.Rosanna and Michael McGrath at Culture Night activities for young artists at Siamsa Tire on Friday. Photo by Dermot Crean
THE weather behaved and spirits were high across Kerry on Friday when public venues, communities and arts spaces offered up a great selection of free events late into the night.
Thousands came out across the county with key events in Tralee, Killarney, Listowel, Dingle, Castleisland, Ballinskelligs, Kenmare, Waterville, Killorglin, Scartaglin, Finuge, Annascaul, Tureencahill, Dromid, Rathmore, Cahersiveen, and Fossa.
Tralee started early with the students in Mercy Mounthawk Secondary School with Alice In Wonderland fun. There was a family fun, dance, circus, and music acts in the Square in Tralee.
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At Siamsa Tíre there was a standing ovation for the dance show ‘It Takes A Village’ by choreographer Catherine Young.
Her work through dance with communities in Kerry was a highlight of the evening and congratulations to all involved. Large crowds visited the County Museum for tours, workshops, music and medieval family fun while Rebecca Babington’s art installation in Roundy’s Bar wowed everyone with the sheer scale of it.
There was a great literary turnout upstairs at The Abbey Inn for a reading by John Sexton and local poet Noel King and at Tralee International Resource Centre no one left without playing a beat on the African drums.
Meanwhile, Patrick McDonnell performed Samuel Beckett’s ‘Krapp’s Last Tape’ downstairs in the bar. Another amazing night then in town. Scroll down for photos of some of the events…
Patrick McDonnell performing ‘Krapp’s Last Tape’ in The Abbey Inn on Friday night. Photo by Dermot Crean.Singer Teresa Galvin performing in the Square on Friday for Culture Night. Photo by Dermot CreanSusan Hitching, Donal and Julia Stack at Culture Night activities for young artists at Siamsa Tire on Friday. Photo by Dermot Crean.Hanna Griffin, Rosemarie McGarty and Caroline O’Callaghan at Culture Night events at Siamsa Tire on Friday. Photo by Dermot CreanThe cast of ‘It Takes A Village’ at rehearsals for ‘It Takes a Village’ performance at Culture Night in Siamsa Tire on Friday. Photo by Dermot Crean.Una Daly with Jackson Poff and Saoirse Mary Daly at Culture Night activities for young artists at Siamsa Tire on Friday. Photo by Dermot CreanA choral performance at Culture Night in Siamsa Tire on Friday. Photo by Dermot Crean.Ania Dokurno reading her work in The Abbey Inn as part of Culture Night. Photo by Dermot CreanA choral performance at Culture Night in Siamsa Tire on Friday. Photo by Dermot CreanAnia Dokurno reading her work in The Abbey Inn as part of Culture Night. Photo by Dermot CreanPatrick McDonnell performing ‘Krapp’s Last Tape’ in The Abbey Inn on Friday night. Photo by Dermot Crean
RIGHT so, tonight is Culture Night around the country and there’s loads going on.
Around Tralee you’ll find singing, dancing, drama, poetry, history, slapstick comedy, an art installation and so much more.
The following is a list of events happening in town and where to find them…
• THE SQUARE INTO THE EVENING
5pm-5.45pm Joanne O’Connor Tenacity School of Performing Arts. Dance pieces by this energetic and accomplished group of young performers. Special guests including face-painting.
5.45pm DISCO–DANCE YOUR HEART OUT DJ
6.15pm THE WOBBLY CIRCUS SHOW — Stan Ratchet combines slapstick comedy, clowning & circus skills. With audience participation, Stan brings spectators on a journey through mime, manipulation and fire juggling…a high impact finale.
6.45pm- 8pm LIVE MUSIC — Live Bands session will The Hunter, The Old Big Sun, Lucy Two Shoes and Beat-Boxing Zach as well as a variety of upbeat pop acts.
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• Kerry School Of Music
5pm-6pm CREATIVE IRELAND KERRY YOUTH CHORAL OPEN SESSION
For ages 8-18yrs. Everyone can sing and you can too. Come along and hear the singing, meet the conductor and the singers. New members welcome to join the choral group.
kerrymusicschool@eircom.net / 066 7125690
6pm-9pm A SCHOOL WITHOUT WALLS — An Open House evening with performances by the school’s choirs, orchestras and solo musicians. Performance schedule on website and Facebook pages.
• Roundy’s Bar, Tralee
6pm-11pm ‘I’M LISTENING?’ — Japanese legend states that if a person folds 1,000 cranes they will be granted a wish. An art installation by Rebecca Babbington influenced by this legend and the struggles society is going through.
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• Kerry County Museum
6pm-9pm TRADITIONAL MUSIC WITH SLIABH MISH COMHALTAS — Experience traditional music, dance and storytelling at its finest.
6-10pm — STROLL THROUGH THE MUSEUM — View the exhibition ‘Casement in Kerry-A Revolutionary Journey’, also the Museum Gallery, Tom Crean Room and the Killaclohane Portal Tomb Collaboration.
6pm-10pm ANCIENT PAST, YOUTHFUL IMAGINATION —Killaclohane Portal Tomb, Kerry’s oldest man-made structure, was the inspiration for a creative journey & exhibition on life and death in the Neolithic by secondary school students. Archaeologist Jemma O’Connell will be on hand to discuss the dig and reveal some tricks of the trade.
6pm-10pm MEDIEVAL FAMILY FUN — Members of the Kerry Medieval Living History Group in period costume in Geraldine Tralee. Chat with them about life and death in the Middle Ages.
6pm-9.30pm ANCIENT POTTERY WORKSHOP — Ceramicist, Lone Beiter-O’Reilly will explore how ancient pottery was made. Based on finds from the Killaclohane Portal Tomb. Make your own authentic pot. Young pottery enthusiasts welcome!
6.30pm-8.30pm A COUNTY MUSEUM COLLECTIONS TOUR — With Helen O’Carroll (Curator) and Sarah O’Farrell (Collections Officer). A ‘behind the scenes’ tour of the Museum’s diverse collections!
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• DANCE, CHORAL & VISUAL ARTS AT SIAMSA TÍRE
5pm-10pm Dance workshops, choral performances, interactive visual arts events for families and young people, along with plenty of music and a few surprises on the night!
An evening performance of dance under the direction of Catherine Young, IT TAKES A VILLAGE is a new dance show inspired by Ireland’s new communities, their music, dance and songs.
Featuring an international cast of dancers and musicians and spanning a myriad of dance styles with the heart-warming, moving, dynamic and energetic choreography Young always delivers.
Funded by Kerry County Council, Siamsa Tíre, Creative Ireland, The Arts Council & the Department of Justice & Quality. Also supported by TIRC & KASI. Siamsa Tíre, Town Park.
• Tralee Library
6.30pm-8pm ART INSPIRED BY LITERATURE — A TRALEE ART GROUP EXHIBITION
Art exhibition featuring new works by members who have been actively creating all year. Members will read passages from books that have inspired the work of the exhibition.
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• Baile Mhuire Day Care Centre, Balloonagh, Tralee.
7pm-9pm ART FOR EVERYONE, Tralee Art Group
Meet the artists as they make new work. Create your own work of art. A show will be brought together in one large piece at the end of the evening.
• Manor West Shopping Centre
7pm-9pm CRAOBH THRÁ LÍ CCÉ — A vibrant traditional music session with local young musicians.
• Tralee International Resource Centre, 13-14 St Patricks Bungalows, Boherbee
7.30pm-9.30pm AFRICAN DRUMMING EVENING — Open to all – try your hand at drumming and enjoy some wonderful sounds.
• The Abbey Inn
8-11pm Spoken Word and Song with John Sexton and Noel King
An evening of poetry, prose and music. John W. Sexton and Noel King will read extracts of their work. John is the author of five poetry collections and Noel has recently published a collection of short stories with Liberties Press. Come share your work or listen to some great writing.
SUMMER’S over, the weather’s getting colder, Kerry are out of the championship, moan, moan and, furthermore, moan.
Enough. There’s a lot more to look forward to than you think as September begins…
1. Listowel Races…
In Listowel, Ballybunion and the surrounding villages, the summer isn’t really over until after the races.
There’s something for everyone there with Birds Amusements in town, great racing and the Friday is ladies day which sees the female population of the county decamp to the Island. The races take place from September 10-17.
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2. Culture Night…
There’s a plethora of events planned in Tralee for Culture Night on Friday, September 22 with dance, DJ, circus and live bands in the Square from 5pm onwards.
Meanwhile Kerry County Museum is host to traditional music, a medieval family fun night and an ancient pottery workshop with ceramic artist Lone Bieter O’Reilly.
Tours of their collections and exhibitions are open late into the night and to the echo of the wonderful sounds of Sliabh Mish Comhaltas.
A programme highlight in Tralee is an evening performance at Siamsa Tíre of It Takes A Village, the premiere of Catherine Young’s new dance work, with an international cast of dancers and musicians.
3. Tralee Food Festival…
Taking place from September 22-24, this has been a big success over the past couple of year and hopefully the people of the town will come out and embrace it again.
There’s a charity celebrity chef night, cookery demos, a farmers market, artisan food market, a taste trail, craft beer trail and more. Check out their Facebook page here for more
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4. The thrill of the championship…
Austin Stacks and Kerins O’Rahillys are still in with a shot in the Kerry SFC so Saturday, September 23 will see a big crowd in Austin Stack Park for a double-header where they take on West Kerry and East Kerry respectively.
Let’s not forget Na Gaeil will play their Junior Premier Championship Semi Final against Firies on September 30, so they’ll be hoping to get to the final for the second year in a row.
5. And there’s the hurling…
The passionate fans of Lixnaw, Ballyduff, St Brendan’s and Kilmoyley will cheer on their teams in the Garvey’s Supervalu Kerry Senior Hurling Championship Semi Finals in a double-header in Austin Stack Park on Sunday, September 24. Expect two thrilling encounters.
6. Big-time basketball returns…
The Warriors return to action this month and that means the crowds will be back in Tralee Sports and Leisure Centre in their hundreds.
They host a pre-season tournament over Saturday, September and Sunday, September 10.
On Saturday at 6pm, St Pauls take Ballincollig followed by Garveys Tralee warriors Vs Neptune at 8pm.
On Sunday at 2pm, the runner up of 6pm game on Saturday faces runner up of 8pm game. Then at 4pm, the winner of 6pm game Saturday plays the winner of 8pm game.
The Warriors first home Superleague game is on Saturday, September 23.
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7. Indian Summer anyone?…
Wishful thinking?
Ok, the summer wasn’t that bad (for an Irish summer) but we still didn’t get a proper stretch of good sunshine days. Maybe, just maybe (remember this is a glass half-full kinda story), we’ll get that late blast of heat that we’ve been missing.
It usually happens after the kids have got back to school or during exam time, so fingers crossed!
8. Do something new…
Why not start something new this autumn. There’s a whole host of night classes starting with Kerry ETB in Tralee and beyond this month. Check out the Kerry ETB website for the list of courses. For the kids, sports clubs are recruiting for new members, but if your child prefers the arts, Perform Speech and Drama is a great place for your child to gain confidence (see above advert).
.Mayor of Tralee Norma Foley and CE of Kerry County Council launch details of Culture Night in Tralee. Photo By : Domnick Walsh
MAYOR of Tralee Municipal District, Norma Foley, along with Moira Murrell, CE of Kerry County Council were in Tralee Town Park on Wednesday to announce more details of Culture Night which will take place this year on Friday, September 22 from 5.00 to 11.00pm.
Arts and Cultural venues across the town will host free events for the public to enjoy.
Kerry County Council Arts Office has been busy co-ordinating events again this year along with arts groups and other organisations happy to get involved and give a free night of cultural events to their communities.
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Culture Night kicks off early in Tralee with family fun in the Square from 5pm – 8pm. Dancers from the Joanne O’Connor Tenacity School of Performing Arts will perform recent work and will be followed by a Dance Your Heart Out DJ.
Face painters and cartoon characters will entertain and at 6.15pm the Wobbly Circus Show featuring Stan Ratchet will bring spectators though mime, manipulation and fire juggling. From 6.45pm to 8.15pm a Live Bands session will feature Chapter 2, Beat-Boxing Gavin and a variety of upbeat pop acts.
A Creative Ireland Kerry Youth Choral Open Session will take place at the Kerry School of Music and is inviting young people to join this countywide initiative.
The KSM are also holding a School Without Walls event. It’s a great chance see musical instruments and hear orchestras and musicians in action.
At Roundy’s Bar an unusual art installation will feature 1,000 paper cranes and has been created by artist Rebecca Babbington.
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Kerry County Museum hosts five events this year kicking off with Sliabh Mish Comhaltas. Their exhibitions include ‘Casement in Kerry-A Revolutionary Journey’ and their Museum Gallery, Tom Crean Room and the Killaclohane Portal Tomb Collaboration will all be on view.
Members of the Medieval Living History Group will bring Geraldine Tralee to life and they will be on hand to chat about life and death in the Middle Ages.
The Museum is also hosting an Ancient Pottery Workshop with Lone Beiter O’Reilly who will explore, with participants, how ancient pottery was made.
At.6.30pm a ‘Behind The Scenes’ Museum Collections Tour with Curator Helen O’Carroll and Collections Officer, Sarah O’Farrell will take place.
Siamsa Tíre is hosting dance workshops, choral and arts events and artist in residence Karen Hendy is inviting the public to create art from recycled materials in the centre.
An Evening Performance of Catherine Young’s new dance work ‘It Takes A Village’ will feature an international cast of dancers and musicians. Young has engaged with Ireland’s new communities, their music, dance and song to create a show that looks at the importance of traditional values and how resilience, supporting one another and community are critical to our survival.
Music direction is by Martin Scharer and is cast with some of Ireland’s top musicians. A show not to be missed!
Tralee Art Group will open a new exhibition at Tralee Library and members will read passages from books that have inspired the work in the show.
They will also have an event at Baile Mhuire Day Care Centre in Balloonagh, that same evening. Attendees are encouraged to take up materials and create art with them. Comhaltas Tralee will be back in Manor Shopping Centre between 7.00 and 9.00pm and Tralee International Resource Centre will host an African Drumming Evening in their premises in Boherbee.
Meanwhile The Abbey Inn is host to the Thursday Night Writers Group for an evening of local poetry, prose and music with guest writers John Sexton and Noel King featuring.
Tralee has a packed programme his year so remember to ‘Switch On Culture Night’ on Friday 22nd September. All events are free to enjoy.
.John Sheahan, Mayor of Kerry, along with Charlie O’Sullivan, Deputy CE of Kerry County Council launch events in the company of Aidan O’Mahony, Kerry’s Culture Night Ambassador and Kate Kennelly, Arts Officer and Sharon O’Keeffe, Arts Office.
WE may be in the middle of the Rose Festival, but it’s worth remembering Culture Night this year takes place on Friday, September 22 and Tralee has a whole host of events for all tastes.
With the national catchphrase ‘Switch On Culture Night’, venues and public spaces across Kerry will open their doors to host a programme of arts entertainment late into the night.
Tralee is host to a wide variety of events with dance, DJ, circus and live bands in the Square from 5pm onwards.
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Meanwhile Kerry County Museum is host to traditional music, a medieval family fun night and an ancient pottery workshop with ceramic artist Lone Bieter O’Reilly.
Tours of their collections and exhibitions are open late into the night and to the echo of the wonderful sounds of Sliabh Mish Comhaltas.
A programme highlight in Tralee is an evening performance at Siamsa Tíre of It Takes A Village, the premiere of Catherine Young’s new dance work, with an international cast of dancers and musicians.
Young has engaged with Ireland’s new communities to create a show that looks at the importance of traditional values dwindling in Today’s world and how resilience and community are critical to our survival.
Culture Night is an all-Kerry celebration of arts, heritage and culture. The event is in its thirteenth year and the choice across Kerry is one of the best to date.
John Sheahan, Mayor of Kerry, along with Charlie O’Sullivan, Deputy CE of Kerry County Council were in Tralee this week and marked the printed programme launch and approaching events in the company of Aidan O’Mahony, Kerry’s Culture Night Ambassador and Kate Kennelly, Arts Officer and Sharon O’Keeffe, Arts Office.
The Arts Office at Kerry County Council has been busy co-ordinating events, along with arts groups and organisations “who are happy to give a free night of cultural events to their communities”, Charlie O’Sullivan mentioned.
A total of seventeen towns and villages are involved across Kerry, offering fifty seven events, in forty two venues.
“It’s a wonderful night, and a great platform for artists and arts venues to welcome new audiences.” Cathaoirleach John Sheahan believes.
Aidan O’Mahony is encouraging everyone to get involved and to check out the programme which is available online and will be distributed across the County in the coming weeks.
Highlights from the programme are many and events start as early as 8am in Killorglin with K-Fest’s Verse to Work public poetry readings.
At 5pm the annual Kerry Visual Artists Showcase has its official opening at Government Buildings in Killarney and is a significant event for artists in Kerry.
The Creative Ireland Kerry programme has open evenings for young people interested in singing in Killarney, Tralee, Cahirciveen and Listowel, while Killarney House is conducting tours of the 18th Century Manor throughout the evening.
Kerry Film Festival features at Cinema Killarney this year with a screening of the first Irish Short film to be nominated for an Academy Award.
‘Return To Glennascaul’ with Orson Welles screens at 7pm. The Killarney Cultural Centre venue is open this year with events from DB O’Connor, Killarney Comhaltas and St. John’s Mill Theatre.
Donal Lunny & Andy Irvine are live in Concert at Muckross Farms and meanwhile the Launch of the 2018 ‘Handed Down Series’ as part of the Sliabh Luachra Music Trail kicks off at 7.30pm in the Heritage Centre in Scartaglin.
Making headlines in Listowel is a Writers Week event called ‘Poetry in Locomotion on the Lartigue Monorail’ with a host of writers from Kerry featuring, while the Olive Stack Gallery is having an open night with studio visits and art demonstrations.
One to note also in Listowel is that both John B’s Bar and Christy’s The Well have theatre, poetry, music and song this year.
Meanwhile in Finuge fifty years of life in the village has been captured by local film makers, an event which will bring the entire village together as a community event.
Dingle offers up a very varied programme this year with film, visual art, music an dance featuring strongly.
Artist Áine Ní Chiobháin will mix it up with live music, art, and sean-nós while her audience will also sketch the events of Culture Night into an exhibition at Nelliefreds at 9pm.
In Ballinskelligs Dr. Noelle Campbell Sharpe is organising a tour of Cill Rialaig village and a gathering at the house once lived in by Seanchaí Sean Ó Connaill.
Remember ‘Switch On Culture Night’ is on Friday 22nd September. All events are free to enjoy. For full programme details go to www.culturenight.ie or phone 066 7183541.
Culture Night Kerry is brought to you by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and the Creative Ireland programme in partnership with Kerry County Council.
There’s a plethora of events planned in Tralee for Culture Night on Friday, September 22 with dance, DJ, circus and live bands in the Square from 5pm onwards.
The passionate fans of Lixnaw, Ballyduff, St Brendan’s and Kilmoyley will cheer on their teams in the Garvey’s Supervalu Kerry Senior Hurling Championship Semi Finals in a double-header in Austin Stack Park on Sunday, September 24. Expect two thrilling encounters.
The Warriors return to action this month and that means the crowds will be back in Tralee Sports and Leisure Centre in their hundreds.
