| From gags to great gigs  By
Malcolm Rogers
Ireland boasts some truly esoteric festivals, such as the National Culchie
Festival, a sort of Rose of Tralee in reverse, or the Poc Fada in the
Cooley mountains, where you trail after hurlers up hill and down dale,
attempting to follow in the footsteps of Cú Chullainn — international
soccer player Niall Quinn took part last year.
Meanwhile, the mainstream festivals such as the Galway Races, the Rose
of Tralee Festival and the Ould Lammas Fair in Ballycastle are now world
famous and attract people from all over the globe. Truly there is something
for everyone — from oysters to opera.
March 4 - March 17
Bláthanna Arts Festival
Beginning this weekend, the Bláthanna Arts Festival in Derry is
an important event in Ireland and Europe with its mix of folk, roots and
traditional acts from Spain, Quebec, Ireland, Scotland and Brittany.
The festival opens on the 2nd March with Carlos Nuñez and his band
from Galicia at the Guildhall. A world-renowned piper, Nuñez’s
driving, spirits-lifting sound has captured the imaginations of people
all over the world. Piping hot!
Other acts include Capercaillie, Quebec-based band Le Vent du Nord —
who stand out with their rich re-mix of Cajun, folk-jazz and Celtic traditional.
Much more, including poetry, literature, drama, reading and workshops,
all in the dramatic setting of one of Europe’s Christian settlements.
For more information contact the Festival Office, 34 Great James Street,
Derry
028-7126-4132 blathanna@gaelaras.ie
March 15 - March 19
St. Patrick’s Day
St Patrick’s Day is marked in some style throughout Ireland —
parades in Portlaoise, celebrations in Celbridge, mayhem in Maynooth and
craic throughout the country. Two places specifically connected to the
Apostle, Armagh and Downpatrick, stress the religious aspect of the saint’s
life. Both St Patrick’s cathedrals in Armagh — where the saint
spent much time studying and preaching — hold masses and services.
Down Cathedral in Downpatrick, in whose grounds the saint lies buried
— is the final stop on the parade which processes sedately through
the town starting at 11am.
Dublin, of course, celebrates the saint in grand style.
This year the opening event on Wednesday, March 15 will take place in
Smithfield Square with the hair-raising circus antics of the Grupo Puja
from Argentina.
Dublin’s St Patrick’s festival also features a contemporary
stage version of the folk tale “The Crock of Gold” presented
by the Storytellers Theatre Company at the Olympia Theatre.
Throughout the festival week City Side Up will feature dancers, comedians,
international street theatre, acrobats, samba and salsa bands performing
in shopping areas throughout the city.
March 17 is of course the big day, with St Patrick’s Festival Parade
in the City Centre, beginning at Parnell Square at noon. “Wishful
Thinking” is the theme of this year’s Parade and it’s
definitely a party atmosphere on the streets of Dublin.
March 17 will also see the return of one of St Patrick’s Day’s
most popular events, Ceil Mor, the world’s largest Ceili.
For more information on the parade, as well as other events such as the
City Centre Treasure Hunt on Saturday 18, or the Big Day Out in Merrion
Square where you’re likely to meet cavorting clowns, street performers
and madcap music visit the official website
www.stpatricksfestival.ie
May 31 - June 4
Listowel Writers Week
Listowel Writers Week is Ireland’s liveliest literary festival.
A must for anyone with a fancy for the written word, the 2006 festival
boasts workshops for the starter writer, the writer who is half way there
and the established writer. There is a powerful drama and cinema line
up as well as an extensive art programme with exhibitions enhancing and
enlivening the graceful town of Listowel.
This year the festival boasts 11 competitions with awards of
€25,000
waiting to be given out.
The scope of genres this year runs from crime writing to journalism and
on through to poetry. Featured writers include 2005 Booker Prize Winner
John Banville, Paul Carson, Jung Chang, J M Coetzee, Greg Delanty, James
Harpur, Rita Ann Higgins, Clive James, and Pulitzer Winner Frank McCourt
plus many more.
June 1 - June 5,
The Cat Laughs Festival, Kilkenny
www.smithwickscatlaughs.com
When the man who first thought up the idea of a comedy festival in Kilkenny,
everybody laughed. Well, they’re still laughing! And this year the
Smithwick’s Cat Laughs Comedy Festival is attracting a host of the
best national and international stand-up comedians and comedy improvisers,
the comedy festival provides for simple fun and exhilaration. Over 85
live performances in the relaxing surrounds of 14 venues.
July 17 - July 30 2006
Galway Arts Festival
www.galwayartsfestival.com
The Galway Arts Festival is a truly international two-week celebration
of the performing and visual arts. This year’s festival boasts 400
writers, artists, performers and musicians from Ireland, Canada, England,
France, Scotland and the USA joining those from Ireland creating theatre,
spectacle, street art, music, comedy, literature and music.
Galway Arts Festival, Black Box Theatre,
Dyke Rd. Galway, Ireland.
Information tel:
+353 0) 91 509700 info@galwayartsfestival.ie August 11 - August 20
Kilkenny Arts Festival
http://www.kilkennyarts.ie
Kilkenny is an ideal place to hold a festival. Ireland’s most spectacular
medieval city, the events spill over into the narrow streets, and the
craic is seldom less than 90, with gusts up to 120.
This year over the 10 days some 250 events will take place in and around
the city and county.
August 18 - August 22
Rose of Tralee Festival
www.roseoftralee.ie
This is Ireland’s largest bash — the astonishing Rose of
Tralee Festival when the Kerry town plays host to the world. The centrepiece
is the Rose competition itself.
The festival evolved from Tralee’s Carnival Queen Festival, once
a thriving annual town event which fell by the wayside largely due to
post-war emigration. In 1959 a group of local business people decided
to revive the carnival in an effort to regenerate the town and encourage
tourism.
Today it has become a mini-arts festival as well, with music sessions,
concerts and street theatre.
August 25 - August 27
Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann
www.fleadh2006.com
The 2006 Fleadh is being held in the beautiful town of Letterkenny in
County Donegal. Traditional music from all over Ireland and the Diaspora,
with thousands of musicians taking part.
August 25 - August 27
Festival of World Cultures - Dun Laoghaire
www.festivalofworldcultures.com
The Festival of World Cultures in Dun Laoghaire is an arts festival celebrating
cultural diversity through an extravaganza of internationally-acclaimed
acts including music, dance performances, club nights, markets, theatre,
exhibitions, circus, workshops & children’s activities. It’s
been described as Ireland’s most family friendly festival, a sort
of urban Glastonbury and boasts free events — from ethnic music
to drama — day and night.
September 1 - October 1
Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival
The Matchmaking Festival takes place every year during September and
October in Lisdoonvarna,
Co. Clare. The matchmakers of old were the dealers who attended street
fairs, as it was they who knew the farmers who had eligible sons and daughters
around the country. They invited the farmers from all over Ireland to
attend the festival the following September when the matches would be
made.
Dancing most weekends — as you might imagine — plus horse-racing,
and a glittering country and western weekend, with music cheesier than
ten Galtee factories. Plus there’s also the matchmaking maestro
himself, Willie Daly, who presides over all matters matrimonial. He’ll
tell you the, er, rules of engagement; but just a word in your ear don’t
ask him if women always “like Willie daily”. He’s heard
that one.
September 28 - October 1
Galway International Oyster Festival
www.galwayoysterfest.com
The oyster season runs from September to April but the craic, crustaceans
and creamy-headed Guinness makes September the ideal time to head for
Galway. People from all over the world descend on the banks of Galway
Bay to sample the world-famous oysters of Galway Bay and the legendary
craic of the West of Ireland.
Seafood lovers will be hard pushed to find anything better than this,
Ireland’s longest-running and best gourmet extravaganza. The arrival
of the new oyster season is marked by a feast of drinking, dancing and
bivalve bingeing. The more organised events of the weekend — official
opening dinner, black-tie ball and world oyster opening championships
— take place in a huge marquee by the town’s harbour. The
real fun, however, begins on the extensive pub-crawl that constitutes
the Guinness Oyster Pub Trail. The trail incorporates dozens of pubs throughout
Galway, each of which offers free oysters with a pint of Guinness as well
as laying on music, seisúns, dancing and comedy acts during the
festivities.
October 20 - November 06
Wexford Opera Festival
www.wexfordopera.com
This event is now one of the world’s most glamorous, friendly and
esoteric opera festivals. Three (usually fairly obscure) operas are staged
in the town’s Theatre Royal. This year the operas are L’ajo
nell’imbarazzo- ‘The Tutor in a Jam by Donizetti, El retablo
de Maese Pedro — ‘Master Peter’s Puppet Show’
by Falla, and Renard by Stravinsky.
If you can’t get tickets for the main events, not to worry. Alongside
the operas a huge programme of fringe events takes place incorporating
everything from traditional sessions to opera-slanted street theatre.
For over fifty years the Irish coastal town has been seducing the world
with wonderful productions of rare opera presented as part of a unique
festival. The warm and vivacious welcome, the narrow and ancient Viking
streets and the tiny, atmospheric Theatre Royal add to pleasures which
include over forty daytime events as well as the eighteen evening performances
of three major productions.
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