The High Kings, currently on a month long tour of the United States, have announced a long overdue Sligo show when they appear at the Sligo Park Hotel on Saturday March 25.

By John Bromley

Acclaimed writer-director Jim Sheridan has said that he would love to be able to come and spend time shooting a movie in Sligo, which he finds “stunning”.

The six-time Academy Award nominee, known for films such as “My Left Foot”, “The Field” and “In the Name of the Father”, was speaking to the Sligo Weekender this week about his latest film “ The Secret Scripture”, which local cinema goers will be able to see from March 24.

The film, which stars Vanessa Redgrave, Rooney Mara and Eric Bana, is based on the award winning book of the same name by Sebastian Barry, whose mother Joan O’Hara was from Sligo.

The story is set in Sligo and the author has said that it was loosely based on a story told to him by his mother about a local woman.

Because of logisitical and financial reasons, the majority of the film was shot elsewhere but Sheridan revealed that he spent weeks in Sligo prior to beginning filming to get a feel for the place and to be able to recreate the locations eleswhere.

“I was down in Sligo on four or five different occasions. We travelled around quite a bit and looked all around Yeats Country, and went out to the lake Isle of Inisfree and all that.

“It is so beautiful. It is stunning. But we decided we would only be able to shoot so much of it there.”

A lot of the film is set in the fictional St Malachy’s mental hospital where the film’s central character Rose has been wrongly incarcerated for many years. It is squarely based on the old St Columba’s psychiatric hospital, now the Clayton Hotel

As part of his research, Jim Sheridan stayed in the hotel three times. “They were very good to us.”

A full version of the interview with Jim Sheridan can be found in this week’s Sligo Weekender- in shops now.

By Robert Cullen

One is a guitarist’s guitarist. One is a band leader. One is a multi-instrumentalist who can play everything from traditional and rock, to blues and jazz.

One is a piano player who is equally as versatile.

Seamie O’Dowd and Kieran Quinn will both be known to anyone with even a passing interest in the live music scene in Co. Sligo.

They have recorded and released solo albums. They have performed as guest musicians on many more recordings. They have appeared on stages large and small, from the Hawk’s Well to a small corner of Connolly’s Pub.

And now Kieran and Seamie have recorded an album together. An album which will be launched on Saturday, February 25 at 8pm in the Hawk’s Well Theatre.

“Melodic Reflection” contains 13 tracks which showcase a combined sound the duo have honed from two years of performing together in a Monday night residency, first in Furey’s Pub on Bridge Street, and more recently in the aforementioned Connolly’s Bar on Markievicz Road.
“We first started talking about doing something together after a night in the Hawk’s Well, it must be about three-and-a-half years ago – around late 2013 – when I launched my first album,” says Kieran Quinn, the former Sligo Senior footballer, who gave up his GAA career to pursue a greater passion – for teaching and playing music.

“Seamie played on a track on that album and he was in for the night [of the launch] and he played on a few more songs there.”

Seamie O’Dowd continues the story: “Then Kieran played on my album the following year. He played on a few tracks on the album. It was probably from those two things that we started to think maybe there is something here that we can plough so we started playing Furey’s every Monday night and that continued on to here [Connolly’s Bar] when Paul O’Donnell moved camp over here.”

More details on Seamie and Kieran’s album launch night and the return of the much loved Theme Night can be found in this week’s Sligo Weekender- in shops now.

SLIGO band Rackhouse Pilfer are the latest band to be anoounced to play at the ‘Live on Air’ festvial.

The festival, which takes place on May 26 ands 27, will be at the Quirky Nights Glamping Village in Enniscrone.

Other bands who have already confirmed for ‘Live on Air’ include Hermitage Green, Ryan O’Shaughnessy, Moxie, Rackhouse Pilfer, Rusangano Family, This Side Up, Na Mooneys, Strung, Lisa Canny, Meltybrains? and Interskalactic, with more to be announced.

Event organisers have promised that aside from the music, there will be plenty of activities to make every minute enjoyable

For more details and updates, see www.liveonairfestival.com and the festival’s Facebook page.