Charismatic Corkman John Creedon visited County Sligo earlier this year with a film crew to explore the history and archaeology of the area.
The resulting footage will appear in this Sunday’s “John Creedon’s Wild Atlantic Way” on RTE One at 6.30pm. This is the third and last episode of the series, in which John explores the Wild Atlantic Way from his native Cork all the way to the tip of Donegal.
John, who is no stranger to County Sligo, having worked and holidayed here before, said that viewers can expect “a bit of this, that and everything along the way” from next Sunday’s show.
For the full story, see today’s Sligo Weekender newspaper. In shops now.
Blue Raincoat have built a reputation on pushing boundaries, of driving a pickaxe into previously unbroken ground, but few ventures were as ambitious as their endeavours this weekend gone.
In Hazelwood, as elsewhere, the audience got up close to the performance.
A Country Under Wave delivered 26 performances in 26 locations over two days (Saturday and Sunday, August 1-2) spread throughout the North West.
Venues – from the crumbling Killaspugbrone Church to the comforts of Lyons Cafe; from the storied stone walls of Parke’s Castle to the tall trees of Hazelwood Forest; from Hargadon’s pub to Dolly’s Cottage – were used for the performances.
Although the weather may have made some performances slightly wetter than others, the public embraced the challenges that Blue Raincoat had set for themselves, turning out in numbers despite the showers.
They were rewarded with readings and performances of several Yeats plays, from “The Resurrection” to “Deirdre” to “Words on a Pane”. With the North West being such an inspiration to Yeats in his own writing, returning to many of the locations mentioned in his plays was not only a fitting way to honour the Nobel laureate on his 150th birthday, but served as an umbrella for many amateur drama groups and actors who may otherwise have missed out on involvement in the Yeats 150 celebrations.
If you didn’t have the opportunity to catch any of the performances last Saturday and Sunday, you can still catch the Blue Raincoat’s production of “The Only Jealousy of Emer”, the last two performances of which are today, Thursday, and tomorrow, Friday, in the Factory Performance Space from 1.10pm (Sweet Beat Cafe providing lunch from 12.30 before it).
And they have one final outdoor performance, “At The Hawk’s Well” which will be staged at O’Rourke’s Table near the Sligo/Leitrim border on Saturday evening at 7.30pm (for more, see www.blueraincoat.com).
Also, last month the company had to call off a performance of “Purgatory” atop Ben Bulben because of bad weather. That will be rescheduled for later in the year, details of which will soon be available on the website.
Two unforgettable summer nights in the grounds of Lissadell House – five years ago this weekend – have made it onto the list of the 50 Greatest Irish Gigs, as compiled by Hot Press.
The Tour de France may have concluded last week, but one family from Easkey have taken on their own unique bike journey which will see them travel over 500 miles between two countries.
TOUR DE CAWLEY: Damien Cawley, Francis Cawley, Dermot Cawley and Danny Cawley during their big journey.
Dermot Cawley, along with several of his relatives, have begun a cycle which will see various family members link up along a route which began in East London this week and will eventually bring them to their West Sligo homestead.
“I was doing a cycle in Ireland a couple of years ago as was a cousin of mine in England and we were talking about doing a cycle together for all the relations to meet up again. We decided we would go to Easkey because that is where a lot of us would have grown up together,” Dermot said.
He, along with his brother, Francis and cousins, Damien and Danny kicked things off in the English capital. The quartet will take on the England leg before meeting up with the rest of the family in Ireland.
For the full interview with Dermot, and more details on the cycle, see this week’s Sligo Weekender- in shops every Thursday.
With its long record in producing early childhood education graduates, IT Sligo was the appropriate backdrop for the ministerial launch of a major childcare services report following the Cabinet’s recent meeting at Lissadell House on Wednesday last.
Many visitors on the Wild Atlantic Way will encounter farms, B&B’s and food producers established way back in the late 70s and early 80s by what many people then called the “blow-ins”, people from abroad or from Dublin for that matter, who in search of “The Good Life” found it on the Western seaboard.
They started growing vegetables, producing cheeses and other foods and slowly developed new businesses. Some of them have disappeared but many of them have grown into tourism and food businesses, coffee shops, market stall holders, food suppliers and adventure centres.
And of course there are many new editions of “good life” seekers: Think about the Italians in Sligo and their fabulous foods and ice cream. Think about the bakers from France with their delicious sourdough breads.
Think about the surfers converted to coffee shop runners, the young Irish coming back from their world trips to open vegetarian cafes with a sweet beat. And what about the new Oyster catchers, the Irish sea salt producers and the new seaweed harvesters and craft beer makers. Reading John and Sally McKenna’s food and travel guides gives you a glimpse into the history of many of those producers and hosts.
For Hans’ full column on organic living in the west of Irel
Hans Wieland presenting an Organic Centre t-shirt to chef Nevin Maguire, when he gave a cookery demonstration at the recent Organic Centre Garden Party.
and, pick up a copy of this week’s Sligo Weekender- in shops now.
As part of “A Country Under Wave” 26 plays by W B Yeats in 26 locations, local writer Sid Rainey directs ‘Ressurection’ in the ruins of Killaspugbrone Church.
The Hawk’s Well Theatre has announced an exciting line up of events for Fleadh Cheoil 2015 with performances every night from Sunday 9 through to Sunday 16 of August, lunchtime performances from Tuesday through to Friday and family shows on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16.
Sligo illustrator Annie West is exhibiting some of her famous W.B. Yeats inspired artworks in the fitting surrounds of the Hyde Bridge Gallery in the Yeats Memorial Building, Hyde Bridge, Sligo.
Illustrator Annie West, at her home in Sligo. Photo: James Connolly / PicSell8 31MAY07
The exhibition will feature some of Annie’s most recent illustrations, as well as older artworks, some of which have gained her national exposure and featured in her 2014 limited-edition illustrated book “Yeats In Love”.
The entrance hall of the exhibition will also display some of the early stages of Annie’s illustrations, from pencil drawings of potential ideas, right through to the finished canvases.
The exhibition was opened on Tuesday evening, with guest speakers Paul Keyes of Sligo Chamber and Michael Carty of Sligo County Council speaking about Annie’s work and illustrations.
For the second year in a row, Annie West has also designed the official commemorative Sligo Fleadh Cheoil poster, depicting a massive aerial scene of the Garavogue River and the streets of Sligo thronged with people.
The poster will be available in the Fleadh shop or through the FleadhCheoil.ie website.
Annie West’s exhibition, which is part of the Tread Softly festival, will continue until Saturday, August 8 inclusive. The gallery is open Monday-Friday from 10am-5pm and on Saturday from 10am-2pm. It is closed Sunday.
