Report by Rose Rushe
Draíocht of Desmond
DESMOND College, Newcastle West has a traditional Irish music group, Draíocht so talented that it is the only Limerick selected for the All Ireland Secondary Schools Talent Show. Draíocht rates among five only out of 26 entrants nationally to emerge victorious from a heat in The Greenhills Hotel. Book your seat for the All-Ireland concert with a total of 10 band only for the concert hall on Saturday 26 at 8pm, to be broadcast on TV3.www.uch.ie
Pictured, rear: Emma Roche, Jack O’Connor, Brian Hartnett, Laoise Curtin. Front: Diarmuid Curtin and Pa Moriarty.
Literary run at Friars’ Gate
FRIARS’ Gate Theatre Literary Weekend takes place from Thursday April– Sunday 27, a gathering of speakers, workshops, book launches, theatre and there’s an open mic night. The weekend opens this Thursday 24 with the launch of ’Ellipses’, the first anthology to be written by the Friar’s Gate Writers Group.
Led by Sheila Quealey, the writers undertake advanced creative writing classes at Friars’ Gate. Open Mic Night follows, a sharing of works in a relaxed atmosphere.
On Friday April 25, Donal Ryan, feted author of the ‘The Spinning Heart’ and ‘The Thing About December’ returns to Kilmallock. Saturday 26 is an evening of poetry with Rita Ann Higgins and John W. Sexton.
Also on Saturday afternoon, children’s author Gordon Snell will delight with a reading from some of his books.
The weekend also includes workshops for children and adults and Conversations Uncovered: Friars’ Gate Writers Group galvanise for writing for the stage through collaboration with Theatre Artist in Residence, producer/ director/ writer John Sheehy of CallBack Theatre.
The diamond soled
Photo: Adrian Melia
THAT wonderful Paul Simon song from ‘Graceland’, ‘Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes’ has its title borrowed by Spoken Dance for an upcoming performance.
This Limerick based company is made up of disabled and non-disabled dancers and ‘Diamonds’ will stage at Daghdha Space, John’s Square on Thursday May 1 for two performances, 11.30am and 7.30am.
Spoken Dance’s Mary Harney tells us that this piece is a combination of solos, duets, storytelling and film: “[The dancers] have mined the previously hidden treasure of their own potentials to enliven the space and enlarge the soul.
“The movement explorations are encrusted in tension, tenderness, trepidation and temerity”.
