccentric child shunning the normal behavioural patterns of child-hood
and adolescence. more...
(Irish Post) 23 November 2005
Boghill’s Alternative
Christmas Celebration
Do you want to get away from the Christmas stress and immerse yourself in
the annual Boghill Christmas madness? Lots of music, fun, games, company,
sessions, puzzles and a chance to chill out and escape the traditional Christmas
madness. more...
(Irish Post) 23 November 2005
Film and DVD Reviews
It almost doesn’t matter what the critics say about Harry Potter. The film
is going make more money than most small countries. more...
(Irish Post) 23 November 2005
CD Reviews
After listening to this album I sprinted down to my chemist in the hope
the pharmacist would give me some Prozac but was unlucky in my quest.
more...
(Irish Post) 23 November 2005
Theatre and Gig Reviews
Touring across Britain and Ireland over the last few months, The Rare Oul’
Times has been delighting audiences time and time again with the antics
of Irish literary legends Patrick Behan and Patrick Kavanagh. more...
(Irish Post) 23 November 2005
No Stone Unturned
First-time director Stephen Woolley is better known as a film producer,
having worked with Irish director Neil Jordan on modern masterpieces such
as The Crying Game, Mona Lisa and Michael Collins.more...
(Irish Post) 16 November 2005
Rocky Road to Success
Made up of second-generation Irish brothers Desmond and Gavin Lambert with
Rob Flanagan completing the line-up, Stoner are a soulful band braced to
take the world by storm. more...
(Irish Post) 16 November 2005
Louis Has the Right
X-Factor
Irish pop guru Louis Walsh has been told by X-Factor contestant Nicholas
Dorsett that he made the right decision in choosing to keep him in the competition
last week. more...
(Irish Post) 16 November 2005
Gig Guide
Britain Gig Guide from Thursday 17th of November to Wednesday 23rd of November.
more...
(Irish Post) 16 November 2005
Buzz Surrounds Brighton Rock
Ask a music fan to name a band from Brighton and more often than not they’ll
come up with The Levellers. Being Brighton’s most well-known musical export
this is understandable, but it also goes to show that when it comes to bands
Brighton has never really had a great deal of musical success outside of
the local scene. more...
Film and DVD Reviews
There’s nothing like a great movie to cheer you up. And this is nothing
like a good movie. On paper The Brothers Grimm has it all — a wonderful
cast, a great director and a fantastic idea. more...
(Irish Post) 16 November 2005
CD Reviews
School Reunion is a triple-CD collection of some of the best, worst and
downright cheesiest tracks to have been released over the past 25 years.
more...
(Irish Post) 16 November 2005
Theatre Reviews
Within the opening five minutes it immediately strikes you why the Phantom
of the Opera has been playing to audiences for over 20 years. Huge chandeliers
fly out over the audience bringing them into the action and creating an
intense kind of intimacy. more...
(Irish Post) 16 November 2005
Bad boy Farrell set to star as Borgia sibling
Hollywood heartthrob Colin Farrell is to star opposite Scarlett Johansson
in Borgia — Irish director Neil Jordan’s film about the most powerful family
in 15th Century Rome.more...
(Irish Post) 9 November 2005
Furey heads for Britain
One of Ireland greatest musical ambassadors Finbar Furey is touring Britain
from November 10 to 27. more...
(Irish Post) 9 November 2005
Gig Guide
Britain GigGuide from Wednesday 9th of November to Wednesday 16th of November.
more....
(Irish Post) 9 November 2005
Living each day
as it comes
Isla Grant is out on tour promoting her new CD When The Day Is Done — which
is pretty impressive considering her career was close to ending in 1992.
more...
(Irish Post) 9 November 2005
Nadine has
a pop at her pop rivals
Girls Aloud’s Irish singer Nadine Coyle has hit out at the on this year’s
X Factor — despite herself shooting to fame via a TV talent show.
more...
(Irish Post) 9 November 2005
Nirvana-like state
Eugene Kelly fans have a new reason to rejoice with the launch of his latest
album Man Alive. more...
(Irish Post) 9 November 2005
Rich in heritage
Irish arts in London are alive and well courtesy of the Irish Heritage Group.
In their 32 years they have featured operatic stars such as Finbar Wright
and more recently pianist Maria McGarry. more...
(Irish Post) 9 November 2005
Film and DVD Reviews
It started in 1989 when Nick Park, fresh from college, created a bizarre
animated short called A Grand Day Out starring a man who loves cheese. When
the world runs out of his favourite dish he and his dog build a rocket and
fly to the moon which is — as we all know — made of cheese. more...
(Irish Post) 9 November 2005
CD Reviews
In the pantheon of Irish/English folk groups they don’t come much more revered
than Flook. more...
(Irish Post) 9 November 2005
Theatre and Gig Reviews
While Londoners are being threatened with an outbreak of the deadly avian
flu, the city’s Albery Theatre is under siege by ducks with a deadly sense
of humour. more...
(Irish Post) 9 November 2005
Punk Chic Rocker
Very little prepares you for Sandi Thom’s debut single, I Wish I Was A Punk
Rocker. With a strong vocal voice the second-generation Irish artist has
stamped originality upon her work. more...
(Irish Post) 2 November 2005
On the Road Again
For Irish singer songwriter Gemma Hayes her return to this side of the Atlantic
to promote her new album The Roads Don’t Love You is a welcome break from
Los Angeles where she has been based for the last two years. more...
GigGuide
Britain GigGuide from Wednesday 2nd of October to Wednesday 9th of November.
more...
(Irish Post) 2 November 2005
Talking on his Feet
In an arena that often thrives on swear words and controversy David O' Doherty's
gentle approach to stand-up is rather refreshing. There’s no crudity. There's
no confrontation. There are no props — save for his trusty old Yamaha PSS-260
keyboard. So what does that leave?
more...
(Irish Post) 2 November 2005
Dervish Back in Britain
After an absence from Britain of almost two years — during which time the
band has been touring extensively in America, and making occasional forays
into Europe and the Far East — Dervish are set to return this November for
a mini-tour, which precedes a more extended trip in the new year.
more...
(Irish Post) 2 November 2005
Film and DVD Reviews
Sequels are cursed from the start. As fun as The Legend Of Zorro is you
can feel the weight of The Mask Of Zorro in every frame.
more...
(Irish Post) 2 November 2005
CD Reviews
I’m always amazed by the amount of Celtic music albums that clutter the
shelves of music shops throughout Ireland and Britain.
more...
(Irish Post) 2 November 2005
Theatre Reviews
The Hour of the Lynx — Swedish playwright Per Olov Enquist’s exploration
of a damaged mind — is a work of profoundly compassionate understanding.
And to realise it on stage requires equal understanding from director and
cast. more...
(Irish Post) 2 November 2005
No Tears for Neil
Breakfast On Pluto — the premise: Young Patrick ‘Pussy’ Braden (played by
Cillian Murphy) flees Ireland for London during the politically-tumultuous
1970s on a quest to find love and a place to call home. more...
(Irish Post) 26 October 2005
All that Jazz!
The Irish are renowned the world over for their love and proficiency in
music. Yet it’s not normally in the genre of jazz. But Mike O’Mara, is confident
he can change all that. more...
(Irish Post) 26 October 2005
The Saviour in Sunglasses
The frontman of Irish outfit U2 claims he’s the Imelda Marcos of sunglasses.
The rocker admits to owning vast numbers of sunglasses — in the same way
Marcos, former First Lady of the Philippines famously owned 3,000 pairs
of shoes when her husband Ferdinand Marcos was President.
more....
(Irish Post) 26 October 2005
GigGuide
Britain GigGuide from Thursday 27th of October to Tuesday 1st of November.
more...
(Irish Post) 26 October 2005
Dealing With the Ex-Factor
Everyone has one — the ex they never quite got over and the break-up they
will always regret. It’s the unspoken truth in almost every relationship.
more...
(Irish Post) 26 October 2005
Film and DVD Reviews
Perry Ogden’s directorial debut Pavee Lackeen is set to take audiences on
a journey of secrets. The courageous and sympathetic story of Irish Travellers
is told through the eyes of 10-year-old Winnie who lives with her mother
and siblings in a trailer on the side of the road in an abandoned part of
Dublin. more...
(Irish Post) 26 October 2005
CD Reviews
When a band reaches a certain level of success, comfort and fame they can
flirt with self-indulgence by making an album for themselves as much as
for public consumption. more...
(Irish Post) 26 October 2005
Theatre and Gig Reviews
The National Theatre’s decision to revive Translations for a national tour
is most welcome as the continuing peace process in Ireland means people
are more willing to openly discuss the overt political themes of the play
— first staged in Derry in 1980.
more...
(Irish Post) 26 October 2005
Crow’s Flying High
Legend is a big word to be tossing around when talking of anyone let alone
a relatively new Irish playwright. But it’s a word that may soon warrant
attribution to the man responsible for the West End comedy hit Shoot The
Crow — Owen McCafferty. more...
(Irish Post) 19 October 2005
Camden’s Finest
London’s biggest annual music and dance festival is set to get under way
in Camden this weekend. Boasting more musicians, artists and teachers than
ever before, the seventh annual Return To Camden has something for everyone.
more...
(Irish Post) 19 October 2005
No Walk Down the Aisle Yet for
Hollywood Duo
Charlize Theron is certainly a beauty to behold. But despite reports, it
doesn’t look like it will be a “to have and to hold” scenario for her long-term
Dublin boyfriend Stuart Townsend.
more....
(Irish Post) 19 October 2005
GigGuide
Britain GigGuide from Thursday 20th of October to Tuesday 25th of October.
more...
(Irish Post) 19 October 2005
Van the Man Marches On
Belfast-born Van Morrison has become something of a musical living legend.
The son of a shipyard worker who grew up listening to Muddy Waters and Lightnin’
Hopkins, he has had a thriving career spanning over 40 years.
more...
Film and DVD Reviews
Perhaps best known for his visceral horror (The Fly, Videodrome), David
Cronenberg seems to be mellowing somewhat in his old age — but mellowing
is by no means the same as losing his touch.
more...
(Irish Post) 19 October 2005
CD Reviews
“That’s the business, isn’t it. Just a goatskin and a finger.” That is what
Christy Moore said after his bodhran solo captivated the crowd at a Glastonbury
appearance. more...
(Irish Post) 19 October 2005
Theatre Reviews
You work hard all your life and then you die. In a nutshell this is the
message conveyed by Owen McCafferty’s new play Shoot The Crow.
more...
(Irish Post) 19 October 2005
Fantastic phantom
David Shannon has come a long way from where he grew up in Drogheda. Taking
the star role in one of the West End’s most celebrated plays — The Phantom
of the Opera more...
Picture perfect
Creative is a word that’s applied to many but truly deserving of few. Lucy
Dickens is one of that worthy few. more...
(Irish Post) 12 October 2005
Diary of a stand-up comedian
Steve is excited. He is getting married next month and in an hour’s time
his fiancée will be meeting him for lunch.
more...
(Irish Post) 12 October 2005
Doherty is innocent
OK?
Notoriously troubled Pete Doherty says he’s innocent. Of what? Well taking
drugs of course. more...
Sir Bob’s Nobel effort
Irish humanitarians and rock stars Bono and Bob Geldof missed out on being
awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.
more...
(Irish Post) 12 October 2005
The Irish in Tinseltown
A small island, yet it has had a massive influence. Grainne McLoughlin looks
at a new history of Ireland’s part in the history of Hollywood.
more...
(Irish Post) 12 October 2005
Irish music
Bedford céilí dancers celebrate - Glenside album offers nostalgic trip down
radio’s memory lane more...
Film review
Serenity : An intergalatic masterpiece - The GRUDGE : Horror house’s shocking
secret more...
(Irish Post) 12 October 2005
CD Reviews
Despite never being backed by a major record label Celtic rockers The Saw
Doctors have built a world-wide following.
more...
(Irish Post) 12 October 2005
A Real Body of Work
Legendary film director George A Romero is enjoying something of a renaissance
at the minute after a 20-year absence. And it’s all thanks to the massive
anticipation that awaited the fourth instalment in his Dead series, Land
Of The Dead. more...
(Irish Post) 5 October 2005
A Healthy Debut
It seems talent runs in the McManus family. Half-brother to Declan McManus
— better known as Elvis Costello — and son to legendary musician Ross McManus,
Ronan McManus is set to follow in similar footsteps. more...
(Irish Post) 5 October 2005
Cillian’s After Colin’s Crown
Colin Farrell might have to watch his back as a fellow Irish actor and friend
could be about to take his glorified crown.
more....
(Irish Post) 5 October 2005
Cork Fest Ready to Pop
Festival fever is set to take over when Cork’s 50th Film Festival opens
with a special gala celebration. more...
Jah Know What I’m Saying?
Jah Wobble is a passionate man. Whether it’s creating his music or discussing
politics or religion he’s a man with strong views. Jon Myles talks to him
on the eve of the release of his new album Mu.
more...
Film and DVD Reviews
Every generation gets their own Pride and Prejudice. There’s no getting
away from it, this is to girls what James Bond is to boys.
more...
(Irish Post) 5 October 2005
CD Reviews
You probably know Shapeshifters best from their recent smash hits Lola’s
Theme and Back To Basics. more...
(Irish Post) 5 October 2005
Theatre Reviews
The Exonerated is an ensemble piece with Aidan Quinn at the helm but in
fairness this powerful production was a word-of-mouth hit before the Hollywood
Irishman stepped up for the role.
more...
(Irish Post) 5 October 2005
Licks and Flicks
Respected Hollywood actress and all-American rock ’n’ roll star Juliette
Lewis has been playing a string of stunning Irish shows while soaking up
the ambience on Dublin’s famous Grafton Street during shopping sprees.
more...
(Irish Post) 28 September 2005
Geldof joins Avenue
of Stars
Bob Geldof is one of 100 celebrities honoured in Britain’s equivalent to
Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, which was unveiled last week.
more...
Diary of a stand-up comedian
I was always told that there is no substitute for a calm head in a tough
situation and it has served me well in my career so far.
more...
(Irish Post) 28 September 2005
Sewing the seeds
of new career
The gorgeous Andrea Corr is attracting more attention as an actress these
days with her new role in a thriller called The Thread.
more...
(Irish Post) 28 September 2005
Morrissey’s Pete’s
mate
Troubled rocker Pete Doherty has found a friend in the former The Smiths
frontman Morrissey who has slammed the media for their treatment of the
Babyshambles star. more...
(Irish Post) 28 September 2005
Cosgrave back with
his Kitten
ITV’s Celebrity Love Island King Fran Cosgrave is reportedly back in the
arms of the mother of his child, Natasha Hamilton.
more...
(Irish Post) 28 September 2005
Totally committed
Alan Parker’s 1991 film The Commitments about a working-class band hit the
screens to critical acclaim. Fourteen years on Neil Davey talks to star
and and singer Kenneth McCluskey more...
(Irish Post) 28 September 2005
Irish music
Liverpool celebrates its Irish culture - Comhaltas Festival in Middle England
more...
Film review
LAND OF THE DEAD : Dead cert winner - THE AMITYVILLE HORROR
more...
(Irish Post) 28 September 2005
CD Reviews
Help: A Day In The Life is one of those albums that you know makes sense.
more...
(Irish Post) 28 September 2005
Stepping Out of the Shadows
Irish artist E’van O’Donnell is poised to set the world of country music
alight. With his new debut album Out Of The Shadow, he’s tipped to become
one of the premier country performers in recent years. more...
(Irish Post) 21 September 2005
Samantha’s Addictive to
Watch
Irish pop singer-turned actress Samantha Mumba has revealed her latest role
as a drug addict in the Northern Irish thriller Johnny Was posed a real
challenge — but one she embraced entirely. more...
(Irish Post) 21 September 2005
Murphy’s Law
When Cillian Murphy swapped his law books for the stage, his parents were
less than pleased. more....
(Irish Post) 21 September 2005
Brosnan Bashes Bond Bigwigs
Irish heartthrob Pierce Brosnan has slammed the producers of James Bond
for ignoring the talented Scotsman Ewan McGregor for the coveted 007 role.
more...
By Royal Appointment
While Jason Nolan’s family is known locally for its work on its long-standing
Kilkenny farm, the singer-songwriter is gaining international recognition
for his music. more...
(Irish Post) 21 September 2005
All-Ireland Fleadh
Irish traditional music’s annual cultural extravaganza was back in Ulster
after an absence of 25 years and it was a triumphal return.
more...
(Irish Post) 21 September 2005
Film and DVD Reviews
Everybody loves a feelgood movie, especially one that’s as well crafted
as this. Cinderella Man is the true-life account of how Jim Braddock rose
from the breadline to boxing world heavyweight champion against the backdrop
of the Great Depression.
more...
(Irish Post) 21 September 2005
CD Reviews
Vocalists don’t come much better than former De Dannan lead man Andrew Murray.
more...
(Irish Post) 21 September 2005
Theatre and Gig Reviews
From the opening curtain of Brian Friel’s The Aristocrats, I am in Ballybeg
in 1970s Ireland. more...
(Irish Post) 21 September 2005
Tickets, please
One of the most original talents to have entered the British film industry,
director Ken Loach has returned to his native Scotland for his latest film
Tickets. more...
(Irish Post) 14 September 2005
Gemma Hayes on Irish
tour
The stunning Irish singer/songwriter Gemma Hayes has announced a five-date
Irish tour in October more...
(Irish Post) 14 September 2005
Best of Irish at film
festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is playing host to three Irish feature
films giving the world a glimpse of what Ireland’s movie industry has to
offer. more...
(Irish Post) 14 September 2005
Diary of a stand-up comedian
No gigs this week as we are holidaying in Spain. I promised the family I
would do nothing but sit around in the sun.
more...
(Irish Post) 14 September 2005
In the swim
Peter Mullan has achieved huge success not only on a domestic front but
also on an international level, both as an actor and later director.
more...
(Irish Post) 14 September 2005
Moore plays benefit
gig
Legendary Irish folk artist Christy Moore is set to play a Dublin benefit
gig for the victims of the recent New Orleans disaster.
more...
Success against the
odds
Poised to explode onto the music scene with her new single Like I Used To
second-generation Irish artist Nadie has found her time to shine. Although
almost destroyed by the trauma of life’s events, Nadie was ultimately inspired
by them. more...
(Irish Post) 14 September 2005
Irish music
Slide win a place on Young Musicwide - Celtic Strands in concert - Trad
singer makes his first visit to London - Musical news from Scotland - Green
Linnet site offers new trad showcase
more...
CD Reviews
It's not often you find Missy Elliot, Dionne Warwick, Tori Amos and Billie
Holiday on one album. more...
(Irish Post) 14 September 2005
Troubled Times
The Mighty Celt is a modern reflection of life in Belfast after the Troubles;
it looks at the domestic everyday life of a city and its inhabitants moving
on from the grip of the past. more...
(Irish Post) 7 September 2005
The Perfect Wish
Wishbox have been described as one of the most original rock acts the southeast
of Ireland has ever seen. Having already supported Hothouse flowers, the
Carlow band has garnered huge attention from various industry leaders.
more...
(Irish Post) 7 September 2005
Former Kitten Kerry’s Still
Purrfect
The television programme, My Fair Kerry, which was shown on ITV last week,
tried to show the former Atomic Kitten star in a new light — yet it merely
brightened the light in which we always saw her.
more....
(Irish Post) 7 September 2005
Farrell’s Just a Big Fake
It’s not very often that Hollywood heartthrob Colin Farrell isn’t in the
papers. And this week has proved no different.
more...
Duff Approach Leads to Success
Although throughout his childhood Patrick Duff was strongly influenced by
his Irish father’s music sessions, he took a very different musical route
from the one he was initially inspired by.
more...
(Irish Post) 7 September 2005
Film and DVD Reviews
This is one of those films that surprises you. The trailers and publicity
would have you believe that it’s a moronic sex romp a la American Pie. It’s
actually a very sweet and very funny tale of a man who has been saving himself
for the right woman. more...
(Irish Post) 7 September 2005
CD Reviews
Not many bands name themselves after pork scratchings, but these two — hailing
from Halifax, Nova Scotia and Vancouver — have done just that. Brilliant!
more...
(Irish Post) 7 September 2005
Theatre Reviews
As Irish theatre in Britain’s playhouses continues its popularity trend,
yet another of Brian Friel’s highly-acclaimed plays is set to go on tour.
more...
(Irish Post) 7 September 2005
A star is born
Camille O’Sullivan has been one of the hottest tickets at this year’s Edinburgh
Fringe Festival. more...
Crock of gold is shining example
Simon Startin is a playwright with a difference. He has taken James Stephens’s
inspirational piece of Irish literature Crock Of Gold, and adapted it to
transform the darkness of London’s public spaces, in an outdoor theatre
performance. He talks to Grainne McLoughlin about how he pulled it off.
more...
(Irish Post) 31 August 2005
Diary of a stand-up comedian
This is my first time in Finland, and following on from Norway it is a good
run that should set me up a couple of weeks holiday at the turn of the year.
more...
(Irish Post) 31 August 2005
Kielty ready to stand-up and
be counted
One of Ireland’s most successful and celebrated comedy talents Patrick Kielty
is set to take to the stage on his first-ever British stand-up tour.
more...
(Irish Post) 31 August 2005
Cillian’s in a sunny
place
Ireland’s latest and greatest Hollywood export Cillian Murphy has begun
shooting a new sci-fi film, under the direction of Danny Boyle in London.
more...
Remembering Lizzie’s Lynott
A statue of the Thin Lizzy’s frontman Phil Lynott has recently been unveiled
in Dublin as a tribute to his memory. more...
(Irish Post) 31 August 2005
Swansong is no turkey
The film option of Conor McDermottroe’s highly-acclaimed play Swansong,
which is currently being shown in Edinburgh, has just been bought.
more...
(Irish Post) 31 August 2005
Irish music
The oldest tradition - Bill Naughton Autumn school - 11-day Belfast Féile
- Free tickets for Patrick Street - Sligo Fleadh - Affordable instruments
more...
Film review
The remake of the once-popular television series Bewitched — in which Nicole
Kidman stars — is in need of some real life magic to raise its position
in the critic’s stakes. more...
(Irish Post) 31 August 2005
CD Reviews
Supercharged is one of those albums that’s sure to have you jumping around
the living room shaking every limb to the guitar-driven beat
more...
(Irish Post) 31 August 2005
Mistaken Identity
Michael Toumey has founded his own company to present a voice for the second
and third-generation Irish living in Britain. And to mark the launch he
has written and directed his own London Irish play Dancing With The Angels.
more...
(Irish Post) 24 August 2005
2 Cents Worth
2 Cents Plain is a four-piece band that restores your faith in the music
industry. Northern Irishman Paul Armstrong, who plays guitar and lead vocals,
is joined with Mike (guitar and vocals), Lee (drums and guitar) and Foxy
(Bass and Vocals) to make up one of the more exciting bands of this age.
more...
Are You a Billy or a Tim?
Over the last 10 years novelists, filmmakers, playwrights and musicians
have struggled to find their voice within a dominant Scottish culture that
fails to recognise the eminent Irish input.
more...
Theatre Review
After being performed to huge acclaim in Dublin and Edinburgh, Swansong,
written and performed by Conor McDermottroe is about to receive its London
premiere. more...
(Irish Post) 24 August 2005
CD Reviews
It’s not often the words Frankfurt Neue Philharmonic Orchestra appears in
these pages. Nor the words Jethro Tull, come to that.
more...
(Irish Post) 24 August 2005
Fond memories
As Ken Loach’s third and final instalment of his Scottish trilogy, Ae Fond
Kiss, is released on DVD, Grainne McLoughlin speaks to its female lead and
award winning actress Eva Birthistle more...
(Irish Post) 17 August 2005
Damian plans his own festival
As festivals continue to get bigger and better throughout Britain and Ireland,
Irish singer/songwriter Damien Rice has revealed plans to run his own festival
in Ireland in the coming months. more...
(Irish Post) 17 August 2005
Urban boys set to rap up future
Dublin-based trio Urban Intelligence is set to change the face of rap in
Ireland with their new self-titled album. more...
(Irish Post) 17 August 2005
Diary of a stand-up comedian
No gigs this week as we are holidaying in Spain. I promised the family I
would do nothing but sit around in the sun.
more...
(Irish Post) 17 August 2005
Doherty’s hot stuff in
bed
Troubled Irish rocker Pete Doherty is reportedly back together with his
on/off supermodel girlfriend Kate Moss after he reached an all-time low
and set light to his bed. more...
(Irish Post) 17 August 2005
U2 pick up another award
Ireland’s greatest rock group were last week honoured with Portugal’s Order
of Liberty award for their worldwide humanitarian efforts.
more...
(Irish Post) 17 August 2005
I don’t like reggae, I love
it!
For Irish artist Sinéad O’Connor, it seems nothing really does compare to
her new found love of Jamaican music and the Rastafarian faith she’s immersed
herself in. more...
The electro hippies
With attendance at an all time high, festivals have started to evolve themselves
into more than just a space for communal music watching.
more...
(Irish Post) 17 August 2005
Irish music
Trad’s greatest event - Celtic fiddle competition - Mountains Of Mourne
- Summer school for Irish harp more...
Theatre and Gig Reviews
On the NME Radio 1 stage The Ordinary Boys did their best to slide in with
the Scottish festival crowd. Although compared to The Smiths and Madness
they are at best a Jam tribute band.
more....
(Irish Post) 10 August 2005
Flower Power
Long before anyone had heard of Liam Gallagher, a different Liam briefly
held the British music industry in the palm of his hands.
more...
(Irish Post) 10 August
2005
Film and DVD Reviews
It has all you would expect — an eccentric Willy Wonka, miniature Oompa
Loompas, a chocolate waterfall and of course the beastly children.
more...
(Irish Post) 10 August 2005
International Acclaim for Irish
Music Virtuosos
Irish fiddle virtuoso Martin Hayes and American guitarist Dennis Cahill
have received international distinction for taking traditional Irish music
to the very edge of the genre — holding listeners spellbound with their
fiery performances. more...
(Irish Post) 10 August 2005
CD Reviews
On which Co. Cork’s very own siren goes her own way — with a significant
selection of self-penned songs. more...
(Irish Post) 10 August 2005
Kiwi contenders
The Black Seeds are a on a mission. The eight-piece group from New Zealand
have brought their unique brand of reggae-funk stylings to Europe and, as
Tara McWeeney discovered, they are determined to bring the Irish along for
the ride. more...
(Irish Post) 03 August 2005
Star squirrels
Irish actor David Kelly has won rave reviews for his part as Grandpa Joe
in Tim Burton’s new film Charlie And The Chocolate Factory.
more...
(Irish Post) 03 August 2005
Diary of a stand-up comedian
I have spent four days on a beautiful cruise ship sailing around the Baltic.
If you have never been on a cruise I suggest you get down to the travel
agents and get your chequebook out. It is awesome.
more...
(Irish Post) 03 August 2005
Godot celebrates 50 years
on stage
Dublin-born Samuel Beckett’s seminal play Waiting For Godot received its
British premiere exactly 50 years ago — to bemused audiences. Jon Myles
looks at the history of the play. more...
(Irish Post) 03 August 2005
Riverdance king get’s Lisa
to wear his ring
It's been on, off, back on then off again. But now it seems it’s definitely
on. For dancer Michael Flatley has finally put the massive rock back on
fiancée Lisa Murphy’s finger more...
(Irish Post) 03 August 2005
Eminem’s final wrap at
Slane
It's being billed as his final solo concert — and hip-hop star Eminem is
determined he will go out in style when he hits Ireland next month.
more...
(Irish Post) 03 August 2005
Blur’s Damon slams Pete’s
performance
Blur frontman Damon Albarn has launched a scathing attack on Irish singer
Pete Doherty — slamming his wayward Live8 performance and claiming he is
overrated. more...
(Irish Post) 03 August 2005
Top job for tenor
Limerick-born classical singer John Gilhooly has been named as the new artistic
and executive director of London’s famous Wigmore Hall.
more...
(Irish Post) 03 August 2005
Lorient Celtic Festival
to revel in Year of Ireland
Ireland’s finest traditional musicians and artists will be the toast of
the town as the biggest celebration of Celtic culture in the world takes
place this weekend. Larry Cooney looks at what’s on offer.
more...
(Irish Post) 03 August 2005
Irish music
A Unique summer school devoted to the early Irish harp being held in Kilkenny
this month has attracted participants from as far a field as America and
Japan. more...
CD Reviews
Here's a strange one. Iarla Ó Lionáird is better known as the ethereal voice
of Afro Celt Sound System — and very good at it he is too.
more...
(Irish Post) 03 August 2005
CD Reviews
Not many people blend Irish, rock, folk, country, jazz, classical and steel
guitar. more...
(Irish Post) 27 July 2005
Theatre and Gig Reviews
Michael West’s latest stage offering Dublin by Lamplight is set for its
British premiere as part of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
more....
(Irish Post) 27 July 2005
Celebrating Braveheart
This year marks the 700th anniversary of the death of Scottish hero William
Wallace: immortalised as Braveheart on film and in legend.
more...
Film and DVD Reviews
When you watch Ocean’s Twelve you get the distinct feeling that the reason
behind it was simply to give George Clooney and the gang an excuse to hang
out. more...
Ghosts of Erin Seek New Haunt
Two-piece Irish band Ghosts of Erin have arrived in London to find fame
and fortune. Tony McCabe from Co. Down and Carmel Arthur from Wexford are
delighting audiences across Britain with their exciting sound.
more...
(Irish Post) 27 July 2005
Tasmanian Devil
Matt Lunson is an Australian who made his musical debut in a punk group
named Hasselhoff. more...
(Irish Post) 27 July 2005
Beyond Boyzone
Escaping a boy band past is never easy but Stephen Gately has been managing
just fine. He’s starred in two respected West End musicals, launched his
own TV production company and is set to appear as a judge in Ireland’s very
own celebrity fame academy. more...
They’re Hungry for success
Hungry Grass are a hugely popular Irish group commonly described as an energetic
South London band with a progressive traditional sound.
more...
(Irish Post) 20 July 2005
Diary of a stand-up comedian
Apparently comedy is in the timing and the telling — anyone can do it given
the right practice. That is, according to Paul, a wit if ever there was
one. more...
(Irish Post) 20 July 2005
Excitement grows over
Cambridge folk festival
This year’s BBC Radio 2 Cambridge Folk Festival — one of the premier events
in Europe — is expected to be the best ever. With a line-up including Christy
Moore, The Proclaimers, Altan, Damien Dempsey, Lunasa and Martha Wainwright,
it’s no wonder there’s a flurry of excitement at the mere mention of it.
more...
(Irish Post) 20 July 2005
Oxegen pulls in the crowd
Ireland’s biggest gig the Oxegen Festival at Punchestown Racecourse in Co.
Kildare proved a massive hit last weekend.
more...
(Irish Post) 20 July 2005
Bono’s plan for Africa
Irish rock star Bono has joined forces with model-turned-movie star Djimon
Hounsou to help solve the growing problems in Africa.
more...
Irish music
Seisiún 2005 at Attymass - Oz Celtic band for Tyneside - US Fiddler in Sligo
- Death of legendary Dublin singer - The Boston Edge
more...
(Irish Post) 20 July 2005
DVD review
Super-flick fails to Elektra-fy - Take a Closer look.
more...
(Irish Post) 20 July 2005
CD Reviews
One of those albums that does exactly what it says on the tin. Old Blind
Dogs Play Live is, not surprisingly, Old Blind Dogs playing live.
more...
(Irish Post) 20 July 2005
Theatre Reviews Phantom set for extended run : Andrew Lloyd
Webber’s hugely popular stage musical Phantom of the Opera, starring Heidi
O’Brien, has had its run extended until April next year due to phenomenal
demand. more...
Midlands banks on Kerrie
for Rose win
Irish eyes were certainly smiling in Birmingham at the weekend when the
city’s home Rose was crowned Midlands representative for this year’s Rose
of Tralee contest. more...
(Irish Post) 20 July 2005
Acting Masterclass
Once in a while, someone comes along who shows people what it really means
to act. Con O’Neill is one such person. After moving to London from Dundalk
he went in search of fame and fortune and it wasn’t long before he found
it, on stage. more...
(Irish Post) 13 July 2005
Tara’s Blazing a Trail of Glory
Tara Blaise is one of Ireland’s most exciting new artists. Since releasing
her debut solo album last May, her diary has been brimming with gigs and
appearances and this week she performed at Oxegen — one of Ireland’s biggest
festivals. more....
(Irish Post) 13 July 2005
A Sort of Homecoming
B.A. Robertson is Scotland’s lost songwriting genius — but Richard Purden
finds out why he says Dublin feels more like home.
more...
Dance Of Desire
Dance of Desire has a cast of 25 performers and comprises world and Irish
champion dancers and a selection of Ireland’s finest musical and vocal virtuosos.
more...
(Irish Post) 13 July 2005
Film and DVD Reviews
When Tom Cruise or Steven Spielberg have a new film out it is always an
event. When that film features them both and is a remake of a sci-fi classic
it’s damn near unmissable. more...
(Irish Post) 13 July 2005
Theater and Gig Reviews
Irish playwright Adam Canavan has taken his debut play Third Finger, Left
Hand to London’s New End Theatre.
more...
(Irish Post) 13 July 2005
CD Reviews
The Warrior’s Code sees the Dropkick Murphys back in fighting form.
more...
(Irish Post) 13 July 2005
Hickie’s hot dates
He’s one of Ireland’s most celebrated sporting talents but there’s nothing
Denis Hickie enjoys more than heading to a gig and discovering new talent.
Steve Cummins chats with him about his second passion in life — music.
more...
(Irish Post) 06 July 2005
Bands support poverty rally
The Hot House Flowers, The Devlins, Mundy and The Walls are just some of
the acts that took part in a Make Poverty History rally in Dublin.
more...
(Irish Post) 06 July 2005
Diary of a stand-up comedian
I am away again. This week it is North Africa and I can’t wait to get home.
As brilliant as it has been, there is something about home you miss.
more...
(Irish Post) 06 July 2005
Under the influence
Neck is a London-Irish band that proclaims every day is St. Patrick’s Day.
They’ve taken the punk influence of Flogging Mollys and the folk influence
of the Pogues and married the two.
more...
Sam’s horrorfest
This year’s Galway Film Fleadh promises to better than ever with an exciting
new programme having just got under way.
more...
(Irish Post) 06 July 2005
Pogues on call at Guilfest
This year’s Guilfest is set to send festival-goers into a frenzy of excitement
as some of the country’s hottest talent take to the stage.
more...
(Irish Post) 06 July 2005
Franz’s appeal
Franz Ferdinand have made a plea to their Irish fans to help them with their
first DVD.
more...
(Irish Post) 06 July 2005
Rock royalty graces Dublin’s
Croke Park
After months of anticipation U2 mania finally laid siege to Dublin city.
Three fan-packed nights, three fantastic gigs and one amazing venue ensured
the Dublin quartet kept their unofficial title as the biggest and best rock
band in the world. more...
(Irish Post) 06 July 2005
Irish music
Matt Cunningham’s Céilí Band Tour of England - Claire Mann and Aaron Jones
— Secret Orders - 33rd Cornwall Folk Festival - Sligo Trad Music Summer
School more...
(Irish Post) 06 July 2005
Film and DVD Reviews
Boxing picture packs a punch : Million Dollar Baby - Devil of a performance
: Constantine more...
(Irish Post) 06 July 2005
CD Reviews
Various artistes : The Latino Mix - Various artistes : Summer Legends -
Priscilla : To A Man (From A Girl) - Various artistes :In The Mix — Revival
more...
Soulful Son of a Preacher Man
Every once in a while an artist emerges with something so new and experimental
that the existing trends of the time are redefined. Foy Vance is a Northern
Irish musician who’s managed to transcend established thinking. more...
(Irish Post) 29 June 2005
Making it Count
Irish actor Damien O’Hare starred in the Hollywood adventure Pirates of
the Caribbean alongside stars like Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. Now
he’s just happy to be on the stage in the West End period drama The Countess.
more...
Irish Talent Comes Top of the
Comedy Class
Ireland is renowned as being an island of cultural genius. Whether it’s
music, theatre, movies, dance or poetry, the Irish are internationally admired
for their passion and unquestionable talent in the arts. And with the success
of Dara O’Briain, Ardal O’Hanlon and Jimmy Carr, the list, it seems, extends
to include comedy. more...
(Irish Post) 29 June 2005
Film and DVD Reviews
Forget everything that has gone before. Thankfully the only resemblance
to the previous four films is the character’s name. Here we have the tale
of how young Bruce Wayne grew up to become the world’s most famous crimefighter.
more...
(Irish Post) 29 June 2005
Theater and Gig Reviews
Think of Oscar Wilde’s celebrated play The Importance Of Being Earnest and
immediately a stern Lady Bracknell with her deriding condescension of the
lower classes springs to mind. more...
Galway festival’s varied
menu
This year’s Galway Arts Festival, which takes place from July 11 to July
24, will feature 400 writers, artists, performers and musicians from around
the world. more...
Diary of a stand-up comedian
It was supposed to be an important gig in a big tent in a field in Hampshire,
but it was half-full, the crowd looked bored and my mind was elsewhere.
more...
(Irish Post) 22 June 2005
Now that’s what I call
entertaining
Who do you think is Ireland’s greatest entertainer? I’m sure everyone has
their own opinion but now’s your chance to make your opinion count.
more...
(Irish Post) 22 June 2005
No more U2 at Croke Park
Fans waiting for U2 to announce a fourth Dublin date at Croke Park are set
to be disappointed according a spokesperson for the band.
more...
(Irish Post) 22 June 2005
Snow Patrol’s d8 with
destiny
Snow Patrol are the latest band to be invited by philanthropist Bob Geldof
to play at the biggest event of the decade — G8.
more...
Irish Music
All-Britain Fleadh returns to Strawberry Hill - Comhaltas in education -
Summer Céilí in Coventry - Galway sessions move to June.
more...
(Irish Post) 22 June 2005
Donovan’s legacy inspires
new bands
As 60s icon and singer Donovan celebrates his 60th birthday and his 40th
professional anniversary, Richard Purden chats with him about his new album,
his Irish influence, the era that brought us the psychedelic movement and
his close friendship with Paul McCartney. more...
Martha’s muse
It seems that the Wainwright family are everywhere right now or the world
needs a bigger stage. Rufus, Martha and Loudon have all recently completed
British tours. more...
(Irish Post) 15 June 2005
Bono and Bush get on famously
Outspoken U2 frontman Bono has complimented US President George Bush on
his humour after his meeting with him to talk of the fight against poverty
and AIDS in Africa. more...
(Irish Post) 15 June 2005
The Myth and the reality
London-Irish artist Brian Whelan has been described a ‘theologically provocative
maverick artist’ and a ‘medieval jester’ by industry critics.
more...
(Irish Post) 15 June 2005
Scary Mary’s brotherly exit
Any punters who placed bets on Ireland’s white witch to win Big Brother
6 will have been hugely disappointed with the news she was to become the
first contestant to be evicted from the Big Brother house.
more...
(Irish Post) 15 June 2005
Diary of a stand-up comedian
I was greeted at the door tonight by the club manager who informed me there
was a slight delay as some trouble had turned up.
more...
(Irish Post) 15 June 2005
Shane’s swap meet
This summer is set to be hot with festival fever — particularly in Manchester
when the city plays host to the very first International SWAP Festival.
more...
(Irish Post) 15 June 2005
Tilt the world with Sir
Bob
Live 8 organiser Bob Geldof has appealed to people to help “tilt this world
a little bit on its side” with the lottery for the star-studded concert
due to take place in London’s Hyde Park.
more...
(Irish Post) 15 June 2005
Bernie’s Bill breakaway
Actress Bernie Nolan is said to be quitting TV drama The Bill to pursue
her singing career. more...
(Irish Post) 15 June 2005
Ireland falls under summer
festival spell
If you are among those who have missed out on tickets for this year’s line
up of British music festivals, then have no fear, because there is another
option. more...
(Irish Post) 15 June 2005
Irish Music
Halifax Junior Set Dancers make Mayo cultural visit - £36,000 Grant for
Irish Heritage Project - Sussex Cultural Society expands into trad music
- Top trio play tyneside. more...
Ploughing fields of raw
emotion
Farmer, scriptwriter and one of Ireland’s greatest living literary voices.
Martin Doyle delves into the magic of Eugene McCabe.
more...
(Irish Post) 15 June 2005
Believe in Brady
There are few songwriting artists whose influence has been as profound as
that of Paul Brady. more...
(Irish Post) 08 June 2005
Mary’s feels like
leaving the family
Irish Big Brother contestant Mary O’Leary shocked the nation when after
just hours of being in the house, she went into the Diary Room asking to
leave. more...
(Irish Post) 08 June 2005
Tough mission for Rhys-Meyers
Irish actor Jonathan Rhys-Meyers has proved it’s not so impossible to join
the high profile Mission: Impossible team alongside Hollywood heartthrob
Tom Cruise. more...
(Irish Post) 08 June 2005
Elementary success
The four-piece Irish band Element have been working tirelessly for the last
three years to make their mark in the music scene.
more...
(Irish Post) 08 June 2005
Diary of a stand-up comedian
This week I have been working on The Weakest Link. I do a fair bit of warm
up work and it brings a bit of diversity to my diary. I arrived early and
mooched around. more...
(Irish Post) 08 June 2005
Graham’s big chance to motiv
8
Irish funnyman Graham Norton has been announced as the host of the American
leg of Bob Geldof’s charity concert Live 8 to help banish world poverty.
more...
(Irish Post) 08 June 2005
Listen to the Voices
The third CD to accompany the acclaimed music series Other Voices has just
been released. more...
Sting backing father Bob
British rocker Sting has slammed critics of his rock star friend Bob Geldof’s
parenting skills. more...
(Irish Post) 08 June 2005
Getting ready for a summer
of sound
As the summer months wheel into focus once again, it can only mean one thing
— joining thousands of others heading for a big field in the countryside
for some muddy musical mayhem. more...
(Irish Post) 08 June 2005
Irish Music
Legendary fiddler hits London - Abbey Gael Celtic Music 2005.
more...
(Irish Post) 08 June 2005
Welcome to the world’s
largest Irish festival
What originated as the seed of an idea for an event to celebrate and promote
Irish heritage, has developed into a thriving organization that celebrates
the music, culture and history of Ireland during a four-day festival.
more...
A Dunne deal
One of the key hero figures in the New Age of Irish Dance, Colin Dunne was
catapulted into stardom when he was asked to step into Michael Flatley’s
shoes to play the principal role in Riverdance. more...
Diary of a stand-up comedian
Management are a bit edgy tonight. The room is packed with a couple of hundred
people and there is a real buzz amongst the crowd.
more...
(Irish Post) 01 June 2005
No sex for Shane
Former Boyzone star Shane Lynch has revealed he won't do sex scenes because
he's a born again Christian and he's just not comfortable with it.
more...
(Irish Post) 01 June 2005
Cowboy Junkies aiming to
be No.1
Canadian alternative country group The Cowboy Junkies are to release a new
album in July, featuring a cover of U2’s One.
more...
CD Reviews
It’s not very often you take seriously the declaration that a relatively
new artist is soon to be “the next big thing”.
more...
(Irish Post) 01 June 2005
Irish music
Tim Dennehy sings the songs of Sigerson Clifford - Online music directory
- Musicians wanted in France - Belfast plays a different tune - Carmel Gunning
: The Sligo Maid - Suffer The Captive Children.
more...
Theater Reviews
The Cottesloe Theatre in London’s National Playhouse is this week playing
host to Simon Stephens’s new play, On The Shore Of The Wide World.
more...
(Irish Post) 01 June 2005
Humanity’s lost voices
In her second book — This Human Season — author Louise Dean chronicles Belfast
during the years of internment and ‘dirty’ protests. Eithnne Farry discovered
how painful the process of telling the story became.
more...
(Irish Post) 01 June 2005
Treading in Tarrant's footsteps
The much-loved former GMTV presenter Eamonn Holmes is hot property these
days as he’s recently bagged himself a new job hosting the theatre version
of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? more...
(Irish Post) 25 May 2005
Trail Blasers
Tresses of blonde hair float down her back and she boasts a wardrobe which
would make Sex and the City’s Carrie jealous. Tara Blaise is the latest
and greatest singer/songwriter talent to emerge from the Emerald Isle.
more...
(Irish Post) 25 May 2005
Blood Brothers keep it in the
Nolan family
Multi-talented Maureen Nolan has followed in the footsteps of her three
sisters by stepping up to play the lead role in the hugely successful West
End musical Blood Brothers. more...
(Irish Post) 25 May 2005
Diary of a stand-up comedian
I have spent four nights in Leeds working in a great club, but it means
another three nights sleeping in a strange bed. I try to give it a homely
feel by leaving my socks on the floor and generally creating a bit of a
mess. more...
(Irish Post) 25 May 2005
Bursting out of the shadows
Don Mescall is one of those talents you don’t often hear about. He’s penned
the lyrics to some of Ireland’s most famous songs but has always remained
in the shadows. But now, with his new album on the way, he’s committed to
taking centre stage. And Grainne McLoughlin reckons it’s where he belongs.
more...
(Irish Post) 25 May 2005
Big names sign up for Lassie
film
Established actors Peter O’Toole, Samantha Morton and Peter Dinklage have
been added to the cast list of the new Lassie movie, which is set to be
shot in Ireland. more...
Theater Reviews
Political squabbling and bickering, toys being thrown out of prams and egotistical
men struggling for power. more...
(Irish Post) 25 May 2005
Gig Reviews A great Green night out - Oasis, Usher Hall,
Edinburgh more...
(Irish Post) 25 May 2005
Jamming with MacGowan
Shane McGowan fans, listen up. Because if you haven’t already got your tickets
for the Irish artist and the Popes on this Bank Holiday weekend at Shepherds
Bush Empire then maybe you should get down to the official after-show party
at Brixton’s Jamm. more...
(Irish Post) 25 May 2005
A life in Relief
Michael Davitt is one of the forgotten heroes of Ireland’s struggle for
independence. But all that could change thanks to Lancashire artist Brendon
Deacy. MARTIN DOYLE explains why. more...
(Irish Post) 25 May 2005
Daniel fans dismayed
at loss of festival
British-based fans of singing superstar Daniel O’Donnell have reacted with
dismay after it was announced the annual Donegal Shore festival in his hometown
of Kincasslagh is to end. more...
(Irish Post) 25 May 2005
Irish Author Gets Keyes
to a Hollywood Jackpot
Irish author Marian Keyes is to have one of her best-selling novels turned
into a Hollywood blockbuster — with movie star Catherine Zeta Jones taking
the leading role. more...
(Irish Post) 18 May 2005
Tóibín Joins Hands With Gaiety
Greats
Actor Niall Tóibín has cemented his reputation as one of the leading players
of his generation — by adding his hand prints to the plaza outside the Gaiety
Theatre in Dublin. more...
(Irish Post) 18 May 2005
Aidan’s Hard Cell
He made his name as the “gay man-about-town” in Channel 4’s Queer As Folk.
But Aidan Gillen’s latest role couldn’t be further removed from that, as
Grainne McLoughlin found out. more...
(Irish Post) 18 May 2005
Long Live the King of Comedy
Comedian Andrew Maxwell is one of the leading young comics on the British
stand-up circuit, was crowned Channel 4’s King of Comedy and performed to
outstanding reviews at last year’s Edinburgh Festival.
more...
Theater and Gig Reviews
Political squabbling and bickering, toys being thrown out of prams and egotistical
men struggling for power. more...
(Irish Post) 18 May 2005
Perfect Protégé
Edwina Hayes — born in Dublin and raised in Lancashire — is wooing audiences
on a string of support dates across Britain. Nancy Griffith recently described
her on stage as her protégé which is quite a compliment from one of the
world’s best-selling and most-respected female artists. more...
(Irish Post) 11 May 2005
Keep an Eye on Mascara Story
Derry band, The Mascara Story have just scooped the Snickers Unsigned competition
winning the chance to perform at one of this year’s major music events and
record their own single and video. Grainne McLoughlin meets the boys.
more...
(Irish Post) 11 May 2005
No Trademark for Westlife
Pop heartthrobs Westlife have lost their European court battle to have their
name registered as a European Union trademark.
more...
Neil’s Almost Found What he’s
Looking for
Newspaper columnist Neil McCormack has produced one of the most refreshing
and amusing insights into the world of U2 with I Was Bono’s Doppelganger.
more...
Taking The Swan by the Neck
When the sun goes down south of the river in London, then The Swan pub in
Stockwell has long been the playground of choice for Irish people to flock
to in their hundreds for a great night out.
more...
(Irish Post) 11 May 2005
CD Reviews
Love him or loathe him — at least you know what you’re going to get with
Van Morrison. more...
(Irish Post) 11 May 2005
Film and DVD Reviews
This has been a long time coming. Passing through the hands of directors
like Jim Cameron and Jay Roach and stars like Jim Carrey, The Hitchhiker’s
Guide To The Galaxy seemed to be unfilmable. And in many ways it is.
more...
(Irish Post) 11 May 2005
Theater and Gig Reviews
Maureen Nolan evokes much pity as the poverty-trapped Mrs. Johnstone, and
her lyrics smack of poignancy as she struggles to keep her family away from
social services by giving up one of her twin sons to the posh family she
works for. more...
(Irish Post) 11 May 2005
Making Waves
The Devlins — made up of brothers Colin and Peter — recently released their
fourth and most impressive album, Waves. Here younger brother Colin talks
to Grainne McLoughlin about the band’s new approach to music, how Ireland
boasts some of the most talented people in the world and what it’s like
having one of Hollywood’s most beautiful women take her clothes off to his
song. more...
(Irish Post) 04 May 2005
Cathal Fiddles Up a Storm
Cathal Hayden has performed for Mary McAleese, set up his own band, produced
an award-winning album and travelled the world doing what he loves. He’s
about to add another feather to this cap as headline act at this year’s
Fiddles On Fire Festival. Grainne McLoughlin finds out how he feels about
performing at the festival.
more...
(Irish Post) 04 May 2005
Guilty Pleasures: What’s on
the stars’ iPods
Ever wondered what Ireland’s musical stars listen to on their iPods? Well,
we’re here to help — with a look at Elvis Costello and The Thrills favourite
selections. more...
(Irish Post) 04 May 2005
Ireland’s Songwriters Take
Britain by Storm
Admiration of Ireland’s cultural talent is nothing new. We lay claim to
literary greats Wilde and Beckett, stars of the silver screen Liam Neeson
and Pierce Brosnan and the world’s biggest rock band U2. And now another
brilliant crop of singer-songwriters is emerging. more...
(Irish Post) 04 May 2005
All Will be Revealed
Irish actress Natascha McElhone is set to star in new religious drama Revelations,
alongside Bill Pullman. more...
Nadine Denies Solo Escape
The Derry star of pop band Girls Aloud Nadine Coyle has rubbished rumours
that she's about to embark on a solo career.
more...
(Irish Post) 04 May 2005
Film and DVD Reviews
The talented Mr. Ridley Scott is set to take the events of the First Crusade
to the big screen this week with the long anticipated release of the Kingdom
of Heaven. more...
(Irish Post) 04 May 2005
Theater and Gig Reviews
The Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn is set to play host to Brendan Behan’s The
Quare Fellow. Set in Dublin’s Mountjoy Prison in 1949 the play deals with
the day before and the morning of an execution.
more...
(Irish Post) 04 May 2005
All Hail to HAL
Irish band HAL are tipped to be the next best thing in the music industry.
As their self-titled debut album promises to set the cat among the musical
pigeons Rosanna Alam chats to them about their current record label, their
previous British chart success and how they feel about being compared to
the Thrills. more...
(Irish Post) 27 April 2005
It’s Good to be Back
It’s everyone’s dream to live the life of a rock star — but it’s not always
all it’s cracked up to be. Christie Hennessy’s musical career has taken
him to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. He tells Grainne McLoughlin
he’s back and better than ever. more...
The Welcome Return of a True
Maverick
The Irish singer-come- spiritualist Sinead O’Connor has come out of retirement
after just two years, marking one of the most widely welcomed developments
in Irish music this year. Grainne McLoughlin finds about what we can expect
from her comeback. more...
(Irish Post) 27 April 2005
Irish Music
The Wildlife Album is a celebration of nature and music with all profits
going to the World Wildlife Fund and the Ulster Wildlife Trust. more...
Bap’s Finally Seeing the
Big Picture
Bap Kennedy is back with stunning new album The Big Picture. Richard Purden
caught up with him at London’s Boogaloo bar to discover the story behind
the Irish singer-songwriter’s latest venture.
more...
(Irish Post) 27 April 2005
CD Reviews
Former Moloko front-woman Roisin Murphy has made an experimental comeback
in her new solo album Ruby Blue.
more...
(Irish Post) 27 April 2005
Film and DVD Reviews
There is something reassuring about watching a Mike Leigh film. Although
many of his best are bleak and hinge on depressing themes (Life is Sweet,
Naked, Secrets and Lies), they are refreshingly unpretentious and credible
slices of life. more...
(Irish Post) 27 April 2005
Theater and Comedy Reviews
The Irish singer Maureen Nolan stars in the lead role in Willy Russell’s
massively popular story Blood Brothers. The musical, which has been running
in London’s West End for 17 years, has been showing with its latest cast
since April 11 at the Phoenix Theatre.
more...
(Irish Post) 27 April 2005
A Spirited Approach to Life’s
Adversity
There’s not many people you can attribute the words ‘world-class singer’,
‘ground-breaking doctor’ or ‘Paralympic gold medallist’ to — but remarkable
Irish singer Ronan Tynan can claim all three titles. Having achieved his
every dream in the face of adversity, everything now is merely a bonus,
as Grainne McLoughlin found out. more...
(Irish Post) 20 April 2005
Shooting Star
Damien Dempsey talks to Grainne McLoughlin about his latest album and the
influence of his childhood musical heroes.
more...
(Irish Post) 20 April 2005
Streets Ahead in the Novellos
Nominations for the Ivor Novello Awards were announced recently. And U2’s
Vertigo has been nominated for International Hit of the Year along with
Limp Bizkit’s Behind Blue Eyes and Band Aid 20’s Do They Know It’s Christmas?
more...
(Irish Post) 20 April 2005
Back to School for West Wing’s
Martin Sheen
Ireland’s Galway University has said it would be happy to offer a place
to second-generation actor Martin Sheen after he said he would be keen to
study in the Republic. more...
(Irish Post) 20 April 2005
Roisin Sings it Back to Form
Dublin-born Roisin Murphy became an overnight success with dance band Moloko
whose 1998 hit Sing It Back sold 500,000 copies and became the toast of
the Ibiza club scene. Grainne McLoughlin discovered how she now plans to
go it alone. more...
Brady’s Back
Paul Brady is back on the road in Ireland with a new album.
more...
(Irish Post) 20 April 2005
Dara’s heading in the right
direction
Dara O’Briain, one of Ireland’s biggest comic talents talks to Grainne McLoughlin
about the joys of being Irish, his drinking club in Dublin and his newly-forged
friendship with Samuel L. Jackson. more...
Murphy’s star is rising with
new sci-fi role shining through
Irish actor Cillian Murphy is to star in a major new science fiction film.
The movie Sunshine will begin shooting later this year and reunite the Cork
actor with his 28 Days Later director Danny Boyle.
more...
(Irish Post) 13 April 2005
Ronan’s rich pickings
Irish singer Ronan Keating has made it into the top five of a rich list
of Britain’s Young Music Millionaires published in The Sunday Times.
more...
(Irish Post) 13 April 2005
No licence to thrill
Irish bad boy Colin Farrell has rejected the idea of following in fellow
countryman Pierce Brosnan’s footsteps in playing James Bond.
more...
(Irish Post) 13 April 2005
Breaking into new frontiers
Hazel O’Connor has led an extraordinary life. The movie star, singer and
songwriter ran away from home at the age of 16. She made clothes in Amsterdam,
picked grapes in France and joined a dance troupe that went to Tokyo. But
home is where the heart is as Grainne McLoughlin found out.
more...
(Irish Post) 13 April 2005
Bono and the boys hitting the heights
With U2’s long-awaited Vertigo world tour finally in full swing, Grainne
McLoughlin says the best is yet to come — when music lovers replace sporting
fans for the gig of the year at Croke Park.
more...
Nora Jane set to be crowned a Corrie
queen
Irish actress Nora Jane Noone has been catapulted to British TV stardom
following her recent induction into the cast of Coronation Street. GRAINNE
McLOUGHLIN found out how she’s coping with fame.
more...
(Irish Post) 13 April 2005
Celtic Fringe: 'Showtime for
Daniel'
Necessity doest oft make strange bedfellows — one of the few quotes from
Shakespeare’s The Tempest that has always stayed with me and often describes
perfectly certain situations where the most unlikely people gather together
for a common purpose. more...
Clive’s album launch
Meet Clive Carroll, the unassuming instrumental guitarist who has been hailed
as a future great. more...
(Irish Post) 6 April 2005
When we were conquerors
Martin Doyle explores a new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery
that celebrates a period when a talented band of Irish writers, politicians
and artists ruled the roost in London.
more...
(Irish Post) 6 April 2005
Book Review
Book Review: 'The Transformation of Ireland 1900-2000' by Diarmuid Ferriter.
more...
(Irish Post) 6 April 2005
Celtic Fringe: 'E’van leaps from
the shadows to the light'
This young man E’van O’Donnell certainly means to have a long and continuing
career in the world of country and Irish music as his tremendously successful
debut album Out Of The Shadow has now been followed up with Into The Light
further highlighting E’van’s voice and talents.
more...
(Irish Post) 30 March 2005
Seduced by the stage
He’s starred in Harry Potter and Straw Dogs and been the voice of the Guinness
adverts — but Jim Norton’s first love has always been the stage. Grainne
McLoughlin discovers what drives the Irish acting legend.
more...
(Irish Post) 30 March 2005
Carey’s magical moment
John Carey, the lead with dance troupe Magic of the Dance, has had the last
laugh on the playground bullies who teased him when he went to Irish dance
class. more...
(Irish Post) 30 March 2005
Charlotte’s proud of her Irish
roots
Charlotte Church has spoken of her Irish roots after cheering on her native
Wales to victory over Ireland in the Six Nations decider.
more...
Danú to quit touring
One of Ireland’s top traditional bands has announced they will no longer
tour from next year. more...
(Irish Post) 23 March 2005
Will Clint make Yeats’ day?
Legendary director Clint Eastwood has been invited to the Yeats Society
annual summer school after he name-checked the poet in his Oscar award-winning
movie. more...
(Irish Post) 23 March 2005
BAFTA recognises Omagh film
The documentary Omagh — the story of the 1998 Omagh bombing — has been nominated
for a prestigious BAFTA award. more...
Swopping an Armalite for a pen
A play about the IRA written by a former member who was banned from entering
England for 13 years will have its first home in Britain — after Irish theatre
companies refused to touch it. Conor McGinn meets its author Danny Morrison.
more...
(Irish Post) 23 March 2005
Celtic Fringe: 'Tipped for the top'
Let me start this week by wishing each and every one of you a very Holy
and Happy St. Patrick’s Day. We are indeed blessed that our national patron
saint is loved and celebrated by Irish and non-Irish alike all over the
world. more...
Bono and Ali’s dream marriage
Bono's wife Ali Hewson has lifted the lid on their 23-year marriage and
declared: “He’s the love of my life because he makes me follow my dreams.”
more...
Keano plays it again
Millionaire footballer Roy Keane has said that he would watch a hit Irish
musical based on his World Cup walkout but only if producers stump up a
free ticket for him. more...
(Irish Post) 17 March 2005
Noel’s hairy moment
Oasis rocker Noel Gallagher planned to paint a Hitler moustache on Maggie
Thatcher’s Downing Street portrait until his Irish mum heard about it.
more...
(Irish Post) 17 March 2005
Bono’s dead serious
Bono has revealed that he wants music by Bob Dylan and Pavarotti to be played
at his funeral. more...
(Irish Post) 9 March 2005
Celtic Fringe: 'The top twenties'
Clive John and Kevin Logue are two young artists perhaps, indeed most certainly,
not yet known throughout the world of country and Irish music.
more...
(Irish Post) 9 March 2005
Saw Doctors’ new lease of life
The Saw Doctors will be one of the main attractions at this year’s St. Patrick’s
Day celebrations in London — but they almost split up two years ago when
long-serving bassist Pierce Doherty quit the band.
more...
Morrissey’s Court date
Morrissey's new album Live At Earl’s Court will be released on April 4 and
feature some of his best-known songs from The Smiths.
more...
(Irish Post) 9 March 2005
Wogan’s worries
Radio 2 presenter Terry Wogan has attacked the BBC for flogging an idea
to death by copying hit TV formats. more...
(Irish Post) 9 March 2005
A real page-turner
Get ready for one of the literary events of the year as London plays host
to The Irish Book Fair. Jon Myles looks at what’s on offer — and profiles
two of the authors taking part. more...
(Irish Post) 3 March 2005
Celtic Fringe: 'Songs of rediscovery'
A few weeks ago I briefly introduced this album and promised a more comprehensive
review - so let’s look at Brian Kennedy’s latest release in greater detail.
more...
Naked ambition
A naked portrait of Sinéad O’Connor has fetched more than £10,000 at an
auction in Dublin. more...
(Irish Post) 3 March 2005
Camden calling
The Return To Camden Town music festival will take place this year between
October 21 and October 30. more...
(Irish Post) 3 March 2005
Celtic Tiger takeaway
It’s taken Dublin and Edinburgh by storm — and now it’s captivating audiences
in London. GRAINNE McLOUGHLIN caught up with Gerald Murphy — the man behind
hit play Take Me Away. more...
(Irish Post) 23 February 2005
Celtic Fringe: 'Dano’s favourites'
A few years ago at a festival in Southport I wandered into the bar and sat
down to watch a solo artist who at that time was unknown to me.
more...
(Irish Post) 23 February 2005
Film star Gillian puts her feet up
on Irish movie set
Film director Pearse Elliot has revealed how movie star Gillian Anderson
took breaks at his mum’s home to ward off chilblains during the early morning
takes of his new movie The Mighty Celt. more...
(Irish Post) 23 February 2005
Reports say Brosnan lost 007 role
over cash
Pierce Brosnan “priced himself out of the market” in his negotiations to
reprise his role as James Bond, according to Variety editor-in-chief Peter
Bart. more...
Seeking a broader pallette
Cork artists Conor Harrington and Chloe Early are making names for themselves
having followed unusual routes in their quest for success. Amanda Diamond
and Grainne McLoughlin report.
more...
(Irish Post) 23 February 2005
Fermanagh’s Rachel makes the
news
For hundreds of thousands of young viewers across Britain, TV news means
just one thing — Northern Irish presenter Rachel Gibson. Graham clifford
met up with the Newsround frontwoman to catch up with her rise to the top.
more...
(Irish Post) 16 February 2005
Celtic Fringe: 'Smyth goes solo'
Just over 10 years ago I visited the I & B Irish Festival in Southport and
watched Philomena Begley on stage with her band Shotgun.
more...
(Irish Post) 16 February 2005
Westlife star’s joy at becoming a
dad
WESTLIFE star Shane Filan and his wife Gillian wept tears of joy when they
discovered they were to become parents for the first time.
more...
I Could Read The Sky reaches radio
BBC Radio Scotland will broadcast a recording of I Could Read the Sky in
two one-hour programmes as part of Travelling Folk presented by Archie Fisher.
more...
Maggie’s a real drama queen
Martin McDonagh’s haunting play The Beauty Queen Of Leenane is enjoying
a critically-acclaimed run at Bolton’s Octagon Theatre. Susan Press talks
to its Irish star Maggie O’Brien. more...
(Irish Post) 9 February 2005
Celtic Fringe: 'Collins ballads'
Last July I introduced the fine singer Kevin Collins from Newfoundland to
you and reviewed his excellent album From An Island To An Island. more...
Keano’s tragedy takes centre stage
The row between soccer star Roy Keane and former Republic of Ireland manager
Mick McCarthy at the 2002 World Cup in Japan has been brought to the Dublin
stage. more...
(Irish Post) 9 February 2005
Heart of the matter
We’re coming up to Valentine’s Day — or, as men like to call it, Extortion
Day. Malcolm Rogers considers the Irish connections of Saint Valentine. more...
(Irish Post) 9 February 2005
Emerging from the shadows
Don Mescall is an Irish singer-songwriter whose name might be unfamiliar
to many of the record-buying public but within the music industry it’s a
name that’s very highly respected. more...
(Irish Post) 2 February 2005
Celtic Fringe: 'The mighty Quinn'
As a child I would look forward each year to our family holiday deep in
the heart of Co. Derry staying with my father’s family and marvelling at
the country way of life that was quite alien to a lad from Carrickfergus
by the sea. more...
(Irish Post) 2 February 2005
Uiscedwr riding wave of success
Ireland’s best young trad group has spoken of his whirlwind 12 months following
the group’s nomination at this year’s BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. more...
(Irish Post) 2 February 2005
Bridging history
The biggest Irish musical ever to be staged is set to be a theatre smash
hit this summer at The Point Theatre in Dublin. more...
(Irish Post) 2 February 2005
The winner is...
Irish presenter Amanda Byram has been lined up to present Sky TV’s Oscars
coverage next month. more...
Dara’s back on tour
Dara O Briain -Ireland’s best and busiest comedian- embarks on another massive
British tour this week. more...
(Irish Post) 2 February 2005
U2 sell out in hours
U2’s British tour dates sold out in a matter of hours after they went on
sale last Friday. more...
(Irish Post) 2 February 2005
Devon’s spellbinding acts of Irish
wizardry
Actor Devon Murray has achieved worldwide fame as Seamus Finnegan in the
Harry Potter films. But as he tells GRAINNE McLOUGHLIN all he really wants
to do is win an Olympic showjumping medal. more...
TV’s Liz is safely back on track
Presenter Liz Bonnin has admitted that her career has suffered after her
stints on axed programmes such as RI:SE and Top of the Pops. more...
U2 fans hit by web charges
Outraged U2 fans have threatened to boycott the band’s official website
after being told they must pay to access some areas of the site. more...
Blue belle
She’s the new Irish face on British TV’s most famous children’s programme.
DAVID YOUNG meets up with Blue Peter presenter Zoe Salmon to hear how she
landed her dream job. more...
(Irish Post) 19 January 2005
Celtic Fringe: 'Kirwan’s a class
act'
Way up North in old Tyrone, in the historic town of Omagh, there are definitely
many pretty Ulster lasses, but Omagh can also boast numerous famous personalities
such as novelist Brian Friel, Big Brother star Tom McDermott... more...
(Irish Post) 19 January 2005
Liam up for role as Lincoln
Steven Spielberg has asked Liam Neeson to play Abraham Lincoln in a film
about the President’s role in the American civil war. more...
(Irish Post) 19 January 2005
Is Sammy about to wed?
Samantha Mumba has said she could be married within the year — if her rapper
lover Sisqo pops the question. more...
(Irish Post) 19 January 2005
There’ll be tears...
WESTLIFE and former bandmate Brian McFadden will battle it out at Ireland’s
premiere awards ceremony next month. more...
The Thrills Gatecrash
The Thrills have announced plans to release a third single from their latest
album Let’s Bottle Bohemia. more...
(Irish Post) 19 January 2005
Whipping up support for the
Irish community
Luton MP and Government Whip Margaret Moran has been championing the cause
of the Irish in Britain ever since first entering Parliament almost 30 years
ago. But despite many successes, she tells PAUL DONOVAN there’s still a
lot more to be done. more...
(Irish Post) 19 January 2005
Celtic Fringe: 'Queen of country'
Glancing back over my lists of artists featured in this column throughout
2004, it really was so heartening to see that Ireland not only still produces
the very best of Irish and country musicians but that we are also blessed
to have artists who have been performing for nigh on three decades and are
still sounding as sweet as ever. more...
Celtic Fringe: 'The year in review'
A very Happy and Holy New Year to each and every one of you and let’s give
thanks for a wonderful year of country and Irish music and at the same time
look forward to the year 2005 and all that it hopefully will bring for those
of us who love our music. more...
Liam in line for award
Irish actor Liam Neeson will go head-to-head with some of Hollywood’s leading
men after being nominated for a Golden Globe. more...
(Irish Post) 4 January 2005
Book Review
The Last Of The Celts Marcus Tanner Yale: Marcus Tanner has taken on a massive
task. In his latest book he attempts to investigate the lives of the Celtic
people from Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Cornwall to Brittany. more...
(Irish Post) 4 January 2005
King of the crooners
Waterford-born singer Val Doonican has entertained millions over a long
and distinguished career. PETER FOLEY talks to the legendary singer about
the past and about how he still enjoys treading the boards at the spritely
age of 77. more...
