A REVIEW OF THE ARTS IN LAOIS, LONGFORD, OFFALY AND WESTMEATH SPRING 2013

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Midland Arts and Culture Magazine | WINTER 2010

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MidlandsArts

New Director at Dunamaise Arts Centre .....................Page 3Offaly Documentary is Flying High

Get involved in Laois Culture Night 2013

A New Look for Ireland’s Oldest Literary Website..............Page 4Critics Laud Debut Novel The HerbalistMore than €500,000 for Offaly and Westmeath Music...Page 5John Saunders Publishes Second Collection of PoetryBallymahon Native Scoops Top Accolade ......................Page 6Cairda na Cruite an Mhuileann to Launch Website

Longford Musician Creates Awareness about Organ Donation through Song...............................Page 7School Girls Create Irish Language Comic

County Laois based design team to exhibit in France

Laois Summer Arts Programme 2013 .................Page 8Laois Youth Theatre Workshops

Frank’s Shed Providing High Quality, Low Budget Recordings ...........................................Page 9Tullamore Community Arts Centre Gets a Thumbs Up for a Grand Design Backstage Joint Exhibition Programme A Great Success ...................................................Page 10Mark Boylan – A Young Musician Making TracksLaois Trio to Launch CD ..............................................Page 11

Shannonside Environmental Poetry Workshops

Catherine Kelly Departs Westmeath Arts Office ...Page 12

Templemichael College Shaping Photography as a Fine Art........................................................Page 13Offaly’s Lead Role

Encouraging a Love of Music ...........................Page 14Arthouse Stradbally to Showcase Make Good, Make Better

2,000 Turn Out in Tullamore for Anthem of Hope ...........Page 15Orchestrating a Move SouthHow Becoming a Self Publisher Made Life Rosy .............................................................Page 16Ceramic Artist Ed Walshe Moves to Longford ....Page 17Midlands Photography Club Offers Classes

Luan Gallery Has Welcomed Over 2,500 Visitors Since Opening ...........................Page 18Woven Red – A Temporary Art Installation by Lorna Kincaid ................................................Page 19Paul Guerney – An Icon of the Midlands Music Scene..............................................................Page 20Would You Like to Join Irish Midlands Concert Orchestra

Festivals 2013 .............................................Page 21–25

All the latest news on Upcoming Festivals in Longford,Westmeath, Offaly and Laois

A Look at Birr Theatre & Arts Centre As it Celebrates 125 Years ...............................Page 26Brendan Collum Bog Oak Sculptor Extraordinaire ..........................................................Page 27Unearthing a Local Textile Tale from the Famine Era

Face to Face: Rosa Flannery ............................Page 28An Audience with The Edge .............................Page 29

Writings in Rhyme .............................................Page 30

Creating a daily encounter with the artsin Edenderry ......................................................Page 36Lucy Tormey .................................................Page 32/33The Midlands MOVEment WAVE..............................Page 34

Meet the Team ............................................................Page 35

Spring Courses at MCP ...........................................Page 36

County OffalyWHO: Sinead O'Reilly, WHERE: Offaly County Council,Charleville Road, TullamoreCONTACT: Telephone 057 9357400soreilly@offalycoco.iewww.offaly.ie/arts

County WestmeathWHO: The Arts OfficeWHERE: Westmeath County CouncilCounty Buildings, MullingarCONTACT: Telephone 044 9332140www.westmeathcoco.ie/arts

County LaoisWHO: Muireann Ní ChonaillWHERE: Laois County Council,Portlaoise, Co LaoisCONTACT: Tel: 057 8664025mnichonaill@laoiscoco.iewww.laois.ie/arts

County LongfordWHO: Fergus KennedyWHERE: Longford County Council, Great Water St. Longford.CONTACT: Tel: 086 8517595fkennedy@longfordcoco.iewww.longfordcoco.ie/arts_office.html

YOUR LOCAL ARTS OFFICERS

A Word fromthe EditorWelcome to the first Midlands Arts andCulture Magazine of 2013. Last yearmarked a series of debates regardingthe role of the arts and for the firsttime in their history both houses of theOireachtas had concurrent debates.

And closer to home, the new LuanGallery in Athlone was creating it's ownwave of controversy as Athlone TownCouncil discussed a motion to haveFragmens sur le InstitutionsRepublicaines IV, the work ofinternationally acclaimed Longford artistShane Cullen, removed from the gallery.

It features messages originally written oncigarette papers by IRA hunger strikersin the 1980s. The papers weresmuggled out of Long Kesh by theirfamily members and has beeninternationally exhibited.

The debate reached national headlinesthroughout the country and causeddiscussion, proving that art does in factinvoke emotions, contributes to societyand that society is shaped by the ideasand thoughts of everyone in it.

However despite this there was a cutmade across the Department of Arts,Heritage and the Gaeltacht of 5.4percent for 2013, which will result inmore fundraising efforts to get arts,cultural events and even buildings intofruition.

Other than the new gallery in Athlonethis edition of the magazine sees ArtsOfficer, Catherine Kelly from WestmeathCounty Council say a fond farewell to herposition. An Offaly film is flying high asAer Lingus announces they will beshowing it, A Grand Experience, onboard as part of its 'Gathering' inspiredentertainment. Love/Hate star RobertSheehan makes an appearance in Laoisand in Longford a new poetry workshop,which will explore the great outdoors,hopes to inspire.

Angela MaddenEditor

Athlone's Luan Gallery is pictured on the frontcover. Pic taken by Corin Bishop Photography.

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5 MORE THAN €500,000TO MAKE MUSIC INOFFALY & WESTMEATH

11 LAOIS TRIO TOLAUNCH CD

12 CATHERINE KELLYDEPARTS WESTMEATHARTS OFFICE

32/33 LUCY TORMEY

The Portlaoise actor and rising starspoke highly of his early performancesin plays and pantos on the Dunamaisestage and acknowledged the importanceof its local arts remit as well as itspresentation of world class professionalarts, “right here in our community.”

Michelle, who has worked in variousmanagement roles including BirrTheatre & Arts Centre, the Mermaid ArtsCentre, Bray and Cork MidsummerFestival and, most recently, as ProgrammeCoordinator at VISUAL & The GB ShawTheatre, Carlow, brings a wealth ofdiverse experience to Laois’ multidisciplinary county arts centre.

Michelle said that she intends to develop“an increased level of communityparticipation and involvement in artsevents” at Dunamaise with artists,performers and audience membersalike, from across County Laois.

She said: “My parents always encouragedan interest in theatre and the arts andnot just from the audience but handson. I’ve always preferred being front of

house rather than on stage myself! I’vebeen keenly involved in the organisationside of arts events in a voluntarycapacity over the years; this has rangedfrom curating exhibitions, event managingopera galas, concerts, youth theatre,street theatre and festivals, particularlythrough programming Birr Vintage Week& Arts Festival and campaigning for therelevant fundraising to ensure eventssuccess.”

As a founder member of OFFline FilmFestival, Michelle also helped developits successful programme of screenings,professional workshops and an excitingthree-day short-film making challenge,growing from strength to strength, with

teams last year coming from all overIreland, the UK and Holland.

FUNDRAISINGFully aware of the changes in levels of state funding and commercialsponsorship, Michelle leads a greatteam of Dunamaise staff and volunteersupporters all geared up for the challengeof increasing awareness of programmedevents and therefore increasing boxoffice sales, as well as hosting majorfundraisers throughout the year,including the upcoming Red or Black,novelty game-show event, in March.

PROGRAMMEA fantastic, wide ranging programme ofevents is published for the currentseason. Highlights include a duo of TomMurphy plays by Druid Theatre Companyon tour following crucially acclaimedruns in London and New York.

For further information contact:www.dunamaise.ie or call 057 866 3355for information on exhibitions and events.

Get involved inLaois CultureNight 2013Laois County Council is calling forparticipants to get involved inLaois Culture Night 2013, onFriday September 20.

Following the success of Laois Culture Night 2012, the county isset to participate in Culture Night2013 and is hoping to expand onthe range of free activities whichtook place all around the countylast year and including workshops,exhibitions, drama performancesand concerts.

The Arts Office in Laois will publisha brochure of events again this yearand all culture and arts venues,individuals, groups andorganisations are encouraged toorganise something in their localarea.

Muireann Ni Chonaill, Arts Officer,Laois County Council, said: “Music,dance, literature, history, and muchmore will be on display for free aslocals and visitors to the countyenjoy the unique experiences ofCulture Night.

“Museums, galleries, churches,historic houses, artists’ studios andcultural centres are encouraged toopen their doors late into theevening to welcome people of allages to enjoy the artistic andcultural delights we have in Laois”.

If you have an idea or concept for afree event for Culture Night pleasecontact Laois County Council whoare available to advise or assist.

The deadline for information toreach the arts office to be includedin the brochure is Friday, June 28.

For more information contact: Tel: 057 8664025 or email: artsoff@laoiscoco.ie. All events must be free of charge onCulture Night.

BriefsNew Directorat DunamaiseArts Centregets specialwelcome fromTV starLove/Hate star Robert Sheehan haswelcomed Birr native Michelle de Forge as thenewly appointed Director of Dunamaise ArtsCentre highlighting the role the centre hasplayed in his success.

Actor Robert Sheehanand Louis Brennan,Chairman, welcome newDirector of DunamaiseArts Centre, Michelle deForge. Photo by AlfHarvey, taken as Robertlaunched Red or Black amajor fundraiser forDunamaise to take placeon Friday March 15.Tickets from 0578663355 orwww.dunamaise.ie.

I’ve alwayspreferred beingfront of houserather than onstage myself!

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OFFALY DOCUMENTARY IS FLYING HIGH!Aer Lingus will beshowing a documentaryfilm from Offaly on boardits transatlantic flightsthis April and May as partof its 'Gathering' inspiredentertainment.The documentary film A Grand Experience,which was commissioned by OffalyCounty Council in 2012, follows threeartists (writer Eugene O’Brien;photographer Veronica Nicholson andmusician Wayne Brennan) on the 68M

barge as it wound its way from ShannonHarbour to Edenderry in Offaly. Speaking after the announcement thatthe film is to be shown in flight, CountyOffaly Arts Officer Sinéad O’Reilly said:“From a cultural tourism perspectivethis could not get much better. We are

delighted with the news knowing that it willdirectly showcase Offaly to such a largeaudience coming into Ireland this year.”

The film, made by Mixed Bag Media,was first shown on RTÉ last October toan audience of some 565,000 and is

due to be repeated on RTÉ later in 2013. A special edition DVD is on sale locallyin Trax, Tullamore, from Offaly CountyCouncil and online atwww.mixedbagmedia.com. M

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Critics laud debut novel The Herbalist as “a must read”

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Someone once said that theinvention of the internetcaused the “death of distance.”If that is true and, many believethat it is, it may yet turn outto be the greatest single shotin the arm to creative writingand literature since JohannesGutenberg invented themovable print press.

A sense of personal and creative isolationduring the creative process and the extremedifficulty of bringing ones work to thelargest audience are the two greatestchallenges facing the aspiring writer. The internet provides a solution to bothof these difficulties as – a writer maymaintain a continuous process ofcommunication with fellow writers byvirtue of e-mail and skype, he or shecan receive practical technical supportand assistance through on-line workshops,mentoring and lectures and finally they can display their finished work to thewhole world, at least in theory, bydisplaying on internet websites.

It is for these reasons the LongfordCounty Arts Office decided 13 years ago to construct what is now Ireland’soldest dedicated literary websitewww.virtualwriter.net which has received a major overhaul and set to go live at the end of February.

Creative writing is probably Longford’smost popular creative activity with fiveflourishing writers groups in a county witha population of little more than thirtythousand people; it has produced acontinuous stream of emergingprofessional writers over recent years.

However Longford is a small primarilyrural county with a dispersed populationso the challenges Longford writersshare with other writers were somewhatamplified by these factors and this ledthe County Arts Office to construct adedicated literary website.

The purpose of the site was twofold: toprovide a platform for Longford writersto exhibit their work and to use the sitein a pro-active way to provide on-lineprofessional development informationand creative mentoring.

About www.virtualwriter.net

www.virtualwriter.net is a valuableresource for aspiring writers and foranyone with an interest in literature. Itaccepts submissions in poetry, fiction,creative non-fiction and book reviewsand includes information on literary festivals,competitions and workshops. Over the13 years it has been in existence, thewebsite has published writing from suchdiverse countries as the United States,Australia, Russia and India as well as thework of Irish writers. However, as it is aLongford-based initiative, the Editor isparticularly interested in showcasingwriting from the Midlands area.

www.virtualwriter.net has been completelyoverhauled and is now in it’s third incarnation.It is a valuable asset and the Arts Officehopes to see it used as the basis for thedevelopment of a distinct community ofmidland writers. As a result, it is askingfor writers to submit their work and anysuggestions they might have about howto improve the inventory of supportsprovided to the emerging writersthrough multi-media packages.

A new look for Ireland’s oldest literary website

www.virtualwriter.net

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The much anticipatednovel, The Herbalist byNiamh Boyce, describedas “a must read” by theIrish Independent will behitting our shelves in June.

Describing her novel as reminiscent ofJoanne Harris’ 1999 novel Chocolatthe Irish Independent said: “alreadycreating buzz in the industry... this iscertain to be a must-read for thosewho want a break from vampire fictionand S&M.”

The Herbalist is a vivid and atmosphericstory set in a midlands town over asummer in late 1930s. An Indian manappears in the market square, sets upa stall and declares himself a herbalist.The people of the town flock to theexotic visitor, who seems to have acure for everything that ails them. But

the visitor also helps get rid of someof the town’s more sordid little secretsand as the summer progresses lifebecomes complicated and dangerousfor the herbalist and his devotees.

The book is a rich multi-layered storyof life in 1930s Ireland told throughthe eyes of four women, each of whoselives is changed irrevocably by theherbalist.

Patricia Deevy, Editorial Director withPenguin Ireland, which will bepublishing the book, said: “Niamh vividly conjures both the warmthand the darkness of life in a provincialIrish town during those years beforethe Emergency. In particular, shehandles the now familiar shadow sideof Irish life – the rigid social stratification,the fear of sex, the double standards– in a wholly fresh and confident way.Her characters are fascinating womenand she has written a thought-provoking,moving and viscerally engaging novelthat marks her out as a remarkable

and original new talent.”

Niamh works as a librarian in Ballylinan,County Laois and won the HennessyXO New Irish Writer of the Year awardin 2012 for her poem Kitty. She hasalso been short listed for the FrancisMcManus Short Story competition2011, the Hennessy Literary Awards2010, the Molly Keane Award 2010and the WOW Award 2010.

Writing workshopsSponsored by Laois ArtsOffice & Library ServiceA series of creative writingworkshops with Niamh will run inBallylinan Library this March from 10.30 -12.00 on Friday mornings.With a relaxed atmosphere andgentle pace, absolute beginners arewelcome. You can book a place fromFriday March 1 by calling 059 8625007 or dropping into the library. Places limited.

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Midland Arts and Culture Magazine | SPRING 2013

More than €500,000 forOffaly and Westmeath to make music

More than half a million euros has been awarded to counties Offaly and Westmeath in a partnership fromMusic Generation Funding offered by U2 and the Irelands Funds.

Offaly and Westmeath have become thelatest counties to benefit from the MusicGeneration programme. With Laois alreadythe recipients of funding from the previousround of applications, the midland regionis now well and truly on the way toproviding music education for thousandsof school children.

In excess of 7,500 children and youngpeople in Offaly and Westmeath will nowhave access to music tuition for the nextthree years. Music Generation has awarded€568,000 to the Offaly WestmeathMusic Education Partnership in the thirdround of funding to help children andyoung people avail of accessible vocaland instrumental tuition in their own locality.

This funding will be matched by financialand in-kind supports from Offaly andWestmeath County Councils in associationwith Offaly and Westmeath VEC’s, OffalyLocal Development Company, WestmeathCommunity Development Ltd, Offalyand Westmeath Community andVoluntary Fora, Comhairle na nÓg,County Childcare Committees inpartnership with Athlone IT and AthloneEducation Centre.

The funding application was spearheadedby the arts offices of Offaly and WestmeathCounty Council under the guidance ofarts officers Sinead O’Reilly andCatherine Kelly.

“We are thrilled with this significantannouncement which will provide animportant opportunity to harness thegreat wealth of musical talent and

energy that exists in both Westmeathand Offaly and will enable us to createa strong regional partnership over thenext three years and beyond," enthusedSinead O’Reilly.

Rosaleen Molloy, National Director ofMusic Generation said: “We aredelighted to be working with OffalyWestmeath Music EducationPartnership and look forward to theexciting developments ahead for musiceducation in both counties. MusicGeneration, which was initiated by MusicNetwork, has been enabled by a €7mphilanthropic donation – €5m from U2and a further €2m which is currentlybeing raised by The Ireland Funds.

“Music Generation in partnership withThe American Ireland Funds... announcedearlier this year that it is the beneficiaryof a $1m grant from Bank of AmericaMerrill Lynch through the Bank of AmericaCharitable Foundation. The Bank ofAmerica Charitable Foundation Grantforms part of The American IrelandFunds’ €2m fundraising target for theprogramme. The entire €7m donationrepresents the largest-ever singlephilanthropic gift to music education inIreland in the history of the state.”

She added: “For Offaly and Westmeath,this opportunity will provide access tomany different types of music educationfor thousands of children and youngpeople who would otherwise not havethe chance of participation as well ascreating many job opportunities formusicians over the next three years.” Pat Gallagher, Offaly County Manager,said: “This represents an importantaddition to the range of arts programmesalready offered by Offaly County Councilas well as providing vital employmentopportunities for music practitionersworking across the region and we lookforward to working with our partners onthis exciting initiative.”

About the project...The project will have three distinct strands:

1. An Early Years Programme focusedon singing and based on the Kodályteaching method aimed at 4–9 year olds.

2. ‘Play an Instrument’ OutreachProgramme aimed at over 9’s whichwill extend the existing Westmeath VECMusic instrumental scheme into Offaly.

3. The ‘Midlands: Music in our Lives’Programme for all ages which willcomprise of a three-part developmentalintervention comprising workshops,composer in residence & annualshowcase day, to interconnect the workof the Music Education Partnership andthat of existing music providers.

For more information ContactWestmeath Arts Office on 044-9332140or arts@westmeathcoco.ie or Offaly ArtsOffice on 057 9357400arts@offalycoco.ie

County Offaly resident JohnSaunders has just had his secondfull collection of poetry published byNew Binary Press. The collectionentitled Chance deals with thecoincidences that shape our livessuch as the families we are born intoand the people we meet.

John’s first collection After theAccident was published in 2010 byLapwing Press, Belfast. And, his poemshave appeared in Revival, The MothMagazine, Crannog, Prairie SchoonerLiterary Journal (Nebraska), SharpReview, The Stony Thursday Book, BoyneBerries, The New Binary Press Anthologyof Poetry, Volume 1, Riposte, and online, The Smoking Poet, Minus NineSquared, The First Cut, The WearyBlues, Burning Bush 2, Weekenders,Poetry Bus and poetry 24.

John is one of three featured poets inMeasuring, Dedalus New Writerspublished by Dedalus Press in May2012. He is a graduate of the FaberBecoming a Poet 2010 course andsince then has been a member of theHibernian writers group.

what the critics say...“John Saunders writes inChance of 'secrets' among 'theshadow of waste' with a formalcontrol and fortitude. There arepoems here which share asympathy with the past, itsscars and with people who‘know that tears are only theindulgence / of those whohaven't suffered enough.’Saunders’ poems ‘standagainst the pull of theundertow’ with a moral integrityand an authority all his own.”Paul Perry, author and editor of anumber of critically acclaimed booksincluding The Drowning of the Saintsand Goldsmith’s Ghost.

Chance is now available in Kindle orPaperback from Newbinarypress.com.

Ruairi Quinn TD, Kgomotso Ngwenya(Music Generation Laois), The Edge and Paul McGuinness

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John Saunderspublishessecondcollection of poetry

In excess of 7,500children and youngpeople in Offaly andWestmeath will nowhave access to musictuition for the nextthree years

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County Longford hasearned itself a glowingreputation over the yearsin the art and literarycircles.

The latest in a long line of artists isBallymahon native, Lorraine Masterswho, following her graduation with a BAArt & Fine Painting, was awarded a topaccolade for her art work at theUniversity of Limerick after she becamethe proud recipient of the Limerick ArtSociety Award for Excellence Shown.

The 22-year-old former student of MercyBallymahon Secondary School iscurrently specialising in Body Image art,and has already caught the eye ofexperts in the field, because of herunique and creative approach to thesubject matter.

Lorraine is currently running her ownstudio in Limerick with other art

graduates of the local university.

“Art was always something that I had aninterest in, and as I got older I felt that Iwanted to pursue it as a career,” saidLorraine.

“I was very influenced by my art teacher,Rachel Ryan when I was a student at theConvent in Ballymahon, and then when Iwent on to Limerick, I became a memberof the art society, which also gave megreat inspiration. My parents have alsoprovided me with a lot of support andencouragement along the way.”

The award that Lorraine received inLimerick is a prestigious accolade, andone, which is only handed out to those withimmeasurable talent in their chosen field.

“It was an honour to receive the LimerickArt Society Award for Excellence Shown,it really was,” she explained. “It is anaward that recognises hard work anddedication, and I really love what I do. Atthe moment, I have my own studio, here

in Limerick, and currently, the work I amdoing centres around the whole area ofBody Image.

“My aim is to highlight – through this work– the way in which people feel aboutthemselves and how they see themselves.I held a number of shows before Christmas,and I certainly hope that I will be in aposition to exhibit my work in Longfordsome day. It is all starting to cometogether for me now and that is veryexciting for me.”

So, with a bright and creative futureahead, where to from here for Lorraine?

“I plan to work hard practicing my artand hold more shows in the future,” shebeamed.

“I also want to travel and really perfectmy skills. I suppose at the moment, I amin the early stages of developing my art,but when I advance I very much hope tohold an exhibition in my home county.”

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Mullingar Harp School (Cairda naCruite an Mhuileann) is to launch awebsite to promote the harp in andaround Westmeath.

The planned website will include theschool’s history and contact details forprospective students. It will also aim tohighlight the school’s ethos of makingthe instrument assessable to anyonewho would like to play by providing thenecessary equipment.

Tom Maher (RIP), assisted by his friendPasty Sheridan, founded the MullingarHarp School in the early 1980’s in a bidto promote the love of playing and ensurea new generation of harp teachers forfuture young students. This dream hasnow become a reality with many of theschool’s past pupils now teaching harpboth in Mullingar and beyond.

Tom had a love of the harp, its historyand actually made the school’s firsttraining harps. His book The Harp’s aWonder is a testament to his dedicationto the instrument, his wish to promotethe knowledge and preserve the harpingtradition.

Mullingar Harp School classes are held,with the assistance of the Greville ArmsHotel Mullingar, every Saturday duringschool terms catering for beginners toadvanced players. Training Harps areprovided to beginners for their first twoyears with the school. The school alsofaciliates the ability to takeexaminations.

For further information contact:

Bernadette Tyrrell on 087 9745561 or

Siobhan Lynam on 087 9262516M

BALLYMAHONNATIVE SCOOPSTOP ACCOLADE

Cairda na Cruitean Mhuileann tolaunch website

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Midland Arts and Culture Magazine | SPRING 2013

Pictured are junior members of Mullingar Harp School.Pictured is artwork by Ballymahon native Lorraine Masters who scooped the Limerick Art Society Award for Excellence Shown.

Briefs

Three pupils from Scoil Mhuire inLongford used their TransitionYear business project to createsomething just a little bitdifferent. Mary Smyth, Marie-Claire Igoe and SaorlaithNí Nualláin took their Transition Yearbusiness project and created an Irishlanguage comic based on an endearinglocal myth. The comic tells the tale ofMidir and Étaín, a lesser-known legend

from the Midlands region and containselements of enduring romance, betrayal,magic, transformations and rebirth.

Each girl brought her own distinct flavourto the comic – Mary was very much thecreative force; Saorlaith was instrumentalin bringing the story to the page andMarie Claire oversaw the administration.

Though more than a thousands yearsold, the story still has a contemporaryappeal. Saorlaith explained why theyopted for this project: “Our initial thoughtwas to do a colouring book in Irish; thatwas the seed idea, but as we wentthrough the development it progressedto being a comic book in Irish. Wethought it was something unique and thelegend we picked is not as well known assome of the more famous legends aboutsay Oisin or Fionn. The style of the comicis vibrant and colourful.”

Mary supplied the artistic direction forthe project: “We were thinking aboutwhat would appeal to children most. Isuppose from a stylistic perspective the

popularity of Pokémon, the Manga style,was an influence for the look of thecomic. I tried a few sketches and the girlsthen gave me feedback on what I had doneuntil we settled on the look of the comic.”

Marie-Claire explained that she got a lotout of the experience: “The enterpriseproject was a great learning opportunity.The magazine is the end result of aprocess that taught us a lot, not justabout how business start-ups grow, buthow to work as a team. We have all beenselling them, but in the initial stagesbefore we had a finished product to offerfor sale we all had our duties.”

AWARD WINNERSTheir company, also named Midir agusÉtaín, won the Most Creative BusinessAward at the County Enterprise StudentBusiness Awards. They went on to winthe regional final of the Junior DragonsDen held last November in the Hume Hallin Sligo IT. The girls took part in theNational Final in December in the DillonHotel in Dublin.

Dragons’ Den was dedicated to the ideasof Ireland’s budding young entrepreneurs.Second Level students from every cornerof Ireland were invited to take part in alarge recruitment drive to find youngentrepreneurs to take part in Junior Dragon’sDen with the chance to receive up to€2,000 to fund their business idea.

Although they were not selected theirachievement was one that they are proudof: “It was a lot of fun, frightening in ways,but a great experience. It was stressfuland a lot of it was in the run up to exams,so there was a little extra pressure on us.We got a lot out of it as a life experience,we were happy with the way it pannedout, but it would have been better if wehad won the Jr Dragon’s Den,” Marie-Claire laughs.

Longford musician creates awarenessabout organ donation through songby Thomas Lyons

SCHOOL GIRLS CREATE IRISH LANGUAGECOMIC BASED ON LOCAL MYTHS by Thomas Lyons

Every day four people die in Ireland andthe UK needlessly through lack ofsuitable donor organs. There are manyreasons why donations do not happen,but the main one is because of a lack ofawareness about the process.

Raising awareness about the importanceof organ donations is essential to haltthese unnecessary deaths. One man wholooks to change public perception isLongford man and member of a famousLongford music family, Tommy Flaherty.When his partner found herself in needof a kidney transplant Tommy wasconfronted with the difficultiesexperienced by those on transplantwaiting lists.

Tommy decided to use his musicaltalents and experience to address theissue: “I’ve been playing music since Iwas old enough to hold a set of drumsticks. I also play a bit of guitar and overthe years I have been fortunate to haveworked with well known names likeDeclan Nerney, Jimmy Buckley, Robert

Mizzel and Mick Flavin.”

The seed of the idea came to him whilehe and his partner were in Birminghamwaiting on her call for a transplant:“When I was in the hospital I was readingan article on transplants. It said that inIreland and the UK between four andeight people die every day because ofthe lack of donors. When you think aboutit there is no reason for that to happen.”

The Longford musician said that theprocess of writing The Gift of Life wasdifferent to any other he had composed:“The problems we were experiencingwere playing on my mind. One night I wasfinding it hard to sleep so I got up andpicked up the guitar. Some songs wouldtake months to come together, this came inhalf an hour.”

Not long after Tommy was in the studiorecording an album of his own musicwith Paul Gurney. He spoke to theproducer about The Gift of Life. Fromthere another musical heavyweightcontributed to the song: “I brought the

song into Paul and asked him to have alisten to it. The song is about organdonations. Paul suggested that CharlieMcGettigan might have a look at it. Ithought that was a great idea.”

Tommy said that the renowned Leitrimsinger songwriter was very helpful:“Charlie is the master craftsman. Iplayed it for him and he took it homeand tweaked a few things. The song is aslow song, it deals with death, but it isreally about hope.”

What happens next to The Gift of Life isup to others, but Tommy hopes it can makea difference to public perception: “I havesent it on to the Irish Kidney Association,I don't know if they will use it, or whatthey will use it for, but what I have donethis for is to raise awareness. You cannotbuy an organ donation. You can have allthe money you want in the bank, but ifyou don't have a donor it is no use. WhatI want out of this is for people to carryorgan donation cards.”

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County Laois baseddesign team toexhibit in FranceA husband and wife team with a studionestled in Vicarstown, County Laois, will beheading further afield in March to exhibit their“no house style, just high standards,”furniture at Le Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris.

“When we design, it’s as if we are at theconvergence of two oceans: we make piecesfor both the way people desire to live, andhow they truly do,” said, self-taughtdesigner/makers, Susan Zelouf and MichealBell (zelouf+BELL)

The alliance of Belfast-born Bell and NewYorker Zelouf may seem a collision of culturesand characters. Instead, theirs is a union thathas resulted in a portfolio of well-made edgypieces grounded in practicality.

By merging honest and luxurious materials,sensuous finishes and witty details, they haveseduced collectors seeking furniture withquality, vision and provenance.

zelouf+BELL claim “no house style, just highstandards”, and cite high fashion as a majorinfluence. Their work is considered the “hautecouture” of Irish furniture design, so it makessense that couturier Peter O’Brien (Rochas) isopening their 21st Century Classics exhibitionat Le Centre Culturel Irlandais, March 21 –April 26 2013, curated by Jennifer Goff,Curator of Furniture, Music, Science & theEileen Gray collection, National Museum ofIreland.

The exhibition will run in Centre CulturelIrlandais, 5 rue des Irlandais from March 22 -April 26, 2013 with a preview on March 21,6:30 - 8:30pm. The centre is open Tuesday toSaturday 2 - 6pm with a late opening onWednesday until 8pm and Sunday 12.30-2.30pm. Admission is free. Visitwww.centreculturelirlandais.com for moreinformation or call +33 (0)1 58 52 10 30.

More information can also be found bycontacting Susan Zelouf on 087 230 5368,studio@zeloufandbell.com orwww.zeloufandbell.com.

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Pictured is Tommy Flaherly

Pictured are Mary Smyth, Marie-Clair Igoe and Saorlaith Ní Nualáin

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Artist and tutors are now invited to submit proposals for the LaoisSummer Arts Programme 2013.Planning is underway for the 2013programme, which will include a mixof activities such as, arts & crafts,creative writing, dance and music.

The aim of the programme is to inspireimagination and self-expression with aworld of hands-on art activities. Throughpainting, sculpture, dance, drawing,collage, dramatic play and much more.Workshops encourage confidence andsupport artistic potential.

The programme runs in the month ofJuly and workshops are two hours longand run from Monday to Friday.

Depending on demand a workshop forthe younger age range runs in themorning from 11am–1pm and for anolder age range in the afternoon from2pm-4pm in the same venue.

Workshops normally cater for up to 20but may vary according to the type of artactivity. Venues are selected by theirsuitability to the type of activity that isproposed and also to give a goodgeographic spread of the programme.Tutors are paid at a rate of €30 per hourincluding taxes.

Artists/tutors must have Garda Vetting,have relevant references and haveexperience of working with children andyoung people. A clear costing of aproposal is required but in the case ofart classes the Arts Office have a supplyof general art materials available– ie:scissors, paint brushes, paints, glues,etc. Additional materials required mustbe listed and priced. The deadline forreceipt of project proposals is TuesdayApril 30, 2013.

For more information contact: The Arts Office, Laois County Council,Áras an Chontae, Portlaoise, Co. Laois Tel: 057 8664025 Fax 057 8674382 Email: artsoff@laoiscoco.ie

Portlaoise Youth Theatre has a newdrama tutor taking over the groupthis year. Keith Millar, a dramafacilitator with Kildare Youth Theatreand Crooked House in Newbridge,said he was delighted to be joiningLaois Youth Theatre.

Keith has performed his role as a dramafacilitator since 2007 having previouslybeen a member of the youth theatrehimself. Throughout this time he hasdelivered drama workshops for KildareYouth Theatre’s regular groups (includingthe weekly skills development programme,annual festivals and specialisedImprovisation workshops).

For Crooked House he works as part ofthe Outreach Facilitation Team. Projectsof this capacity include Headspace, a15-week Drama programme promotingpositive mental health with threecommunities of young people in Kildare.He has devised and directed numerousshows mostly involving social issuesaffecting young peopde. These IncludeProper Preggers, an original musicalthat was staged at the National Festivalof Youth Theatre in Scotland. Lastsummer he devised and directedShining Stars, which also traveled tothis festival. He is currently studying for

an MA in Community and Youth Work inNUI Maynooth as a result of his positiveexperiences with drama facilitation.

Portlaoise Youth Theatre meets weekly in the Dunamaise ArtsCentre on Saturdays from 11am to 1pmfor age 13 upwards. Contact Keith on085 1403938 for more info.

Stradbally Youth Theatremeets weekly in St Patrick’s Hall,Stradbally on Saturdays from 1pm to3pm for ages 12 upwards. ContactSiobhan on 086 3300943 for moreinfo.

Young people can learn all abouttheatre, play games, get creative, seehow to put on a show and how thingsrun back stage while having fun, gainingconfidence and making new friends.

Laois Youth Theatre is run by the ArtsOffice, Laois County Council. Call now tobook your place. Places can be limited.Check out the Facebook page for all thelatest newswww.facebook.com/laoisyouththeatreor call 57 8674342/43 or email: artsoff@laoiscoco.ie or www.laois.ie for more information.

...inspireimagination andself-expressionwith a world ofhands-on artactivities

Young people can learnall about theatre, playgames, get creative,see how to put on ashow and how thingsrun back stage whilehaving fun, gainingconfidence and makingnew friends.

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LAOISSUMMER ARTSPROGRAMME2013

LAOIS YOUTHTHEATREWORKSHOPSRECOMMENCEWITH NEWTUTOR

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Pictured are children who participated in last year's Pottery Workshop

Putting their best foot forward at last year's

Dance Workshop

Keith Millar

Frank’sShedFrank’s Shed Recording Studio openedits doors in 2012, in Portlaoise, toprovide a high quality, low budget optionto audio and video recording.It is also the studio that plays host toFranksShedTV.

FranksShedTV is an online TV showshowing the latest and greatest in musicaltalent from all over Ireland, andbeyond. Run by Joe Salmon, a localadvocate of original music in Laois, FranksShedTV gives artists another option,for free and high quality music recording,along with video being a crucial componentto the whole process.

Joe exclaims: “I shot the first show bymyself in mid 2011 with an amazing bandcalled The Little Smoke, it’s still up for allto see but I soon realized I needed a teamof volunteers to pull this project off.”The Frank’s Shed team consists of Joe

Salmon, Mel McCarthy who hosts theshows, Stephen Murphy on camera andeditor of footage and Shane Lewis, whomanages the desk in the studio.The show demands a lot of work with anaverage of 50 hours work going into eachand every show, the sound is mixed andmastered by Joe whilst Stephen takes onthe video.Joe has personally put a lot of work intothe structural elements of the recordingstudio, explaining: “I built the studio fromscratch, recorded my own music andproduced my own CD’s. This studio iscompletely organic, a place where I helpmusicians and bands help themselves. Iam a jack of all trades and for sure amaster of none, but I try pull it all togetherto produce something nice and easy tohear and listen.”Speaking about the future plans for thespace, Joe said: “The show started to getpopular and some cool artists came on the

show and now, as if by accident, we are indiscussions with RTÉ and TV3.”Frank’s Shed has provided live shows andhad a stage at this year’s Heyday festival inPortlaoise, where they videoed all the acts,and in doing so took a snap shot in time ofthe original music scene in Laois in 2012.This footage will soon be available online.Joe is currently running a serious ofprogrammes in the new Portlaoise YouthCafé with the aim of transferring theknowledge that he has learned to theyounger generation. With the vision of having young peopleplaying, hosting and recording concerts allby themselves to empower the nextgeneration. After the course, the youngpeople at the Youth Café will host their ownconcert.

For further information visit:www.franksshed.com and/orwww.Franksshedtv.com

The 2013 spring edition of A10, thejournal for New European Architecture,highlights Tullamore Community ArtsCentre as a “democratic project, hopefulabout the future and town life.”

Emmett Scanlon writes: “It is rare inIreland for a practice the size and youthof A2 to win a major building projectsuch as this. But this is a project with anopenness rarely seen in Irish Architecture,reminiscent of open – system projectsof the 1960’s and 70s, and seems likea democratic process, hopeful aboutthe future and town life.

"This was a beautifully designed andpresented project at competition stageand if the architects can sustain theambition to create this open anddemocratic arts centre for Tullamore, itwill be an even greater achievement thanwinning the competition in the first place.”

The project is currently at constructiontender stage and the board of theproject is hopeful to have a constructioncontract signed in time to break groundby autumn 2013. The building scheduleis likely to take some 12 months tocomplete. Meanwhile work is ongoingbehind the scenes on the operationalside to ensure the centre opens with afull programme of events during thewinter of 2014/15.

Fundraising is still continuing as thecommunity element of the capitalneeded makes the final push to reachthe €200,000 committed to the project.

For more information on the centre seewww.tullamorecommunityartscentre.ie,follow on Facebook or emailinfo@tullamorecommunityartscentre.ie

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providing high quality, lowbudget recordings

Mel McCarthy, Host of FranksShedTV.Photo by Trevor Byrne.

Tullamore Community ArtsCentre gets a thumbs up for a grand design

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Backstage joint exhibitionprogramme agreat success

MARK Boylan is a 15-year-old musician from Banagher inOffaly who has already made headlines and an impact withhis music.

At the age of 13, he composed a songcalled The Festival, inspired by a visit toCheltenham with his family, which hethen put up on YouTube. It was anovernight hit (31,000 views to date)which resulted in him being invited toplay for 60,000 people at Cheltenham;tour with the High Kings; play in VicarStreet and flown to America to performin front of 70,000 people and millionson TV – as his song became the WorldChampionship theme for Breeders Cup2011.

He spent the summer of 2012 playing inCalifornia and Holland and in Spring2013, he travelled to The CheltenhamFestival where he did a series of interviews,reports and live performances for avariety of TV and Radio shows.

Mark is currently working on promoting anew project, again inspired by horseracing. Speaking of his new ventureMark said:

“I was asked to write a song a fewmonths ago in remembrance of a youngjockey from Scotland called CampbellGillies who died last June in an accidentin Corfu while he was there celebratinghis twenty second birthday. Campbellhad become the first Scot in ten years toride a winner at Cheltenham, just threemonths previous. I was reluctant to take onthis venture given the sensitivity of thesubject but when I was contacted by his

mother, I couldn’t refuse. It was anemotional journey writing the song,especially having been told thatCampbell loved my music and played myCD constantly in his car.”

A Song for Campbell was released onJanuary 24 on iTunes with proceedsgoing to the Injured Jockeys Fund (whoflew Campbell’s body home from Greece)and the reaction was phenomenalreaching Number 14 in the UKSinger/Songwriter iTunes DownloadChart in a week.

It featured alongside songs by Jake Bugg,Damien Rice, Boyce Avenue and waspositioned a few places ahead of EdSheerin’s A-Team and Eva Cassidy’sSongbird.

“My song actually spend a period atNumber 2 over the first weekend”, saidan excited Mark. “I have been contactedby many members of the Scottish andEnglish media who are excited by thewhole song and story and the family aredelighted as it is providing a fittingtribute to Campbell.

“I received almost 10,000 views on theYou Tube video in 2 days and over 1400tweets. In fact one fan in Scotland hashad my lyrics tattooed on her body!”

Mark Boylan’s song is available todownload (with a few others) on iTunes bysearching A Song for Campbell and alsoon Amazon.

Mark Boylana young musicianmaking tracks

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Midland Arts and Culture Magazine | SPRING 2013

A Song by Campell by Mark Boylan (pictured) is available to download on iTunes.

In early 2012 Longford Arts Office and the Atrium Gallery atBackstage Theatre joined forces in an effort to provide a morecohesive and efficient support service and exhibition space toartists in the area.

Construction work in Backstage in thepreceding few years had impacted onthe gallery space there and the theatrewas keen to re-launch this space andgive it a greater focus, following renovationwork in 2011 to improve the facility. Inorder to re-launch the programme ofexhibitions and indeed raise the standardof supports offered with this exhibitionspace, the theatre approached the localArts Office with a proposal to worktogether to deliver this service. FergusKennedy Arts Officer welcomed theproposal, acknowledging the sharedinterests and objectives of both parties.

In 2012 the joint programme hostedexhibitions by Cavan artist PadraigLynch; Roscommon based artist AnneRigney; Ceramics Artist Ed Walshe andan exhibition of the work of photographerShelley Corcoran and the students of

the Longford Photography Schoolsprogramme.

In the coming months the programmewill feature artwork from two visitingartists from Galway, Anne Harkin-Petersen from Tuam and Ruth Caddenfrom Spiddal, as well as Cavan artistElena Duff and James Brady.

The exhibitions programme has workedseamlessly with a joint literary programmealready established between bothorganisations and in fact many of theexhibitions featured have an integratedliterary dimension. An exhibition of thework Lucy Brennan from Lanesboro inJune 2013 will also feature readingsfrom poet Kieran Furey.

Both the Arts Office and Backstage arekeen to introduce an educational outreachelement to the programme and are indiscussions with artists on the structureand scope of this proposal.

The success of the Arts Officesupported Director in ResidenceProgramme at Backstage which isheadlined by Seamus O Rourke in2013, and the positive outcomes todate on the joint visual artist andliterary programmes demonstrateclearly the value of pooling of resourcesin time of financial difficulties tomaximise available resources.

Vases made by ceramic artist Ed Walsheexhibited as part of a joint exhibition alongwith other works including those of GaryRobinson (pictured above)10

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The historically rich landscapeacross south Longford, includingthe lakes and islands ofLough Ree and the RiverShannon, will provide muchof the inspiration for aspiringpoets later this summer. Longford County Council has devised anunique Environmental Poetry Workshop toattract people to sample the beauty of thegreater Lanesboro/Newtowncashel areas.

Arts Officer, Fergus Kennedy explained:“The landscape of west Longford is sogentle, unspoiled and beautiful that it isbound to have an impact on anyone whoexperiences it. Since the original caveartists and fireside storytellers began toexpress themselves creatively, nature andthe environment have always been centralto artist’s creativity.

“Our objective is to expose contemporarywriters to the beauty of our flora, faunaand landscape by taking them on walkingtours of the country side. The walks will befollowed by workshops facilitated by NoelMonahan where the artists will beencouraged to respond creatively to the

natural stimulation of their morning’sexperiences.”

Award-winning poet Noel Monahan – anative of Granard – will lead the workshops,and while it will include a historical look atthe area, he emphasised that those takingpart will be writing with a “free hand.”

“In the workshops we'll be looking at thelandscapes of south Longford, and itsbeauty, and hoping that a focus on thisarea will lead to poetry,” said Noel.

“The hand must be extremely free; it's nothistory or geography we're writing. There'ssomething that draws a writer to an arealike this, especially when the space isspread over such long period in time.

“Some writers might be interested in themythological aspect of it, because not toofar away you have the Corlea Track wayRoad, going back to 148 BC and that's afascinating place. And then you have BríLeith, the Hill of Ardagh, which is one ofthe Celtic stories, which goes back to earlyCeltic times,” he added.

While the exact details of what the workshopwill entail have yet to be finalise, Noel saidthe tour may include award-winning TidyTowns (villages) like Newtowncashel, Ardaghand the current titleholders, Abbeyshrule.

He also said they hope to be able to take inone of the islands.

Given the volume of inspiration, in terms oflandscapes, may be vast; Noel said peoplemay respond to something as simple asthe flowers or bird life in the area.

At the end of the tour, the workshopreturns indoors where Noel will give themore technical side of the day.

“I have given workshops before, but neverbefore with such a focus on an area. I don’twant to say you have to write a poem aboutthis or that; I would never do that, becausepoetry doesn't happen like that,” he said.

“I’ll start with the structure from thestirring of the poem – where the poem iscoming in; then the whole word-farming –the sense of language, finding the wordsand phrases; the shape of the poem andthen editing the poem.”

It’s the end product that will be enteredinto the multiple poetry competitions thattake place over the summer, includingCork, Listowel and Strokestown.

Noel stressed that the workshop is open toall people from all areas.For further information, contact the LongfordArts Officer Fergus Kennedy on 086 8517595 oremail: fkennedy@longfordcoco.ie

The vocal trio, comprising of VivienneGraham, Georgina Ireland and NualaKelly, with their exquisite vocal harmonieshave been delighting audiences nearand far and have been widely praised inthe short time they have been together.

All three singers are well known soloistsin their own right and Vocalese cameabout when Nuala Kelly was asked toprovide a short musical interlude forInternational Women’s Day celebrationin the Dunamaise Arts Centre in March 2012.

She explained: “We didn’t set out toform a group as such but the blend ofthe voices was so good and theharmonies came very naturally to us sowe just took it from there and went withit and so Vocalese was born.”

Gathering momentum over the pastyear, Vocalese have performed in suchdiverse places as Ballyfin House, theDurrow Scarecrow Festival, theInternational Eucharistic Congress inthe RDS, Aherlow Gospel Festival,

Newbridge Musical Society concert, the Cuisle Centre Concert and AbbeyleixLibrary along with radio slots onMidlands 103.

Vocalese are multi-genre in their songchoice covering an eclectic mix of songsfrom Carole King, Crying in the Rain,Neil Young, After the Goldrush, ThePolice, Every Breath You Take, alongwith some traditional songs such asWater is Wide and Neidin. They havealso been in contact with some singer/

songwriters and hope to cover someoriginal material over the comingmonths.

The Vocalese CD Launch Concert will take place in the Dunamaise ArtsCentre on Thursday 2nd May. It promisesto be a magical evening, and if you havenot heard this trio yet, you are in for areal treat.

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Shannon-side Environmental Poetry Workshopsby Neil Halligan

Trio Vocalese aremaking quite a namefor themselves on themusic scene in Laoisand beyond. In anunbelievably shorttime-frame they have just finished asession in a recordingstudio and are nowpreparing for a CDLaunch Concert.

Laois Trioto launch CDPictured are Georgina Ireland, Nuala Kelly, Vivienne Graham (Photo by Dom Reddin)

Pictured is Saint's Island Church and Cemetery, Longford, where those taking part in Longford's newest poetry workshops hope to get inspired.

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After 11 wonderful years,I am leaving WestmeathArts Office to take up anew position abroad.

Over the past decade having workedin tandem with the arts community Ihave seen a revolution in the energy,the dynamism and the impact of thearts across the county and I havewitnessed the increased relevance ofthe arts in the lives of the people ofWestmeath both socially andeconomically.

Westmeath has a rich cultural life,steeped in the world of arts thatinfuses the most private of lives as well as the most sociable ofcommunities. The breadth and depthof what is going on in the arts inWestmeath at any one time is nothing short of incredible.

I have been lucky enough to havebeen involved in high profile publicart projects, the development of theAbbey Road artists studios and theLuan Gallery and the recentsuccessful Music Generationapplication. There have been manychanges for the sector; funding hasrisen and fallen in dramatic fashionbut the steadfast conviction andcommitment of the artists that I haveencompassed remains constant.

The recession has served to galvanisethe arts community by allowing themto reinvent how they create work anddevelop their practise and has led tomeaningful collaborations and newpartnerships. It has facilitated thesharing of resources, skills andexpertise and the arts in Westmeathis ironically stronger due to thedownturn and we can all look forward

to a bright future for the sector withvision, energy and hope.

The world of arts is woven so tightlyinto everyday life in Westmeath and I have had both the pleasure andprivilege of working with exceptionallytalented people that have inspiredme every day. I would like to thankthe arts community for their supportand commitment to this ever evolvingprocess and for all they do to keepWestmeath curious about the artsand confident in the arts, for bringingthe opportunity to participate in andenjoy the arts into the lives of peoplein Westmeath.

It is with a heavy heart that I leavebut I would like to thank the artscommunity for their continuedfriendship and support and I wish thesector every success in the future.

Catherine Kelly.

CATHERINE KELLYDEPARTS WESTMEATHARTS OFFICE

Midland Arts and Culture Magazine | SPRING 2013

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“It has been with a great sense

of admiration and professional

appreciation that I have

observed from the sidelines of

a neighbouring county (Longford)

the quietly efficient and effective

manner with which Catherine has

animated all forms of cultural

activity in Westmeath over more

than a decade. Being from

Westmeath she was always

aware of the enormous creative

potential of the county, and she

more that anyone has been

instrumental, in her own quiet

way, in developing the arts in

Westmeath to the admirable

position it holds today.”

Longford Council Council Arts Officer,

Fergus Kennedy.

“I have really enjoyed working

with Catherine as a colleague

across the border (from Offaly)

particularly on collaborative

projects, such as our recent

success with Music Generation

funding, but also on others such

as this magazine and the

Midland master classes.

Together with all of the Midland

Arts Officers, she is/was a

regionalist; innately understanding

the benefits of working together,

to create a greater cultural identity

for the midlands of Ireland.

She will be missed!”

Offaly County Council Arts Officer,

Sinead O’Reilly.

“Catherine Kelly has been a

fantastic colleague to work with

as we four midland arts officer

strived to forge out a midland

arts identity in the last number of

years. We have done this through

the magazine, masterclasses,

literary publications and music

initiatives. Catherine has

demonstrated great creativity,

leadership and imagination in the

programmes she devised.

We will miss Catherine and

we will watch her career path

with great interest.”

Laois County Council Arts Officer,

Muireann Ní Chonaill.

Catherine Kelly pictured with Minister Jimmy Dennihan and Miriam Mulrennan at the recent opening of the Luan Gallery.

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OFFALY’S LEAD ROLE!

If you look around, thenumber of exhibitions thatshowcase photography aremore numerous than everbefore – from wild life toarchitectural forms to fine art photography.

Templemichael College Longford is increasingly becoming a seriouscentre for the study of photography in the Midlands. The College offersphotography as part of its Art

and Design PLC. Photography isincreasingly standing side by side withmore traditional genres of art such aspainting and ceramics in terms ofpublic awareness and in the context of student demand.

According to Paul Anderson, in hisbook, The Fine Art of Photography,fine art is “any medium of expressionwhich permits one person to conveyto another an abstract idea of lofty emotion”.

And because the TemplemichaelCollege Art and Design students have sought this creative course they are producing conceptual Fine Artphotographs that do indeed conveyabstract ideas.

The FETAC Level 5 Photography modulethe students are undertaking hasalso changed this year, with moreemphasis on Visual Diaries whichlend themselves to the creativeprocess, the developing of ideas andthe conceptual side of photography

as opposed to just the technical.There is also now an emphasis on studying recognised fine artphotographers much the same astraditional History of Art recognisesthe skills of acclaimed painters.

Now in its third year, in TemplemichaelCollege as part of the Art and DesignCourse, the amount of Distinctionsreceived by the TemplemichaelStudents is very high, which onlyproves that the students aredeveloping their capacity both toperceive and express creatively andthat they are able to create visualmetaphors to give meaning beyondthe image’s superficial beauty.

The level of creative development ofthe students of TemplemichaelCommunity College was very evidentrecently in their contribution to theinnovative publication Bang…BangShe Shot Me (An Introduction toDigital Art Photography) and in theircontinued success in the LongfordSchools Photographer of the YearCompetition in which they participatethrough the Longford SchoolsPhotography Programme.

The demand for photography to bethought as an art form is increasingeach year and TemplemichaelCommunity College through itsoffering of FETAC Level 5 DigitalPhotography Course, its participationin the Longford Schools PhotographyProgramme and being the locationfor the Midland College ofPhotography makes it the centre forthe study of photography studies inthe Midlands.

Once again, Offaly and theIrish midlands are placedcentre of the literary map, in Geraldine O’Neill’s tenth novel.

Her faithful and dedicated fans willbe delighted to know that her nextbook, Music From Home, (publishedby Poolbeg) will be available in localbookshops and on the internet thisMarch.

Often compared with the late,legendary Maeve Binchy, Geraldinecontinues to claim the hearts of hereager readers who span the globe.

Her books have brought Offaly into readers’ homes and sparkedcuriosity, affection, longing andmemories amongst her fans from all ages and backgrounds.Geraldine’s books are devoured byteenage girls (who relate to the youngheroines and enjoy reading about adifferent period) and their mothersand grandmothers (who love thenostalgic look back to the 60’s theygrew up in). She also has a strongmale fan base, and receives e-mailsfrom a large number of men includingone from France who worked in Irelandand loves reading about the country.

Music From Home tells the tale of ayoung girl, Maria Conti, growing up in

Manchester with Leo, her widowedItalian father who owns Leonardo’srestaurant.

When tragedy strikes, Maria finds thather comfortable, predictable life isshattered when she has to turn to hermother’s estranged family in Ireland.

In the old farmhouse in County Offalyshe uncovers a bitter legacy of secretsand lies, and she comes to realisethat her mother was not the personshe’d been led to believe she was. Asnew stories and new characters comealong with every one of Geraldine’sbooks, one thing remains the same –the leading role of County Offaly!

Templemichael Collegeshaping Photography as a fine art by Shelley Corcoran

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Pictured are photographystudents fromTemplemichael College.

Ger Relph, a musician, teacher andKindermusik Educator has been playingmusic since she was seven-years-old.She completed a BA in Music at NUIMaynooth in 1996 and continued herstudies at Queen’s University, Belfastand completed a Masters Degree inTwentieth Century Music in 1997.

She discovered Kindermusik whileresearching a way to teach music to herown children while they were very young.She completed her teacher training withKindermusik International and receivedher license to teach in 2011.

Kindermusik offers developmentallyspecific educational programs for childrenaged newborn to six. The curriculum isbased on the principals of Kodaly, Suzuki,and Orff and at its core is the firm beliefthat music is the best vehicle for earlychildhood development and learning.

Psychologists, neuroscientists, andexperts in early childhood developmenthave demonstrated that music does morefor children than bring them joy; it helpstheir brain cells make the connectionsneeded for virtually every kind ofintelligence. Kindermusik’s curriculum is built on this research.

When young children are consistentlyengaged by music in an age-appropriate,socially accepting environment, theybenefit at many levels:

EARLY LITERACY They gain thephonological processing, spokenlanguage, and comprehension skillsthat are the foundation of reading.

QUANTITATIVE They build the spatial-temporal and reasoning skills required formaths, science, and engineering.

SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL They developsocial and emotional skills that areessential for school readiness – like theability to regulate their responses andrelate to others in complex ways.

PHYSICAL By moving and dancing tomusic and playing simple instruments,children improve their gross and finemotor skills. Activities that encouragefreedom within a fun and friendlystructure spark their creativity.

CREATIVE Activities that encouragefreedom within a fun and friendlystructure spark children’s creativity and provide inspiration.

And of course, they develop a lifelonglove of music.

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ARTHOUSESTRADBALLYTO SHOWCASEMAKE GOOD,MAKE BETTERMake good, make betteris a forthcoming show bySaidhbhín Gibson at Arthouse,Stradbally comprising of newwork produced specificallyfor the exhibition.

The work marries aspects of mans’domesticity with elements of thenatural world. This has been executedthrough delicate mark-making in thedrawings and intricate thread basedtechniques (needlepoint lace) in themade objects. The work is a responseto the natural world that exists aroundus, and our relationship with that whichis not man-made.

Rather than being an overt statementof a perceived improvement of natureby the artist, the title Make good, makebetter is purposefully ambiguous. Thereflexive title refers both to the artist’sadornment of the natural artifact andalso to our betterment through closeassociation with nature.

Saidhbhín Gibson has exhibited bothnationally and internationally sincegraduating with a Degree in Fine Art(DIT Mountjoy Square). During 2012she was selected for a variety ofexhibitions including Common ThreadInternational, Oakville, Canada, BirrVintage Week and Arts Festival, WinterOpen, Rua Red, and Easter Small Works,The Higher Bridges Gallery, Enniskillen.

Make good, make better opens on April4 and runs until April 24. There will be a talk by John Duffy, gardener at EmoCourt, on Saturday April 13 at 2pm atArthouse and Library, Stradbally, followedby refreshments. All are welcome.

OPENING HOURSTuesday–Friday: 1 – 4.30pmSaturday: 10am – 1pm

Please contact Vernon McNicolas at 057 8641740, Tuesday–Friday, 1–4.30 p.m. for further information.

Below: A Hot Cup of Fluff by Saidhbhín Gibson

Encouraging a

LOVEof MUSICKindermusik classes, which

promote the belief that music isthe best vehicle for earlychildhood development andlearning, are currently runningin Athlone and Mullingar.

CLASSESVillage (0–18 months): Takes those special bonding momentsbetween you and your baby and adds aunique blend of musical learningactivities that stimulate and engage allthe senses and encourage your baby'slearning through vocal play, objectexploration, instruments and creativemovements.

Wiggle & Grow (18 months–3 years):Your child will love singing, dancing, andplaying instruments and you’ll lovehelping to practice a wide variety ofabilities such as gross and fine motorskills, turn-taking, social skills, andactive listening.

Laugh & Learn (3–4 years):Each week the class combines yourchild’s natural love of music, storytelling,and imaginative play with age-appropriateactivities that introduce early musicconcepts and foster independence,social and emotional skills, languagegrowth, and self-control.

Move & Groove (4–6 years):In class your child will be engaged inmusic and movement activities that alsopromote language, social and emotionalskills, early math and early literacy,physical coordination, creativity, andmore. Plus, they will learn basic musicvocabulary and notation—all setting thestage for future school success andformal music lessons.

Full details of the music and movement programme for infants, toddlers,preschoolers and young children can be found at www.kindermusikwithger.com

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Laois-born DeclanMcGovern has beenappointed GeneralManager of RTÉNational SymphonyOrchestra following hisposition as ChiefExecutive of the UlsterOrchestra.

RTÉ recently announced the appointmentand he took up the position on a full-time basis on January 1, 2013.

As General Manager, Declan will haveoverall responsibility for the artistic,organisational and financialmanagement of Ireland’s premiersymphony orchestra.

Declan was appointed Chief Executiveof the Ulster Orchestra in November2010, a position he held until March2012 when on secondment from hiscurrent position as Executive Producer,BBC Northern Ireland. Previous rolesinclude Editor, Music, BBC NorthernIreland and Senior Producer, Classic FM.

Declan grew up in County Laois and is aBMus (Hons) graduate from UniversityCollege Cork.

As Chief Executive with the UlsterOrchestra, Declan was instrumental inappointing a new Principal Conductor,re-establishing the Ulster Orchestra’srecordings with Naxos, securing newsponsors, negotiating a new contractwith the musicians and establishingstrategic business partnerships with the

Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerceand the Belfast Telegraph.

Artistic partnerships included a jointperformance with the Ulster Orchestraand the Ulster Youth Orchestra at theBBC Proms in London, a collaborationbetween the Ulster Orchestra and theRTÉ Concert Orchestra for the London2012 Cultural Olympiad, and an annualconcert celebrating the music ofScotland and Northern Ireland with thesupport of the Ulster Scots Agency.

At BBC Northern Ireland he instigatedthe annual open air Proms in the Park,established a series of St Patrick’s Dayconcerts in collaboration with BelfastCity Council, commissioned 15 newworks from Irish composers, producedTV programmes on Leonard Bernstein,Steve Reich and The Chieftains and wonawards for his radio biography on YehudiMenuhin and a documentary for BBCRadio 3 on the role of music inside theMaze Prison.

Speaking of his appointment, DeclanMcGovern said: “The RTÉ NationalSymphony Orchestra is a national

cultural treasure. It has played a majorrole in professional music-making inIreland and in providing importantplatforms for Irish soloists and composersand international artists. Great economicand social challenges face us in Irelandtoday. The RTÉ NSO is a reminder of all that is great and strong in Ireland’scultural fabric. I look forward to workingclosely with the orchestra and withcolleagues in RTÉ to help steer itsjourney over the years ahead.”

Welcoming his appointment, SéamusCrimmins, Executive Director, RTÉOrchestras, Quartet and Choirs said: “I am delighted that Declan hasaccepted the post of General Manager,RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra.Declan’s experience in radio, television,orchestral management and businessposition him well for the challengeswhich the orchestra faces. The RTÉNSO has a unique position within Irishcultural life and I know that Declan willbuild on its artistic strengths whilstfulfilling the full range of RTÉ’s publicservice obligations.”

On a cold Sunday in January,musician Brendan Keeleybrought over 2,000 people toOffaly to sing a new anthemof hope for Ireland.

Despite the awful weather, over 2,000people turned out at O'Connor Park inTullamore on Sunday, January 27 to

record their voices onto the single, WeWill be Strong composed by Tullamoresinger/ songwriter Brendan Keeley.

Speaking of his intention for the anthem,Brendan said: “The anthem has beencreated to bring alive the message ofhope in the people of Ireland and toawaken the sense of survival that liesdeep within the Irish people, but has

sadly been lost in all the talk ofrecession and ‘doom and gloom.’”

Brendan spent the weeks leading up to the project, traveling to 82 schoolsacross the Midlands teaching the songto children.

“Given the day that was in it with windwhipping up the stadium, I thought if weget 100 we will be lucky, and for people

to come out and bring small children inthat weather was just great."

Tullamore Gospel Choir kicked off thebitterly cold afternoon with rousingchoruses and soon after Brendan wasintroduced to the crowds by special guestHenry Healy, who had just returned fromthe inauguration of his eight cousinPresident Barack Obama.

Brendan's eldest son Sam Keeley who isan up and coming film actor, currentlystarring in the popular TV series Raw wason hand to lend his support to the project,much to the delight of the youngerfemale audience!

The song was mixed at BrytestarProductions in Carlow by Brian Sheilwho was nominated for Best Producerat the World Music Awards in London inFebruary. The single is now on sale withall profits going to St. Vincent de Paul.

For more information please seewww.brendankeeley.com

ORCHESTRATING A MOVE SOUTH

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Song for Ireland – Brendan Keeley in Geashill National School

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2,000 turn out in Tullamore forAnthem of Hope

How becoming a self-publishermade life Rosy

Midland Arts and Culture Magazine | SPRING 2013

I always thought (absent-mindedly) about thepossibility of writing women’s fiction. I love a goodold-fashioned love story, but there has to be more tothe story than a gallop to a romantic end. I want toenjoy the journey along the way and I want a bookwhere every sentence is worth reading.

For anyone out there who has everthought about writing a book, the bestpiece of advice that I ever read was justsit down and do it! If you don’t make thetime, it will never happen.

I grew up in County Westmeath. I have aMaster’s Degree in Biomedical Sciencesand I work part-time in the field of SolidOrgan Transplantation. I now live on afarm in County Longford with myhusband and our three children.

I got married in 2000 and continued towork full time in Dublin for another twoyears; my husband and I ‘enjoyed’ aweekend marriage – no thought nor timefor writing during this period. In 2002 Ifinally went job-sharing and moved to livefull-time with my farmer husband. Sadly,both my parents-in-law had passed awaythe same year that we married and soTimmy’s family home, which was a 1970’sbungalow, became our new home. Thenext year saw me undertaking a lot ofDIY and having our first child, but no penwas put to paper; I was far too busydoing other things!

Four years and three children later, andthe idea of trying to write something evenvaguely interesting was beginning to takehold in my mind again. By that point, Iwas beginning to realise, and moreimportantly to fervently hope, that intime, there would be more to my life inthe home than worrying about thehousework and what was for the dinner.

I also knew that I wasn’t the type ofwoman who would enjoy frittering mytime away in the long-term by meetingthe girls for coffee and lunch. Besides,my country sisters were far busier that Iwas – they were not accustomed to a lifeof idle either!

I eventually started writing about fiveyears ago with little success. I found thedemands of three young childrenincompatible with the task…I could neverget a good run at it! When our youngestchild started school in September 2010,I was then able to apply myself. Idiscovered that the more I wrote, themore I enjoyed it – escapism is awonderful practise! It became less acase of: “I should really sit down and tryto write something,” and much more acase of prying myself away from thelaptop to make the aforementioneddinner before the kids came home fromschool. Towards the end, I was constantlyroping in my ever-supportive husband topick up the kids and to cook the dinner!

THE STORY OF ALICE-ROSEThe story of Alice-Rose evolved naturallyover time and changed its course quitedramatically from the one I had in mindinitially! This was mainly due to therealisation that I needed to add moremeat to the bones of the story; otherwiseit would have ended up being a boringold gallop to the end. And for that I neededto change the storyline quite a bit!

I think it is very important to write aboutwhat you know, and secondly, somethingthat is close to your heart and that youcan be passionate about. You must loveyour characters even if they themselvesare hateful individuals – again, you haveto feel passionately about them and youhave to believe in them.

On the whole, I found the subject matterof Alice-Rose very easy to work with for anumber of reasons – I am passionateabout old houses; I value family highlyand I was lucky enough to have anumber of close friendships to drawupon for inspiration when it came towriting about the dynamics, and therewards, of a long-lasting one.

Unfortunately, getting published didn’tprove to be so easy. I sent the first fiftypages of the manuscript to severalagents, all were very positive except forone agent who said that my writing styleneeded work- they was right! I got backdown to the job of improving mymanuscript and then I left it on the shelf,too weary to think about approachinganother agent.

In the meantime, word was spreadingamong family and friends that I hadwritten a book. Those who read itclaimed to love it. Then one day Ireceived two newspaper cuttings in thepost from my sister-in-law’s motherabout the very successfully self-published author Amanda Hocking and

the possibilities of self-publishing. Itinspired me. And here I am now, €3,000poorer but free from the manuscriptgathering dust on the shelf. I self-published through Xlibris (an unlikelyname in some regards…not asreassuring or as familiar as Amazon)using the premier package and foundthe experience to be a very positive one.

Lastly, many thanks to all who havebought, or intend to buy, Alice-Rose. Ihope you enjoy the story and that itprovides a little restorative distraction.

Alice-Rose by Caitríona Leslie is available in paperback, hardback and eBook fromAmazon and Barnes and Noble, as well as a number of other online book suppliersincluding the publishers, Xlibris. For further information visitwww.alicerosebook.com

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Ceramic ArtistEd Walshe movesto Longford

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MIDLANDSPHOTOGRAPHYCLUB OFFERSCLASSES

In order to work more freely, ceramicartist Ed Walshe decided to move outof the big smoke in order to createmore smoke.

He explained: “At that time I was living inDublin. I rather like doing smoke-firedceramics and it’s really difficult to dothat up in the city because it reallyannoys your neighbours if you havesmoke all over the place.

“Anyway, I wanted a place where I couldhave a studio, so I bought a house downhere, just outside Longford (Killoe). There’sa double garage which I converted to astudio. I generally make ceramics and sellthem at a Christmas fairs and the like.

“I did a show in Backstage Theatre,which Fergus (Kennedy – Arts Officer)organised for me. At the moment I'mworking on a commission for a ceramicwall mural,” said Ed.

The 3ft x 2ft mural will be mounted onplywood, which can be hung on a wall.

Retired at 55, Ed enrolled in a four-yearcourse at the NCAD (National College ofArt and Design) in Dublin and graduatedin 2006 in ceramics. Having spent 35years working with IBM as a programmeand IT specialist. His interest in ceramicsgrew from the time he spent in the NCAD.

“I always had an interest in art and Iwent to evening classes in NCAD forabout 11 years while I was working. Inthe first year of the four-year course youdo a bit of everything – sculpture, print-making, ceramics, glass, metals,everything. The idea is that you get toexperience the whole range oftechniques and then you decide whatyou want to graduate in.

“I had originally thought I wanted to dosculpture, but then had a go at ceramics,which I thought was cool because I couldhave my own studio and just work awaymyself. If you're doing sculpture, you haveto cast bronze, and you have pay loadsof money to foundries to cast them foryou,” he quipped.

Ed says he has been doing quite a bit ofraku firing at the moment, it is an ancientand delicate ceramic production process

“You do it outdoors in a special kiln, andyou bring this material up to about 1,000degrees and bring it out and put it into abin that’s filled with sawdust or straw, oranything that will burn. You usually endup with white glaze, but it’s all crackledwith these little black lines in it.

“One thing about it is that it’s veryunpredictable; pieces might not comeout correct or quite often pieces willbreak. It’s handy for somebody working

in ceramics like me because thecommercial firms aren’t interested in itbecause it’s unpredictable. It means thatI can compete. There’s no point in makingmugs because I can’t make them for €1like you’d pay in Tesco,” said Ed.

Although he doesn't currently have awebsite, Ed does have samples of hiswork on the Crafts Council of Irelandwebsite:http://directory.ccoi.ie/clients/member/21762

Niamh Mulligan’s bronze medal winning picture from the IPF National Shield Competition A Race in Hand.

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Midlands Photography Club wasformed in 2008 by four photographyenthusiasts and since then the clubhas developed and evolved into adiverse mixture of beginners,hobbyists, advanced andprofessional photographers. The club season runs from Septemberto June, every second Wednesday in thePrince of Wales Hotel, Athlone, and theclub is always looking for new membersof all levels – from absolute beginnersto professionals to get involved.Landscape, macro, nature, architecture,sport, music, portrait and/or fashion areall covered in the classes.Each September the club runs aphotography course for beginners,intermediates and anyone who wishesto up skill their photography. The courseis given by two of the clubs professionalphotographers Liam Kidney and PJMcCormack. Throughout the club season guest talksare given by professional and awardwinning photographers, which haveincluded Mick Quinn, Peter Gordon andVincent O’Byrne. Within the club,members also give talks on certainaspects of photography that they arepassionate about. Emilia Krysztofiak (RuaPhotography) spoke about photographinglive gigs and music festivals and AaronSarauer gave a talk on HDR photography.The club also had a workshopphotographing a professional modelusing professional studio lightingrecently purchased by the club.

In addition to this the club also organisesoutings with their members as it isimportant to get out there and takepictures. Members also get a mediapass for entry to shoot some bands atthe Prince of Wales and learn a lot aboutthe challenges of photographing live gigs.

Midlands Photography Club celebratedwinning a Bronze medal at the 2012Irish Photography Federation NationalShield competition held in Dublin inNovember. Niamh Mulligan won her medalin the Individual Monochrome Section,for her photograph entitled, A Race InHand. Niamh just joined the Club andwon her recent medal using an entry-level camera so its not so much aboutthe camera you use but about the eye tospot and capture a great photograph.

Members Emilia Krysztofiak, Aaron Saurerand Robert Hederer represented theclub at the Mid-Western Region Print &Projected Competition in December andtheir work placed in the top three ofseveral categories.

If interested in improving your cameraskills, sharing your knowledge, or simplyjoining Midlands Photography Club e-mailmidlandsphotography@gmail.com. For more details about the club andupcoming events visitmidlandsphotograpyclub.com orFacebook pagewww.facebook.com/MidlandsPhotographyClub.

“At that time I wasliving in Dublin. I rather like doingsmoke-fired ceramicsand it’s really difficultto do that up in the city because itreally annoys yourneighbours if you havesmoke all over theplace.”

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Speaking to Midlands Arts andCulture Magazine, Aedín McGinn,Visual Art Coordinator with AthloneArts and Heritage said: “The schools programme has hadan overwhelmingly positive reaction.Pupils from schools from acrossthe region come to the space, enjoya guided tour and then retreat tothe workshop where they are invitedto create their own art works inresponse to the works exhibited. It is so exciting to be part of thislearning and we will work to buildon this programme of workshops,tours and talks for young and old alike.”

The Luan Gallery is the firstpurpose-built municipal visual artgallery located in the midlands andmarks a significant developmentfor the arts in Ireland.

The gallery, which was opened byMinister for Arts, Heritage and theGaeltacht on November 29, wasdesigned by Keith Williams Architectswho also designed the Wexford OperaHouse and the Civic Offices in Athlone.

The opening, saw almost 400people including locals, councillors,business people and artists fromthe region come to celebrate notonly the building but also theinaugural exhibition BorrowedMemories.

The Borrowed Memories themereferenced the memories andassociations of the building, andresulted in a selection of work thatbalanced Luan Gallery’s necessityto have regard for local and regionalartists, as well as setting out itsstall within a national andinternational context.

IMMA’s (Irish Museum of ModernArt) director Sarah Glennie said:“Borrow Memories has been longin the planning and one of our mostsuccessful partnerships to date.”

To accompany the IMMA exhibition,a site specific artistic intervention,guided by the theme of Red Carpetwas created by local artist LornaKincaid – the founder and projectdirector of the Athlone basedMaking Space Collective.

This work, a thread based installationwas a symbolic nod to the AthloneWoollen Mill once located across theriver (see pg 19).

A total of €3.4 million was investedin the development of the gallery,with funding partners – BorderMidland and Western RegionalAssembly, the Department of Arts,Heritage and the Gaeltacht andAthlone Town Council.

In September 2011 Athlone TownCouncil redeveloped a building inAbbey Road (formerly the FireStation), for use as artists’ studiosfacilities. This ensured that thefoundation stones of engagementwith the visual arts communitywere already in place prior to theLuan Gallery project being completed.Abbey Road developed an activeprogramme of community events,workshops, as well as a dynamicrange of short courses which arenow complimented by the educationalactivities in the gallery.

When a Fine Gael councillor calledfor the removal of a contemporary artinstallation from the new Luan Galleryin Athlone, Co Westmeath it sparkeda debate regarding the role of thearts and evoked polar emotions.

In January Cllr Mark Cooney, whosefather Paddy Cooney was Minister forJustice ‘during the Troubles’ in the1970s, claimed the installation was“offensive” and should be removed.

Created by Longford-born artist ShaneCullen and titled Fragments sur lesInstitutions Républicaines IV, theartwork is based on a collection of Republican prisoners’ messagessmuggled out of the H-Block prison in 1981.

Cllr Cooney tabled the motion at themonthly meeting of Athlone TownCouncil. He asked: “This council incongratulating Athlone Art HeritageLtd’s successful opening of the LuanGallery and noting that art can be

provocative and controversial, requeststhat the exhibit entitled Fragmentssur les Institutions Républicaines IVbe removed as it is offensive to somany people.”

Cllr Cooney acknowledged the factthat art is subjective but in thisinstance, he said that he objected to and still objects to the content ofthe art. He felt that all the families ofthose killed or maimed at that time inhistory would find this offensive andasked that it be removed.

The Town Council voted to refer Cllr Cooney’s demand to the boardof Athlone Art and Heritage and theboard’s decision was not to removethe artwork.

“While the board of Athlone Art andHeritage is aware of the range of viewsrecently expressed and is satisfiedthat the current programme, entitled‘Borrowed Memories’ and includingthe piece ‘Fragmens sur le Institutions

Republicaines IV’ (by Shane Cullen) iswithin the strategy adopted for theLuan Gallery.”

What is for sure is that this debatesparked local public interest anddiscussion in the arts and from manywho may not normally visit a gallery orencounter art such as this– whichsome might even argue is thepurpose of art at its finest.

LuanGallerySince NovemberAthlone’s multi-million euro galleryhas welcomed morethan 2,500 visitorsand has engagedwith over 25 schools andcommunity groupsvia its educationprogramme.

has welcomed over 2,500 visitors since opening

Art can be provocative andcontroversial” by Briege Madden

Midland Arts and Culture Magazine | SPRING 2013

Pictured are Shane Cullen, Minister JimmyDeenihan and Daphne Wright. Photo: McInnes.

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Hughie O’Donoghue Blue Crucifixion,1993–2003. Oil on linen canvas in 3panels 330.2 X 823cm. Collection, IrishMuseum of Modern Art. Gift, The American Ireland Fund, 2010

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A temporary art installation by LornaKincaid showcased at Luan Gallery

WovenRedUPCOMINGEVENTSMarch – May programme is firmlygrounded in the work of artists andprojects from the midlands. Thegallery plays host to two separateexhibitions by local and regionalartists.

In residency in the Luan Gallery’sNew Gallery is Engaged a groupexhibition comprised of work byartists who have completedresidencies in the gallery’s sistervenue Abbey Road Artists’ Studios,among them Laurence O’Neill,Lesley Wingfield and MargoMcNulty.

Showing in the Library Gallery spaceis A Very Grand Canal, a multi-disciplinary group exhibition ofartistic responses to the GrandCanal in Offaly and the River Gallerywill see the next instalment of ShaneCullen’s ‘Fragmens sur lesInstitutions Républicaines IV’displayed.

Miriam Mulrennan, Manager of Athlone Art and Heritage said: “…the March – May programmecomponents sit well together asthe artists and the artworks arethemselves all of – and from themidlands. This is a real celebrationof place and practitioner, and wehave a breadth of media in theseshows which includes print, painting,sound-scape, sculpture, documentaryand text all cohabiting across thethree spaces.”

A temporary artworks existence isbrief, Woven: Red was showcasedduring the opening show of Athlone’sLuan Gallery. As an outdoor piece itis exposed to the elements and itslifespan is short. But an artwork canbe so much more than the finishedpiece it lives on in the documentationand photographs that are evidenceof its existence, proof it was once there.

Woven: Red is a site specific threadinstallation commissioned for theopening of the new gallery. Theconcept, by artist Lorna Kincaidwho was guided by the theme ‘RedCarpet’, was motivated by the ideaof revealing and concealing. Thisabstract composition invades thespace and alters the everydayexperience of this public walkway.As you walk under the geometrichood its linear patterns createsweb like angles. Through theseangles the building, its vista and

skyline are slashed, segmentedand framed. This interactive publicart piece can be viewed from severalvantage points – from across theriver, from the bridge, from the rivergallery, from the boardwalk – it canbe walked under, looked downupon and peered through.

Woven:Red also lives on in thememories of those who came, saw,and experienced the artwork. As anoutdoor piece it became part of thelandscape of Athlone, people goingabout their daily routines such aswalking the dog or going for a jog.The piece has a local resonancebeing situated across the river fromthe site of the old Athlone WoollenMills which burnt down in 1940and installed in the former workershall. This giant loom with its fieryred colour pays homage to thehistory of its location.

Lorna; a local artist from Ballymore,Westmeath creates sculptures and installations with a focus on participation and socialengagement. Lorna wanted thecreation of this art work to be asocial experience so she enlistedthe help of artists from the MakingSpace Collective who are based inAthlone. The process of collaboration,teamwork and sharing as well asthe conversations and argumentsall contributed to making thisartwork a social sculpture.

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Éadaoin Fleming amongst Daphne Wright’sWhere do Broken Hearts Go, 2000Photo by McInnes

Patrick GrahamArk of Dreaming, 1990Mixed Media on canvas, 180 x 346cmCollection, Irish Museum of Modern ArtPurchase, 1991

IMCO was founded in 2010 byVincent Hunt (cellist, teacher, anddirector of many orchestras in themidland region), who also conductsthe group and is assisted byAssistant Conductor John Kenny.

The members of the IMCO areprimarily college and post-collegestudents, semi - and professionalmusicians, teachers, capableamateurs and retired musicians. The age range varies as well asplaying ability with music set for aGrade 5 standard and above.

IMCO members come from all over the midland region such asPortarlington, Portlaoise, Stradbally,Birr, Mullingar, Dublin and Carlow.There are currently 25 members and they are open to recruiting new members of any part of theorchestra, especially string players.

IMCO has the whole range ofinstruments; with a very strong wind and brass section.

IMCO works through a variedrepertoire of music, from classicalorchestral pieces to Irish ballads andairs to modern music from films andmusicals. Besides having all of themembers play orchestral music as awhole ensemble, they also split thegroup and perform music specific to the wind instruments and music specific to the string section.Currently the group is working onmusic from composers such asCorrelli, Dvorak, and Offenbach.

IMCO meets twice a month on aSunday from 10am–1pm MullingarArts Centre, Mullingar and arecurrently working on scheduling aconcert for some time in May.

Trip to Tallin: Last year IMCO travelledto Tallin in Estonia to participate inthe European Orchestral Festival.

For the future IMCO hope to once againtake part in the European OrchestralFestival in 2015 and as it is set forIreland to be the host of this Festival,IMCO's aim is to have their orchestrabe one of the highlighted performancesand ensembles of the event.

For further information or if you areinterested in joining the groupcheck out the Irish MidlandsConcert Orchestra on Facebook orcontact Kimberly Melia on0863751604.

WOULD YOU LIKE TOJOIN IRISHMIDLANDSCONCERTORCHESTRA?

Creating music andfacilitating the creation ofmusic for over 30 years,Paul Gurney is an icon of the Midlands’ musicscene. This multi-talentedperformer, producer andteacher has had chartsuccess, played withsome of the top names in the Irish music sceneand his work as aproducer is much sought after.

Starting out in the early 1980s therewas less opportunities to make a careerout of music, but Paul was pretty singleminded about what he wanted to do: “Icame from a background in electronicsand, being a musician as well, this pathseemed like a natural way to go. I hadmy heart set on having a studio from avery young age. I remember being up inDublin once or twice and going pastWindmill Lane and sneaking a look in tosee what is going on. It was rare to get alook, so you can imagine the dream ofowing my own studio was also rare.”

Starting out back in the analogue erathings were very different. Thetechnological advancements of the last20 years have meant that the cost ofcreating music has come down: “Iremember a few of us putting our

money together to get our first studio.With a lot of money back then all yougot was a mixing desk and a multi-track.For the same amount of money now youwould buy an awful lot of equipment.”

Those changes in technology havechanged the landscape of music.Coping with those changes is part andparcel of staying viable: “The changesmake things less difficult. Most of myjob now involves mixing stuff thatpeople recorded in their own bedroom. Ihave dedicated rooms, for example alive drum room. This provides tools thathome recording can't. The technologymakes the job a lot easier. When wewere doing edits years ago you literallyhad to take a razor out and splice atape and if you got it wrong there wasno undo button.”

A lifetime in music, be it as a sessionmusician or with Rig The Jig, has givenPaul many memories: “I suppose doingthe Eurovision in 1997 was the highlightthat immediately comes to mind. I havealso worked with some fabulous people.Being so blessed as to work with thecream of the cream of Irish music.Donal Lunny, Sharon Shannon, CharlieMcGettigan and Matt Molloy, I reallyhave worked with some incrediblemusicians. We've had songs up atnumber two in the charts. We are stillwriting songs and using the studio as acreative tool.”

With such an impressive past behindhim Paul intends to use it in the future:“Right now I am teaching music morethan anything else. I will also behanding down the studio knowledgethat I have amassed over the last 30years. For young people with all thistechnology at their disposal it's onething having the tools to record ahundred tracks it is another to knowwhat to do with them.”

PAULGUERNEYAN ICON OF THEMIDLANDSMUSIC SCENESPEAKS WITH THOMAS LYONS

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Longford artists will organise a festival inJune to showcase their talents andhighlight just how many talented peoplethere are in the community. Mostimportantly they aim to demonstrate thecrucial role the arts can play, in thedeveloping of community pride andcommunity cohesion and essentially showhow people can be proud of their hometown through the work of their localartists.

ARTISTS LOVE LONGFORDArtists Love Longford is one element ofa much wider programme entitled LoveLongford whereby people from everywalk of life, every strata of society andevery ethnic background will cometogether to pool their talents and toshare their interests with one singlepurpose in mind – to show pride in theircommunity.

While the precise programme of eventsare still evolving a series of five solo andgroup art exhibitions have beenscheduled by professional artists andamateur art groups in improvisedspaces in vacant commercial units onthe town’s busy streets. Art students inthe secondary schools will create largescale temporary public art features on atheme of Love Longford.

Lens-based artists will organise similarphotography exhibitions small scalenight-time projections in shop windows,large-scale night-time projections on thefacades of buildings and, as yet, a highlysecret community film based project.

WRITERS LOVE LONGFORDWriters in Longford will use their talents ina variety of ways; poets and prosewriters will write imaginary piecesinspired by their home town.

Submissions will be printed in TheLongford Leader each week and a prizefor the winning poem, prose orreminiscence piece will be presented ata literary night during the festival. Allthe contributors will be video recordedreading their work and the readings willbe uploaded to Longford’s literarywebsite www.virtualwriter.net

When a requisite number ofsubmissions of sufficient quality havebeen received they will be collected andpublished in a professionally editedanthology of creative writing entitled,The Town I Love So Well, if that titlehasn’t already been used for somethingelse!! This publication will be eitherannual or bi-annual and will bepublished in partnership with TheLongford Leader.

MUSICIANS LOVE LONGFORD Musicians Love Longford and they willbe showing just how much – in a seriesof small intimate performances invenues throughout the town and also ina number of large scale events such asthe Biggest Choir Ever in the Midlandswhich will perform in the Market Squareon the Sunday of the festivals and awhole range of local musicians andbands will perform on the ParadeGround of Longford Army Barracks on afamily day which ends the festival.

According to the original festivalpromoter Cllr Gerry Warnock:

“We have always known that Longfordis a creative town, everybody is eitherfriends with, or related to somebodywho has talent. There are wholegenerations of families that havebeen associated with all forms of artfrom drama to music to writers. Inthe past this might not necessarilybeen seen as a community asset, butis very much so today. We propose totap into that local reservoir of creativityand talent to make Longford a betterplace to live.”

Echoing that sentiment Mayor ofLongford town Cllr Peggy Nolan MCCalso stated:

“We now live in a creative societywhere employment follows thecreative work-force. Where employerslook first and foremost forimaginative, creative, talentedemployees and where a clean safeenvironment and a convivial lifestyleare important considerations wheninvestors are considering locatingindustry in an area. We, the membersof Longford Town and County Councilsintend to use events such as TheLove Longford Festival and to usesuch assets as our local creativecommunity to improve the quality oflife of the people of Longford and toimprove the quality of the ‘brandLongford’ for the betterment of theentire community.”

Longfordnew festival to show pride in the communityLOVEArtists

The idea of acommunity artsfestival is hardlyeither new or veryinnovative however,Longford artistsintend to develop an arts festival thissummer from a very important andoriginal stand point.

festivals

2013LONGFORD

Longford's newest festival will take place in June following a very successful Aisling Children's Festival last year (pictured).

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This year has seen many newdevelopments at Hilltown – theappointment of Rory Cawkhill as JointArtistic Director; two new intensive theatreand film training courses and theenhancement of facilities at Hilltownincluding the creation of new workshopspaces. In addition, other art/craft groups beinginvited to apply to use the venue, either toorganise their own events or to conducttheir own training programmes with thehope that the venue will become a majorcontributor to arts/crafts events in thenorth Midlands.Q. If I was asked about Hilltown …?A. If I were to be asked about HilltownFestival then I’d like to be given thechallenge of explaining how a small ruralfestival of experimental music can beimportant and enriching. The answer forme as a participant is quite easy to give: Ifelt immersed in an inspirational setting,empowered to work in a way that is notusually possible for me because ofcommitments and context and all the othercomplexities that prevent us from fulfillingourselves, and I felt in the company ofalways interesting, often brilliant peoplewho enabled a fluid, collaborative andenvironmentally- aware approach to workingwith sound. To say why this is important

beyond my own experience is less easy, ofcourse, but Hilltown represents a model ofhow things might happen, a comingtogether through which there is no ease ofslipping into old routines. The venues arenot conventional, the living is more or lesscommunal and there is nowhere to run offand take care of some other business.Then it becomes more than music as ahabit performed to familiar faces and instandard settings; the music, thesoundworks, listening, the weather, eating,conversation, unexpected meetings andthe spontaneity of events all conspire tocreate a more intense idea of how soundwork that is demanding can be meaningfuland spread its influence out into the worldas a lived practice.

British writer and composer David Toopwhose recorded output including solo andrecent collaborative works is in the vein ofexperimental ambient. Well known as ajournalist and music historiographer, Davidis the author of two widely hailed books,Rap Attack and Ocean of Sound as well asa contributing editor and columnist for UKexperimental music magazine The Wire.He was a featured guest artist at HilltownNew Music festival in 2012 and the soundinstallation he developed for the festival canbe viewed on site.

Q. What is so special about HilltownStudio Theatre?A. Hilltown Arts Centre is special in manyways. Firstly it is located in a very beautifulpart of the country in the heart ofWestmeath. The house and buildings areof great historical interest and containbeautiful spaces in which to work.Secondly, Hilltown has an easygoingatmosphere that masks a serious desire tocreate excellent work in co-operation withthe local community.

I have found the location and space mixedwith the attention to detail of the people atHilltown to be a special combination. TheWestmeath people I have worked withhave also contributed to this feeling.

Paul Meade is a writer, director, actor andartistic director of Gúna Nua theatre. His workas a writer includes Scenes From a WaterCooler, Skin Deep (Stewart Parker Award2004) and he directed the Award winningplay Little Gem. Paul teaches classical textat The Lir (National Academy of DramaticArt) and acting at Inchicore VEC.

Q. What do I think of The HilltownFestival?A: The Hilltown Festival is always a vibrantevent. It is set in such an idyllic setting, witha wide variety of spaces and environmentsand it also occurs at the right time of year,

as its right in the middle of summer term.Performers, composers and artists fromIreland and abroad can come together tolisten to new music, exchange ideas, seeand hear many innovative installationswhere exciting visual and soundtechnologies can be experienced. I havealways found it a great source of inspirationfor my work, as it has become a festivalwhere no barriers exist and new ideas canbe explored. Its success is testament tothe vision of Fionnuala Cawkill, jointartistic director of the Hilltown StudioTheatre and the festival curators, DavidStalling and Anthony Kelly.

Grainne Mulvey is an internationallyrecognised contemporary composer andher music has been performed in manycountries in Europe.Two of her works havebeen released on CD by Black Box Music.She is a member of Aosdana and currentlyteaches composition at DIT Conservatoryof Music and Drama.

Q. Describe the Hilltown experience?A. The openness of the space and thegarden in the middle of all different stagesfacilitate that people talk to each other.Members of the audience canimmediately, directly and on a personallevel react on the performances.

Often visitors approach the artists aftertheir performances to inquire about thecompositions, to share their ownperception of it and to learn about thethoughts of the artist him- or herself. In myopinion this immediate personal encounteris one of the main attractions that thefestival holds to many of the local visitors.The artist serves as exemplifier for art thatis lived and experienced as somethingbelonging to real life. The audience canbuild a personal relation with him or her.Thus they feel the artist's passion andauthenticity on a very direct level, whichfacilitates their access to new music thatotherwise, might not be there. And viceversa it allows the artist to get to knowhis/her audience in a direct way.

Barbara Luenburg from Germany has established herself with herperformances of the violin and the viola asa major interpreter of classical andcontemporary music. She has won variousEuropean violin competitions and is afounder member of Hamburg based ensembleIntergales. She has been a principalperformer at Hilltown New Music festivalsince its establishment.

For further details about Hilltownemail Rory at rory97@gmail.com

Images are by Doreen Kennedy.

WESTMEATH

What they said aboutHilltown...Hilltown Studio Theatre wasestablished in 2005 with itsflagship event, Hilltown New MusicFestival now in its sixth year.Programme details of this year’smusic festival, which takes placeon July 20 and 21 can be foundat www.hilltown.ie.

Midland Arts and Culture Magazine | SPRING 2013

“FLATTIME/sounding>silencing>lightening>darkening” (2012)David Toop, Anthony Kelly, David Stalling.Drum, light, mechanical devices, nature shavings.Hilltown New Music Festival, installation view.

“Inner Self" (2012)Barbara Lüneburg, David Stalling, Anthony Kelly

Composition for violin, vinyl record, video, lighting, objects.Hilltown New Music Festival, performance view

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This May Stradbally HallEstate, the home of thefamous Electric Picnic musicfestival will host The IrishForestry, Woodland and BioEnergy Show 2013.The bi-annual event takes place on Friday,May 10 and Saturday, May 11 and willfeature a wide range of forest andwoodland machinery with all the ancillaryactivities that go with tree growing andharvesting. A large part of the machinerysection will include chainsaw and fire logequipment with major internationalcompanies exhibiting.

The show will also host the National TreeClimbing Championships. For furtherinformation contact: info@ifwshow.ie

David Wilkinson, organiser of the NationalForestry and Woodland Show, pictured herein Stradbally Hall Estate with members ofTreeCare Ireland and Husqvarna Ireland,who will be hosting the National TreeClimbing championships at the event in May

Electricvenue tohost forestryand bioenergy show

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Eight years on, Shakefest grows fromstrength to strength and will be offeringmuch more interactive activities andperformances for all ages. Shakefesttakes place once again at the beautifulCharleville Castle, starting at 12pm onSaturday, May 25th, with overnight campingavailable on the castle grounds.

A highlight of Shakefest is internationalguest instructor Mariel Sitka fromArgentina, who will share her knowledgeof Egyptian Oriental Dance with acomplimentary workshop on fingercymbals. She will be conducting threeother workshops on Tunisian, NubianAfrican and Classical Oriental dance forIrish students.

Also featuring is KHI (Knight HospitallerIreland) medieval re-enactors who willbe treating audiences to Combat Re-enactments of the Crusaders Knight’sTemplar as well as providing authenticMedieval tents and full try-on armoryand archery for all ages.

Shakefest will also provide an eclecticmix of family orientated workshopsranging from Poi, Irish Dance, AfricanDance, and Communal Drumming withFuinneamh Bounce, Hula Hoop, andgiant winged friends such as Dragonfliesand Butterflies, a wing making workshop,Slam Poetry Tent, Juggling, Stilt walkinga Samba parade, a Dance Competitionwith prizes up to €1,000 and muchmore entertainment. The above activities(plus more to be announced) are all onoffer for kids and families between 12–6pm.

For those camping overnight, or whostay on, evening performanceshighlighted will be the MulticulturalHafla, followed by a daring Fire Show by The Red Embers and special guestsBabylon’s Inferno. To finish the eveningin a cultural and energetic crescendo,Shakefest hosts Gypsy Kleizmer BandThe Underscore Orkestra from the USA.

New to Shakefest this year will be themuch-anticipated Gaelic Kilt LeagueInternational Conference of which

Charleville Castle has been named asofficial headquarters. Dedicatedenthusiasts of the Gaelic Kilt will, as partof The Gathering 2013, meet to discussthe future of the traditional kilt throughworkshops, activities and discussions.Members from across the globe areexpected to attend and will includeentertainment from Kilt dancers from Scotland.

Tickets for Shakefest can be purchasedat the gate or at www.shakefest.net orwww.brownpapertickets.com and rangefrom €10 general admission, €10 camping,€20 family day pass or only €15 forevening entertainment. Gates open at12pm. All proceeds will be going towardsCharleville Castle Restoration Fund.

Shakefest is supported by Offaly LocalDevelopment Company, Offaly CountyCouncil, The Department of theEnvironment, Community and LocalGovernment and the EuropeanCommission.

SHAKE UP A SHAKEFEST

SHAKEFEST, A Celebrationof Dance and Culture, wasformed at CharlevilleCastle, Tullamore in 2006with an eclectic mix ofMiddle Eastern, CulturalDance and ArtisticWorkshops that ended witha multicultural evening ofdance performances.

New Acts and Themes announced for Shakefest 2013

Music lovers in the midlandshave an opportunity toexperience broad andeclectic musical repertoirethis year in Tullamore in anew concert series calledCafé Music Nights.Co-curated by professional musiciansAdele O’Dwyer and Dermot Dunne, theyhave brought together a collection of upto 10 artists per concert and createduniquely designed programmes whichoffers audiences the chance to hear all

sorts of musical collaborations such asthe hearty and well-establish finery ofthe string quartet, exotic and sensualexpressiveness of guitar, voice andaccordion, intimate delicacy of solosoprano recorder and the earthy rawpower of large ensemble partnerships!

The Cafe Music Nights Project will alsosupport the creation of new music aswell as provide a platform for recentcommissioned works, which will beprogrammed comfortably alongside arichly endowed listing of 'greats' fromthe classical music repertoire. Addingspice to the classical bulk, Cafe MusicNights invites you to come and enjoy alittle bit of the musically unexpected too- don't shy away from the electrifyingperformances of work which heraldfrom the realms of jazz and worldmusic!

The Café Music Nights Project has beencreated in response to the overwhelmingpublic demand expressed following thesuccess of the first Café Music Night inAugust 2012 where a sell out crowd of120 were treated to performances bythe ConTempo String Quartet and friendsin a diverse and colourful programme ofmusic designed to spark the interestand curiosity of a whole new audience.

Speaking of the programme, Adele

O’Dwyer said: “We are delighted thatthe Arts Council awarded us funding tobuild on the enthusiasm of last year. Wewould like to encourage all music loverswho would like to see this project growinto the future, to please offer yoursupport, by attending the concerts andenjoying the music, by spreading theword to friends, colleagues and family,and by letting us know what you thinkabout the events as they unfold. Thisconcert series is your concert series -grasp it and hold on tightly!”

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, TO ORDERTICKETS OR TO REQUEST A BROCHURE:CafeMusicNights@gmail.comSingle Tickets €15 purchase in advance oron the door.SPECIAL OFFERS‘Circle of Friends’ (6 tickets for the price of 5)or ‘Full Series’ Ticket €60 or ‘Mini Series’Ticket €40. All events in the TullamoreRugby Club

COMING UPMAY 9 Dreams, Prayers and Arguments in the DåilA feast of curious combination await thosewho dare to attend Artists: ConTempo String QuartetBogdan Sofei violin • Ingrid Nicola violinAndreea Banciu viola • Adrian Mantu celloPaul Roe clarinet •Nuala Hayes actorAlex Petcu percussion • Dermot Dunneaccordion • Adele O’Dwyer cello

AUGUST 22Different Trains and a Bird Fancier’s DelightSpanning the centuries from Modernism tothe Middle Ages, come take a walk throughan extraordinary palette of musical coloursArtists: ConTempo String QuartetBogdan Sofei violin • Ingrid Nicola violinAndreea Banciu viola • Adrian Mantu celloSean Carpio percussion • Helen Hassettsoprano • Laoise O’Brien recorder Aoise O’Dwyer viola • Siún Milne violinAdele O’Dwyer cello • Dermot Dunneaccordion

OCTOBER 3Razoumovsky to Transfigure the NightA journey of contrast visiting the treasuresof Mozart, Beethoven, Schoenberg andO’Carolan with short excursions to delightsyet unknown! Artists: ConTempo String QuartetBogdan Sofei violin • Ingrid Nicola violinAndreea Banciu viola • Adrian Mantu celloAnne-Marie O’Farrell harp • Ellen Cranitch, fluteDermot Dunne Accordion • Adele O’Dwyer cello

DECEMBER 5 A Fitting FinaleArtists: New Dublin Voices Chamber ChoirDirector: Bernie Sherlock • Yurodny LeaderNick Roth New Dublin Voices have placedin the top 10 best chamber choirs in theworld by Intercultur 2012.

BOX OFF: More information can be found onthe Cafe Music Nights FACEBOOK page, Tel: 087 6855050 and/oremail: CafeMusicNights@gmail.com

CAFÉ MUSIC NIGHTS

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OFFALY

Midland Arts and Culture Magazine | SPRING 2013

Its Fleadh time in Offaly in 2013as the county will host both theOffaly Fleadh and the provincialLeinster Fleadh Cheoil. The Offaly Fleadh, run by Ballyboy Comhaltasunder the leadership of Chairman MichaelBuckey, will take place in the town of Kilcormacon the weekend of May 10 to 12.

The small town borders the picturesquevillage of Ballyboy and is located betweenBirr and Tullamore. Kilcormac has a proudtradition of hosting both county Fleadhs andLeinster Fleadhs in the past along and ishome to some well renowned musicians,singers and dancers.

Competitions will be located in various venuesthroughout the town and include Scoil Mhuire,The Kilcormac Development Association (KDA)Hall and the new GAA centre. A shuttle buswill be provided for those who need to travelbetween venues speedily. There will also bea gig-rig located in the square in Kilcormac. Here local musicians and dancers (andpossibly some not so local) will perform toentertain visitors. It promises to be a greatweekend of craic and ceol! Bígí ann!

THE LEINSTER FLEADH CHEOILIn addition to the Offaly Fleadh, the provincialFleadh – The Leinster Fleadh Cheoil – isbeing held in Edenderry and is being run bythe local Edenderry CCÉ branch under thestewardship of Chairman Tom Bourke.

Edenderry has become a real musicalpowerhouse in the local and provincial sceneover the last number of years having hostedsome of the most successful county Fleadhsin recent times along with being home tosome household musical names and somereal up and coming stars.

Having not rested on their laurels, followingthe successful county Fleadhs, Tom andhis committee have gone from strength tostrength and succeeded in landing the LeinsterFleadh for 2013 in Edenderry. They have ahuge amount of preparation and planningcompleted already with a great number ofevents planned. There is great emphasison this year’s Leinster Fleadh as being aweek long music festival. There are manyconcerts, gigs and performances takingplace in the town in conjunction with all thecompetitions that the weekend will bring.

This will really be an action packed week andwill provide great entertainment for all ageswhich takes place in Edenderry from July 6– 14.For more information on these great events lookat the Offaly Comhlatas website onwww.offalyfleadh.com.

Celebrating over fourdecades and Gatheringmomentum

HAVE A

TIME THIS YEARIN OFFALY

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Birr Vintage Week & Arts Festival willcelebrate its 45th anniversary duringAugust and is one of Offaly's flagshipfestivals for The Gathering 2012, alongwith Tullamore and Rhode.

The Festival is delighted to be participating inThe Gathering 2013 and as part of itscontribution has extended the length ofthis previous seven day occasion to aneight day experience to encompass all theevents which will make up the all-inclusiveFestival Programme, which promises adynamic range of vintage and modernevents for all ages.

Since the Festival began the arts haveplayed a central role. This year’sprofessionally curated Visual Arts Trail willdeliver a high quality, engaging andthought provoking arts programme with upto 100 local and visiting artists showcasingwork in all media.

Exhibitions will be located across the town inover 20 non-traditional spaces with plentyof artistic surprises in pop-up shops andstudios occupying previously vacant spaces!Artist’s talks, demonstrations, hands-on artand craft workshops by actors, filmmakers,dancers, musicians, performers and visual

artists for all ages will also feature.

This year’s arts programme will include aperformance from international Germansoprano, Kerstin Doelle accompanied byflautist, Karin Leitner; theatre performances,contemporary dance from LegitimateBodies Dance Company and School ofRock gig.

One of the undoubted highlights of BirrVintage Week & Arts Festival is thespectacular parade which brings thousands ofpeople onto the streets of the town toenjoy the displays from marching bands,vintage cars, tractors, bicycles and

BEALTAINE THROUGHOUT The tenth anniversary of Bealtainein Offaly celebrates 1963 when theBeatles and JFK came to Ireland

All of Offaly’s active, free-thinking, youngat heart over 55’s are invited to make the2013 Bealtaine Festival the mostmemorable one yet.

Organised by the Arts and Library Services

of Offaly County Council, Birr Theatre andArts Centre and active retirement groupsaround the county, the 2013 festival isfocusing on the year 1963 - the year that USPresident John F Kennedy paid a three dayvisit to Ireland; the year The Beatlesarrived in Dublin to perform a show andthe year Brendan Bowyer and the RoyalShowband become the first showband toreach number one in the singles chart withKiss me Quick.

Bealtaine is a national festival which celebratescreativity in older age, and it has beendeveloped by Age and Opportunity since 1995.

While the national theme this year is GrowHappy – a call to celebrate growth, springand positivity for ourselves and our

communities, Offaly Arts Officer, SineadO’Reilly explains why in Offaly, this is beingexpanded upon: “Last year we undertookan evaluation of Bealtaine in Offaly,knowing that we were coming up to ourtenth year and we realised that we neededto take a fresh look.”

She explained that a core focus was gettingmore people involved. “The festival has greatparticipation among active retirement groupsand care centres, but beyond that, manypeople over 55 are not connecting withthe festival. When we looked at thedemographics of the county, we realisedthat only eight per cent of those over 55are involved in an retirement groups whilethe majority of people over 55 who areworking and active don’t consider thatthey are in older age!”

OFFALY BEALTAINE 2013

THE MIDLANDS

LIVE MUSICFOR FREE ATNATIONALMUSIC DAY

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LAST year well over 3000 people tookpart in all kinds of arts activities incounty Laois from an intergenerationaldance project with young and olderpeople participating together toexhibitions, concerts, writing workshops,theatre performances, and filmscreenings in venues and centrescountywide.

Confirmed events for 2013 include anexhibition of paintings by the Heath Ladies

Arts Group in Áras an Chontae opening onThursday May 9.

Also scedhuled is an inter-generationaldance and writing projects with the 50 plusactive retirement association.

Performances by The Carnation TheatreCompany and the Laois Federation ICAchoir for residents and out patients in StVincent’s Hospital, Mountmellick and inAbbeyleix District Hospital are alsoprogrammed.

In addition, the Dunamaise Arts Centre’sprogramme will include a packedprogramme of events including filmscreenings, dance workshops and talks.

The Arts Office, Laois County Council willpublish a comprehensive brochure that willinclude all events happening in the countyin May. If you would wish to have yourevent listed in the 2013 brochure pleasecontact 057 8664025 or emailartsoff@laoiscoco.ie.

Have your event included in Laois Bealtaine 2013

When asked why the county had decided totheme the event around 1963, she added:“In 1963 (50 years ago) important socialand political milestones were achieved, whichneedless to say impacted on culturaldevelopment, nationally and internationally- Martin Luther King delivered his ‘I have adream’ speech to over 250,000 peopl inWashington DC and Valentina Tereshkovabecame the first woman in space. It ishoped that looking back at this era willinspire people to explore how far we havecome culturally and socially.”

Whether you are part of a group or anindividual, Offaly County Council wants tohear your ideas and what would make youwant to go out and be more involved in theOffaly Bealtaine Festival. For more information call Offaly County CouncilArts Office on 057 93 57400 or seewww.offaly.ie/arts for more information.

National Music Day givespeople a chance to hearquality live music throughoutIreland and Offaly for free. Free live music events will be heard inusual and some unusual public placesacross Offaly as well as scheduled gigs.

Last year audiences in Offaly were treatedto jazz in a shop in Birr (Miles O’Bog); abig band in the lobby of Tullamore Hospital(Tullamore Town Band); a chorus at thecheckout in Dunnes Stores (TullamoreConcert Choir) and a bagful of bagpipesat Edenderry Town hall (St CholmchillesPipe Band) as well of lots of singersongwriter and traditional music eventsthroughout the county

This year National Music Day takes placeon Friday, June 21 with the hope ofbringing music to more towns in Offaly -so keep an eye in June look for moreinformation on FREE Live Music Events.Also check out www.offaly.ie/arts or logon to the Offaly Arts Facebook pageand/or www.lovelivemusic.ie fornational events.

If you are a musician in Offaly and wouldlike to become involved give Offaly ArtsOffice a call on 057 93 57400 or e-mailarts@offalycoco.ie.

The Gathering -Ireland’s openarms for 2013Throughout 2013, Ireland isopening its arms to hundreds ofthousands of friends and familyfrom all over the world – callingthem home to gatherings invillages, towns and cities.

Communities throughout Irelandare showcasing and sharing thevery best of Irish culture, tradition,business, sport, fighting spirit andthe uniquely Irish sense of fun.

Over 70 million people worldwideclaim Irish ancestry. The GatheringIreland 2013 provides the perfectexcuse to reach out to those whohave moved away, their relatives,friends and descendants, andinvite them home. The Gatheringis the people’s party. It kickedoff in spectacular style at theNew Year’s Eve Festival inDublin and is being celebratedthrough gatherings of the peopleand Ireland’s major festivalsduring 2013. For further information and to be part ofit visit www.thegatherinireland.com

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machinery along with community floats,equestrian entries and some of Irelands’finest street theatre companies who willalso entertain the crowds after the Parade,and add to the festive atmosphere.

Approximately 100 more events will takeplace throughout the Festival including theOrmond Flying Club’s display of aircraft andentertainment at their Spectacular Air Show,the Artisan and Craft Market with its largerange of stalls and fantastic variety of sights and aromas and the Festival Masscelebrating the community’s activities during the week with choirs of the parish andinstrumental music, to mention only a few of the vast events planned.

With annual favorites, new events, vintageflavour and modern entertainment theforty-fifth Annual Birr Vintage Week & ArtsFestival will be an exciting and vibrantweek celebrating Birr’s remarkable heritageand culture, inspiring participation andenjoyment in everyone who makes the effortto come out and sample the events.

BECOME A VOLUNTEER!The importance of sponsorship,organisation and manpower hasgreatly increased in recent years withlocal support and participation the keyto the success of this festival. Theorganising committee is very grateful toall the funders and sponsors whorecognise the enormous positive impactof the festival on the towns’ commerceand community development and whosupport the events so generously.Festival patrons are encouraged toacknowledge their generosity and tosupport those who support the festival!

The Organising Committee constantlywelcomes new members and ideas forthis Festival so for anyone interested inbecoming involved please contact usthrough our Facebook page, BirrVintage Week and Arts Festival. Thefestival will run from Friday August 2 toSaturday August 10, 2013.

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Nestled in the tree-linedOxmantown Mall, Birr Theatre& Arts Centre is a dedicatedpurpose built theatre, whichdates from 1888. It is one ofthe oldest theatres in Ireland;pre dating the Abbey (1899)and the Gate (1928), with theGaiety being the oldest, stillfunctioning theatre in Ireland(1871).

Originally known as Oxmantown Hall, acultural landmark in Birr, the buildingwas constructed as a purpose-built concerthall and theatre. The design was basedon styles of architecture, which theCountess of Rosse had noted while inGermany.

The hall was constructed from locallimestone and took eight months toerect. The building featured Elizabethan-style half-timbering on the façade withbrick lining to the side windows, whilethe interior included tinted windows, hotwater pipes for heating, four gasoliershanging from the ceiling, paintedspandrels, and decoration in terracottaand wedgewood blue. The hall wasofficially opened on January 15, 1889.

The King’s County Chronicle reported:

“Oxmantown Hall, standing on thecentre of the Mall of the same namepeeps out from amongst and avenueof trees, facing north...” the report

went on to describe the opening, saying:

“By 8.15 the Hall was completelyfilled, jammed to the door: some 150who had no tickets having forced thecash into the door-keepers’ handsand themselves into the porch.”

The hall quickly became a centre ofactivity in Birr, housing everything fromdramatic productions to orchestralconcerts and local dances. The Bowyer-Westwood Company, grandparents ofBrendan Bowyer presented a week ofopera in September 1928. With 30 firstclass artistes, chorus and orchestra, thepeople of Birr were treated to Maritana,Carmen, The Lily of Killarney, Il Trovatoreand The Daughter of the Regiment - allfor the sum of three shillings (15p) per night.

In 1934, the Oxmantown Hall waspurchased from the Church of IrelandBoard of Trustees by Mr John Murphy ofEmmet Square, Birr, who ran, what wasthen, the old cinema in the town. For thenext two decades the hall was to becomea major centre of activity and entertainmentwithin Birr town, both under John Murphy’sownership and under the ownership ofhis son, Mr Henry Murphy.

In 1934, Mr JI Fanning produced severalplays there before his Birr Little Theatrewas inaugurated in that same year andopened by the playwright TC Murray.

During the 1930’s many bands, dramaticshows and traveling companies visitedBirr, and all of these would have performedat the Oxmantown Hall. In general, suchacts must have enjoyed visiting Birr, asthe Oxmantown Hall was at that time oneof the best-equipped halls in the country.The stage was large, the lighting goodand there was little need for amplificationas the acoustics in the hall were excellent.Most of the shows were seasonal, beingperformed mainly during the summermonths. Many of the greatest names ofIrish theatre appeared at the OxmantownHall, including Maureen Potter, JimmyO’Dea and Anew McMasters.

In 1954, the Oxmantown Hall underwentextensive renovation. The old stage wastaken out and replaced by a smaller one,and a new maple floor which is still theretoday. However, the old bar and supperroom – which had been located underneaththe stage – was filled-in, and for manypatrons this represented a loss for the hall.

In 1968 the first of Birr Stage Guild’s GoodOlde Days variety shows was producedduring Vintage Week. Subsequently, theseshows became a regular feature of theannual festival and were always held atthe Oxmantown Hall.

Although Birr Stage Guild, founded in 1958,staged most of its productions in theMarian Hall during these years, onenotable exception was its 1975 production

of JM Synge’s The Playboy of the WesternWorld which was put on in the OxmantownHall for eight nights in December. Themain obstacle to producing plays wasthe heating system, which had becomeunreliable, and throughout the 1970’sand ‘80s the hall gradually became derelict,being used only by Birr Badminton Club.

In 1992, minor restoration of the hall wasundertaken in order to house the temporaryBirr Museum of Childhood and SocialHistory’. Renewed interest prompted OffalyCounty Council, Birr Town Council and asmall group of interested locals to purchasethe hall under the ‘umbrella’ of BirrScientific and Heritage Foundation.

In 1994 Birr Stage Guild secured a leaseon the building and was established asa limited company. A grant was approvedin 1996 for the re-development of thehall from the Department of Arts,Heritage, Gaelteacht and the Islands.Funding also came from LEADER andthe Arts Council.

Restoration work began in 1997 andincluded a new roof, dry-lining for thewalls, and retractable tiered seating to acapacity of 220. In additions, the dressingrooms were relocated to the rear of thebuilding. The main frieze was restored,a sophisticated lighting and sound systemwas installed, and the original gas lampsin front of the building were renovated.

Since opening the doors to the public inJuly 2000 and renamed as Birr Theatre& Arts Centre the building has playedhost to many theatrical, music, danceand classical events and more. In thoseearlier years, Birr Stage Guild played ahuge role in the financing of the centre

with proceeds of their annual productionsgoing to pay off the renovation debt. Inearly 2008, Offaly County Council clearedthe outstanding amount of €30,000allowing the Centre to concentrate onits development of the arts in the townand surrounding region.

The venue has succeeded in attractingacts such as Dixieland clarinettist AckerBilk, Dubliners legend Ronnie Drew; Bondgirl, Honor Blackman; musicians AndrewLloyd Webber, Rodrigo y Gabriela, JackL, Duke Special and many more. The manycelebrity visitors to the Theatre haveincluded Hollywood actors Holly Hunterand Aidan Quinn.

Legitimate Bodies Dance Company, ledby artistic duo Nick Bryson and CristinaGoletti, was established as resident dancecompany at Birr Theatre & Arts Centrein 2007. In a very short time they havebeen seen on the international stagehaving performed in Mexico, Cypress,Vienna, Italy, New York and Brussels(Parliament Buildings), Northern Irelandand the UK, all while flying the faithfulflag for Birr and Offaly.

Birr Theatre & Arts Centre was officiallyopened by President of Ireland, MaryMcAleese on June 29, 2004. Employingeight people and with over 135,000patrons through the doors to date, BirrTheatre & Arts Centre is going fromstrength to strength. The Centre greatlyacknowledges the voluntary input fromthe Board of Management, Front of Housestaff and ushers who contributesignificantly to its success.

This summer, Birr Theatre and Arts Centrewill celebrate its 50th programme of events, so please keep an eye on the programme by visitingwww.birrtheatre.com or following them on Facebook.

Sources: A Brief History of Birr by Oisin Deery; Birr Theatre & Arts Centre Archives.

A look at Birr Theatre &Arts Centreas it celebrates 125 years

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The wood itself isextremely hard. It has tobe dried for a few yearsbefore it can be workedon. Like wine you haveto mature the wood,otherwise it will crack. Brendan Collum Bog Oak Sculptorspeaks with Thomas Lyons

The artistic works of Brendan Collumare so popular that they have beenbrought all over the world and gracethe homes of many famous names.Thousands of years in the making hispieces represent a link between theartistry of the earth and the guiding handof the craftsman who creates them.

Using fire, water and wood Brendancreates unique pieces of art that aremuch sought after. Over the last threedecades Brendan has developed hisart and his business: “I am over 30years working with Bog Oak. When Ifirst started it was mostly souvenirs.Items with Irish emblems like harps,Celtic crosses and shamrocks. Istarted turning different woods atfirst and the items that were the mostpopular were those done in Bog Oak.”

Brendan’s passion for his craft isevident when he speaks about whathe does: “I was fascinated with woodturning right from the start. When Istarted turning pieces of Bog Oak,which is readily available around myarea, I was selling it to craft shops.

As things progressed I realised thatpeople wanted more artistic pieces.”

The self-taught artist has beenexperimenting and researching withBog Oak over the years: “It is difficultto work with. The wood itself isextremely hard. It has to be dried fora few years before it can be workedon. Like wine you have to mature thewood, otherwise it will crack. It ishard on tools and it is hard to workon, but it takes a lovely finish.”

Over the years his eye for design andthe process has changed and developed.Brendan has a great love for theartistic sculpture of the natural rootsthat suggest the shape of the piece.“It is a pleasure to work on it. I reallyenjoy it,” Brendan explained. “Thereis a mystery as to what shapes willemerge as I work on the wood, I canget a root and it will be covered clayand fibres before I start. I work withfire and water as well as the wood.Sometimes I would get a big twistedroot and initially it would be veryunsightly, I would go over it with a gastorch and burn off the dead material,then I would power wash it and theshape would begin to emerge from it.I help the shape along”

The quality of the Drumlish craftsmanis such that his work has been presentedto many famous names down throughthe years. Mary McAleese, John Hume,Alex Ferguson and countless sportspersonalities and community activistshave been awarded his work.

If you would like to know more aboutBrendan’s work visit his website atwww.bogoakart.ie.

The stitch known as the Offaly FamineStitch (pictures) was taught to my latemother by the late Mrs Nan O’Sullivanof JKL Street, Edenderry. She was wellknown being the sister of the onetimeparish priest of Edenderry, Fr JohnKillian who hailed from Rhode, wheretheir parents were primary schoolteachers.

My mother met Nan when both werepatients in the local Cottage Hospitalaround 1956. Mrs O’Sullivan wasalso known as an accomplished pianistand gave music lessons in her home.

ORIGINATIONThis stitch originated in an Irelandreeling from the effects of theFamine. In this predominantlyagrarian post-Famine society, theagricultural community, particularlyfarmers wives were motivated bythrift and the “waste-not-want-not”motto was practised with greatregularity in everyday life.

The women used worn hessian sacks,which were manufactured locally inClara and were used by the farmersto hold produce, such as potatoesand vegetables oftentimes loaded onto their pony and carts to sell to thelocal grocer or were bartered forsacks of flour, tea and sugar.

The women also used remnants ofwool which were left over from handknitting jumpers and socks and capsfor their families.

They cut the sacks into suitableshapes and made cushion covers,table centres and covers for thecradle and decorated them using thecoloured wool remnants. The brightcolours were attractive addition in thewhite-washed kitchen and thecushion covers in particular were awelcome addition to the hard seat ofthe settle bed and the hand carvedwooden chairs.

Local cultural traditions, particularly those unique to theMidland’s are easily lost in an age of modernity and newtechnology and through the Midlands Arts and CultureMagazine we are delighted to provide a platform tosafeguard their stories.

BRENDANCOLLUM BOGOAK SCULPTORspeaks with Thomas Lyons

Unearthing alocal textiletale from theFamine eraby Mary O’Connor, Edenderry

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Midland Arts and Culture Magazine | WINTER 2011/2012

Briege Madden goesFace to Face withMusic GenerationLaois’ Rosa Flanneryto find out what theDonegal nativethinks about living in the midlands and what it was likemeeting U2 legendThe Edge!

Rosa tell us... what is MusicGeneration?Music Generation is Ireland’sNational Music Education programme.It helps children and young peopleaccess music education in their ownlocality. 6 Music Generation projectsare now up and running in theCountry, Louth, Mayo, Sligo, Wicklow,Cork City and Laois. In Laois, MusicGeneration provides performancemusic tuition in a range of contexts –primary and post primary schools,Local Tuition Centres, Youth Clubsand After School Clubs.

Can you tell me a little about yourrole as Co-ordinator, MusicGeneration Laois?This is a new project, whichcommenced in April 2012, with eightprogramme strands; Harp, Brass,Uilleann Pipes, Choral/Singing, anOrchestral programme, a School ofRock, The Music Box – a programmefor children and young people withspecial needs and StampedeDrumming – a world percussionprogramme.

My role is multi-faceted, recruitingTutors, developing relationships withschools and other youth organisationsin the county and establishingprogrammes with schools and youthorganisations. Once a school or ayouth organisation comes on board,Music Generation Laois suppliesinstruments and lessons – but the

work doesn’t stop there. Creatingperformance outlets and ensemblesfor students to participate in is key,including commissioning new worksthat meet the needs of our ensembles.

How important is the initiative?Ireland has a wonderful culture ofmusic-making, however, for childrenand young people there is hugedisparity in who does and does notget to participate in music educationand music-making. The currentrecession has heightened thisdisparity – Music Generation Laoisseeks to reach out to children andyoung people in the county, offeringsubsidised music tuition in a varietyof instruments in a range of genres.For example the Glee Clubs we areoffering under the choral/singingprogramme have been hugely successful– there is great interest in popularmusic genres like Rock and Pop.

You have a wealth of experience inarts administration and musiceducation tell me about some ofyour previous positions.I completed the MA in Arts Policy andPractice in NUI Galway, and went onto work in Galway Arts Festival andTulca Festival of Visual Arts. I am no

stranger to the midlands – havingworked with NOMAD Theatre Networkwhich tours to various venues in themidlands. Prior to coming to Laois, Iworked with the Donegal MusicEducation Partnership, co-ordinatinga large-scale cross border communitymusic project ‘The North Wind Blows.’

What’s happening with MusicGeneration Laois at the moment?We have six programmes up andrunning, with 24 schools and centresnow participating in our programmes.Our Stampede Drummers performedfor The Edge in Dublin in Januarywhich was a wonderful experience forthose young musicians. We are in theprocess of setting up our School ofRock – there has been immenseinterest in the school to-date.

What has been your stand outmemories to date with MusicGeneration Laois?Needless to say, the experience ofmeeting and performing for The Edgewill go down in Music Generation LaoisHistory! Our Open Evening in September2012 was extremely exciting. I findthat now, 10 months into the role,hearing how the original cohorts ofstudents have progressed, drives me

on to continue the development andexpansion of the project.

Being from Donegal...how are youfinding living/working in Laois?What are some of the best/worstthings about being based in theMidlands?I find the heavy fog very strange! But Ilove the quirkiness of the midlands…the figures of speech, the accents –and I find it hard to resist the factthat the midlands is such a centrallocation.

What would you say to any youngperson to encourage them to getinvolved in Music Generation? Come, hear, see, try – there are somany instruments out there – try them!,There are so many opportunities tosing – join the Choral Revolution!.Meet new people and develop skillsthat you will carry with you for the restof your life.

What's next/your ultimate goal?To organise a large-scale inclusiveperformance that brings together youngmusicians from the eight programmestrands of Music Generation Laois.

Face-to Face-

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Music Generation Laois’Stampede Drummerstravelled to theDepartment of Educationand Skills in Dublin inJanuary where the younggroup of musicians metwith and performed forthe legendary Edge from U2!

The performance took place at theinaugural Seminar for Music EducationPartnerships, presented by theDepartment of Education and Skills inpartnership with Music Generation.

Under the direction of drummer EddieO’Neill, the six young StampedeDrummers performed for an audiencethat also included Minster forEducation and Skills, Ruairí Quinn andPaul McGuinness, U2’s well-knownmanager.

Co-ordinator of Music GenerationLaois, Rosa Flannery, said: "This was amilestone event for Music GenerationLaois! The Edge was so responsive andindeed energised by the StampedeDrummers performance, and chattedeasily with the group before they tookto the stage.

“It was so positive to see the youngmusicians receive recognition for theirmusical talents. Performance is centralto playing an instrument and for theseyoung musicians to travel to Dublinand perform for The Edge – well thatreally is a pinnacle moment,” sheenthused.

The group of performers, who range inage from 9 to 15, enjoyed significantnational publicity on RTÉ News, RTÉRadio and in the national pressincluding The Irish Times, The IrishIndependent, and The Irish Examiner.

At the seminar, the Department ofEducation and Skills, announced theircommitment to fund the MusicGeneration initiative on a phased basisfrom July 2014.

In response to the announcementmade by Ruairi Quinn TD, The Edgesaid: “We are absolutely delighted thatthe Department of Education andSkills has committed to the long-termfunding of this brilliant MusicGeneration scheme. The response hasbeen incredible with over 5,000children and young people gettingmusic lessons. It is a source of greatpride for U2 that along with The IrelandFunds we were able to step in andkeep it going after Government cutbacks put it in jeopardy in 2009”.

Between September and December2012, over 21 schools and centresparticipated in Music Generation Laoisprogrammes. The Music Box,Stampede Drumming, brass, harp,uilleann pipe and choral programmesare now firmly established, and furtherexpansion is planned for 2013including the commencement of aSchool of Rock and an Orchestralprogramme. Music Generation Laoiscontinues to expand across Laois. For further information, seewww.musicgenerationlaois.ie or call Music Generation Laois on 057 8674370

An Audience with the Edge

The currentrecession hasheightened thisdisparity – MusicGeneration Laoisseeks to reach out tochildren and youngpeople in the county,offering subsidisedmusic tuition in a variety ofinstruments in arange of genres.

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Siofra Marum (Music Generation Laois) and The Edge

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Written, funded and produced bythe Rhymers’ Club, the chapbooktakes its title from lines in theThomas Kinsella poem, Mirror inFebruary, which reads: “Underthe fading lamp, half dressed –my brain/Idling on somecompulsive fantasy...”

Speaking on the subject of thetitle shortly before the launch,rhymer Thomas Carty explained:“As poets, we sometimes findthat our minds are never fullyturned off from the writingprocess. Even as we go about thebusiness of our day to day lives,the wheels of rhyme are everturning and often times it’s in themidst of the very ordinary andnecessary acts of living where lifeis actually glimpsed a littleclearer, be it for the best orotherwise, and within thosemoments, poetry is born.”

The poet continued explaining:“This is what happened withKinsella while he was shaving.And of course, all writers havespent late nights and earlymornings trying to build and craft

and chip away at the visionsthey’re chasing, so there you havethe obvious relevance of the lamp.”

What the Rhymers’ Club hopes toachieve with Under the FadingLamp is quite simple, as revealedby Ken Hume: “What we want todo is provide people with anopportunity to read poetry fromlocal writers on a more regularbasis and in a relaxed, informalway such as when they visit thelibrary or when they’re enjoying acup of coffee in somewhere likeChocolate Brown’s [in Tullamore],for example.

“The books are free, so if anyonewishes to take a copy home withthem they’re more than welcometo do that. If not, the idea is thatpeople will read as much as theywant to and then when they'redone, just leave it there wherethey found it, for whoever comesalong next to hopefully enjoy, too!”

Another member of the Rhymers’Club, Séamus Kirwan, detailedthe groups’ plans for future editionsof Under the Fading Lamp.

“At the moment anyway, we arelooking to publish three editionsthis year. If each can have alifespan of at least a week or twowith a little bit of profile, pluswhatever may come beyond that,then we feel we'll have achievedsomething in the way of making acontribution to the artistic life ofthe town during the year...Howthat contribution is viewed, ofcourse, or the response we get, isnot something we can think toomuch about because it's beyondour range of influence really. Itwill be what it will be.”

“All we can do,” said Séamus, “isput something out there and seewhat happens. But I think, in anyartistic process, the very act ofcreation is the most importantthing. Any issue of judgment,matters only very slightly in theoverall context of events.”

The first edition of Under theFading Lamp was officiallylaunched at a low-key, no fussaffair in Tullamore Library at theend of February. Willie Rimes,another poet in the Rhymers’

Club, revealed the groups’reasoning for this approach.

Tullamore Rhymers’ Club are:Thomas Carty, Ken Hume, WillieRimes, Seamus Kirwan, JillianBritton-Batty, James Delaney,Cormac Lally and Anthony Sullivan.The club celebrated its firstofficial anniversary last January.During that year, members have,amongst other things, publishedcollections, been invited to meetPresident Higgins, taken part inthe Tullamore Arts Festival andhelped co-ordinate events to markNational Poetry Day. The Rhymers’hope 2013 is every bit ascreatively busy, challenging,exciting and rewarding!

Tullamore Rhymers’ Club wish toexpress their sincere thanks andgratitude to everyone who hassupported their Under The FadingLamp project, and in particular, toartist Chris Tyrrell for his fantasticcover illustration. Copies of Underthe Fading Lamp can be obtainedfrom any member of the club.

writings in rhyme

In an exciting initiativeaimed at bringing thearts, and specificallythe written word inrhyming poetic form,closer to everyday life in the town, TullamoreRhymers’ Club haslaunched the firstedition of its chapbook, Under The Fading Lamp.

Rhymers’ Club members at the ‘Readings From The Pallet’ event in Banagher last year. Back row, leftto right, Seamus Kirwan and Anthony Sullivan. Front row, left to right, Ken Hume and Thomas Carty.

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Offering a broad-based programme of visual, performing and literary arts, beingaccessible and involving the community is its tune!

Public Access Arts is a non-profit organisation that supports the belief thatcommunity-based arts provide significant value both to communities and artists.The people behind the project come from a range of creative disciplines but allshare a passion for year round and sustained access to culture in the town. Theteam include: Timothy Mann, a professional artist with a keen interest incommunity projects who is managing the project; Catherine Mann, an artist andarts educator; Niamh Fitzgerald, a musician and educator; Denis Baker, a graphicdesigner who runs his own business (Unlimited Design); Aidan Kelly, a journalistworking for RTE and Newstalk; Eithne Mooney, a community activist andprogramme manager with a keen interest in the arts; Danna Davis, an actor andsinger who has worked on Broadway and Sinéad O’Reilly, Arts Officer for OffalyCounty Council who has been advising and supporting the project.

Public Access Arts opened in November 2012 and its first project, entitled TheCrowded Room invited people to come into the space and make outline drawingsof one another onto large sheets of paper, effectively making a portrait of thecommunity. The participants varied from school children, local Gardaí, bank staff,an MEP and many more. This was also documented using time lapsephotography by local artist Veronica Nicholson and can be seen on You Tube byclicking on the following link, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGcVdB9yfNc(or search for Crowded Room).

The project was facilitated by Timothy Mann, who explained: "We wanted to finda fun way to actively engage and encourage the local community to get involvedand take ownership of this new creative space in Edenderry.

"It created a great buzz in the town and we had almost 2,000 figures drawn ontothe piece. We followed this with an open Christmas show of work by local artists,giving local artists the opportunity to display and sell their artwork in aprofessional space. Keeping the programme fresh, innovative and varied isimportant for keeping audiences interested.”

The first one-person show was by local abstract painter Louise O’Brien, whoselarge colourful canvases brought light to the dark December days. Theychallenged and intrigued the many visitors and expanded the appreciation of

painting in its many guises. They also acted as a useful educational aid, with artteachers in the local secondary schools bringing students in to see the work.

This was followed by An Duanaire, a fine art print exhibition by the artists ofLeinster Printmaking Studio in Clane and their colleagues from many parts ofIreland (who together include members of the RHA and Aosdána). The theme ofthe exhibition was based on the anthology of Gaelic poetry from 1600 – 1900called An Duanaire compiled by the Irish scholar Sean O’Tuama and translatedinto English by the poet Thomas Kinsella. This was a traveling print exhibition,which Public Access Arts were delighted to have hosted. The show also involvedpoetry readings from the secondary schools and the local community andincluded Brendan Cummins, a sean nós singer, who performed on the openingnight.

But Public Access Arts is more than a gallery space, with theatre forming partof the programme at the Gables in Larkins. The play, Dead Men Walking, writtenby local writer Padraic Seery, was an opportunity for an audience to experiencethe same one act play performed twice but with a slightly different cast anddifferent endings. This was followed by a critique with the Director Gay Veitch andwriter Padraic Seery being interviewed by the playwright Eugene O’Brien. Theaudience participated enthusiastically in terms of questions and voicing theirpreferences.

The future is to build on what has already been accomplished in a few shortmonths by engaging the community and collaborating different creativedisciplines and by encouraging and nurturing different arts projects that willenrich the cultural life of Edenderry.

Speaking about how the project is being financed, Timothy said: “So far theproject has been run on a shoe string, with a lot of voluntary hours put in. Goingforward, funding will be a challenge but to be viable we aim to think like abusiness, and encourage the role of patrons, supporters, sponsors, enthusiastsand volunteers to ensure it can continue and to go from strength to strength.Without art we only exist!”

For more information on Public Access Arts, follow its page on Facebook or emailpubicaccessarts@gmail.com or contact 086 606 5487

Creating a daily

encounterwith the arts in Edenderry

Public Access Arts is Offaly’s newest centre for the arts, based in JKL Street in Edenderry with theremit to promote how people encounter the arts in the town, and to encourage arts participation with astrong emphasis on community convergence.

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An unexpected marriage of artand golf has produced a hole inone for Mullingar’s Lucy Tormey,as the Midlands Arts andCulture Magazine’s BriegeMadden discovers.

LucyTormeyFollowing a chat about our travelsover breakfast, I soon uncover howplaying golf for Ireland as a youngchild has led Lucy on an unexpectedjourney… to Bethlehem!

In 2009 the visual artist went to amajor sporting event to rekindleher love of golf, which has createda very successful and somewhataccidental merger between hercraft and the sport that can stillbring her out in a cold sweat.

And begging the question of whetherart imitates life or life imitates art, Ifind out that the burning questiondoesn’t really matter. According toLucy: “It’s totally intertwined andinseparable.”

Lucy explained that she waspainting around Westmeath andworking on themes of instinct andmemory, for a number of years,before hitting on the idea ofmingling both art and golf.

“I am a painter and what I produceis fairly expressionist in a way. I lovecolour. Someone once described mywork as ‘Mullingar meets Mexico’and that described it well. I love totake an ordinary place andabsolutely blast it with colour.

“It is an unusual marriage [art andgolf] because the two don’t reallygo together and I had a lot ofshame about it too,” laughed Lucy.

“I played golf when I was a kid and Iplayed for Ireland but when I went tocollege in Galway, I was so ashamed

of it. Back in 1985, you just didn'ttell people in Art College that youplayed golf. It didn’t work together,so I stopped playing and went offinto my new life. I learned to paintand draw and forgot all about golf.”

Years later, Lucy started playinggolf again and began thinking thatmaybe there was something shecould do with golf artistically anddecided in 2009 to go to two golftournaments.

“The local golf club commissionedone of my paintings as a gift for thebishop and I used the funds fromthe sale of that painting to go toBethlehem, near Philadelphia, forthe Ladies US Open GolfTournament.”

She then made work based on herexperiences from the tournamentsand following the same process asher landscape paintings Lucy cameback with her strongest memoriesand then made them in the studio.

When Lucy finished her paintingsshe sent them to someone sheknew who was managing a majorgolfing event coming to Irelandlater that year and “it has justopened a million doors,” ever since.

She jokes: “Obviously I still harboursome anxiety about golf...but I’mreally grateful for it.

“I truly believe that if you arefollowing your path in life, if it feelsright, if it seems right doing it andwith good intentions then things

will happen...My plan has alwaysbeen to make a living from the artssomehow and I am managing to doit in a nice way at the moment. I amexcited and really enjoying the peopleI am meeting and the fact that I ammaking paintings regularly.”

The former Loreto College student,who has also worked as an artfacilitator at Mullingar ResourceCentre, a training centre for adultswith intellectual difficulties, for thelast 10 years explained theimportance of making artaccessible to all.

“I just think that art is an essentialpart of everybody’s life and isespecially important where I work.Everybody should to be able to or

“I am a painter andwhat I produce is fairlyexpressionist in a way.I love colour. Someoneonce described mywork as ‘Mullingarmeets Mexico’ andthat describes it well.I love to take anordinary place andabsolutely blast itwith colour.”

Mexican Dreams

have the opportunity to expressthemselves, their true self,” she said.

The eldest of four explained thatdelving into a career in the artswas fully supported by her parentsand that there was even a kitchenwall dedicated to her and hersiblings’ doddles.

“My parents [Sylvia and Simon] werevery supportive when we were kids.I am lucky to have very free thinkingparents and they never stopped mefrom doing anything.”

The artist whose hero’s include golflegend Suzann Pettersen, her folksand now her sister’s kids told theMidlands Arts and Culture Magazinethat as well as art being “central”and “part of us all,” it is “vital”socially as well.

Commenting on the recent controversyto have artist Shane Cullen's pieceremoved at the Luan Gallery in Athlone,she said: “Everybody has the rightto an opinion but you have to acceptthat something is one person’screation and not take things toopersonally around it. The mostimportant thing that a society needsis to have people within that societythat shed light on things from adifferent viewpoint or a differentangle. You might not like it and youmight not agree with it but it is suchan important thing for us all to havein our lives and to have in our society.”

When asked about her bestmemories from 2012 Lucy saidthat being the featured artist atThe Curtis Cup, Nairn, Scotland,was a lovely experience and astandout memory to date.

Lucy who is a big fan of Frida Khalo,Friedensreich Hundertwasser,Edvard Munch and the “sublime”,yet undiscovered, Christine Foard,told the Midlands Arts and Culture

Magazine that it is actually the artistsat Mullingar Resource Centre thathave influenced her most.

“They make art without questioningor with the need for someone to sayit’s good...they make art in such anatural, true and pure way, to methose guys are just incredible artists.”

After spending most of Januaryclearing away the cutter, Lucyexplained: “I am in a phrase rightnow where I just want to reset.

“I have quite a bit of work on, whichis great and I have a couple of plansjust going quietly in the background,but I haven’t got any shows bookedyet. Ultimately my greatest wish formyself and in terms of my prayersis that I can survive on what I am doing.It doesn’t really matter to me aboutacceptance, I just would like to makea living out of what I am doing.”

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2013• Work on loan Windmill Lane

Stidios

2012• Limitless Solo Show Inspirational

Arts, Dublin• Curtis Cup exhibition, Featured

Artist at the Nairn Book & ArtsFestival

• Event artist Curtis Cup, Nairn,Scotland

2011• Event Artist Solheim Cup, Killeen

Castle, Co. Meath

2010• Exhibition of work at the Irish

Ladies Open, Killeen Castle.

2008• Instinct & Memory Solo show,

Visual Arts Studio & Gallery

2007• Collection of group shows involving

Midlands based artists.• Three Colours Love Solo show

2007 – 2008 • Proprietor of the Visual Arts Studio

& Gallery, Mount St. Mullingar• Hosted a series of exhibitions

and activities.

2006• Tyrone Gutherie Centre

Residency.

2001 – PRESENT• Arts facilitator at the Mullingar

Resource Centre

2001• Facilitator on ArtReach project,

Longford

1999 – 2001• Arts facilitator, Siol Resource

Centre, Mullingar

1998/1999• Member of the board of directors

CAFÉ

1998• Artist in residence, Westmeath

Community Development

1997/1998• Participant on first accredited

training for community arts trainers,The Learning Wheel, CAFÉ.

1993 – 1998• Facilitator with various

Community Arts goups, VTOS,VEC, HSE, WCD.

EDUCATION• NUIM Adult education awards via

the Learning Wheel• City & Guilds in Graphic Design• Painting and Printmaking, GMIT • Loreto College, Mullingar

WORK IN PUBLIC &PRIVATE COLLECTIONS.• Westmeath Co. Co. • Tullamore General Hospital

PUBLICATIONS• Frontline Magazine• Visual Arts Ireland

ABOUT LUCY...

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Lucy with the Curtis Cup Team 2012

All Square playing 9th (Curtis Cup 2012)

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THE MidlandsMOVEment WAVE(MiMWave) is aninitiative started by Nick Bryson ofLegitimate BodiesDance Company, which will commencein Birr Theatre & ArtsCentre on the eveningof May 3, 2013.

It is a response to an energy acrossthe country and beyond, driven by adesire and a need to provide a moregeneral open space for dancing thana designated space for 'contemporarydance', or other dance form. The aimis to allow for mindfulness inmovement.

It is inspired by examples such asFunky Seomra in Dublin, WicklowDance Co-op and Galway DanceProject as well as European initiativessuch as Lunch Beat. The hope is thatthe Midlands can become anothermeeting point, which can also providea different type of space for dancingfor all interested. There is hugebenefit to authenticity and self-awareness through dance movement.In summary "ARRIVE, LIVE IN THEMOMENT, MOVE."

MiMWave is an alcohol-free opendance space (for ages 16 –100)lasting for around an hour and a halfthat does not intimidate by being doo‘difficUlt’. It is not a performativespace, rather it emphasise dance asan activity to find yourself, fi.d thegroup and find social connections.The qpace is experiential rather thanprascriptive and is first and foremostabout partiaipation, there is anexchange of frequency between themovers and is thereFore a space forchange. The event does not have a

goal of 'improving' the dancing of anindividual But rather provides anopening for a shared group frequency.

The key ingredients of MiMWave are A welcoming space for self-expressionthrough dancing and moving.A music mix that provides a widevariety of familiar music building andsubsiding in rhythmic energy – ‘The Wave’.

A facilitator who helps the space tohappen and then merges intoparticipation.

Payment that is by donation, in otherwords it comes from the heart if youthought the session has been ofbenefit to you.

Stay in touch with MiMWave throughLegitimate Bodies on Facebook orlegitimatebodies@gmail.com

The MidlandsMOVEment

WAVEAN ALTERNATIVESPACE TO DANCE

Midland Arts and Culture Magazine | SPRING 2013

Photograph by Connor Buckley”

DNAStradbally Youth Theatre willperform DNA by Dennis Kellyin the Dunamaise Arts Centreon Saturday May 4 at 3pmwhere they will join forces with the Arthouse Artist-In-Residence, Cóilín Rush towelcome you to the murkyrealm of herd mentality, arealm where the menace ofwhat is grimly termed “casualviolence” is ever present.

A group of teenagers dosomething bad, really bad. A “bitof a laugh” at a school friend’sexpense rapidly descends intosomething a lot more sinister.When the inevitable happens,there is blind panic and anelaborate cover-up. Recriminationand finger-pointing amongthe perpetrators soon surface as the trauma begins to affecteach of the characters.

They examine the question -could it ever be right to dosomething bad to one person forthe sake of a lot of people?

For more information contact:Laois Arts Office on 057 8664025 or email: artsoff@laoiscoco.ie. Tickets €8 adults €5 for YouthTheatre Members and Studentsavailable from the Box OfficeDunamaise Arts Centre, 057 8663355 or onlinewww.dunamaise.ie.

Performance not suitable for under 12s.

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TEMPUS MEDIAThere’s never a wrong time to do the right thing

Tempus Media was established at the height of therecession in September 2009 as the founders sawan opening for a top quality, good value mediacompany in a challenging marketplace for businessand Government. Midlands-based Tempus Mediaspecialises in five key areas - Publishing/Copywriting, Public Relations, Media Training,Lobbying, and Business Crisis Management.

Editor: ANGELA MADDEN

Angela has more than 15 years’ experience in thepublishing industry as a Journalist, ForeignCorrespondent, Editor, Group Editor and GeneralManager for trade, local and national press inIreland and the UK. Angela has excellent localknowledge as she was previously Editor of theAthlone Voice and has an enviable list of contactsthroughout the country, built up during her time asGroup Editor for 13 River Media newspaper titles.She also has a wealth of experience launching newpublications responsible for content, layout andtemplates having brought a number of new RiverMedia titles to market in ’07.

Deputy Editor: BRIEGE MADDEN

Briege is a trained journalist who has worked forlocal newspapers for close to four years. Afterattaining her BA Creative Writing & Media Studiesdegree she started her career at The Athlone Voicebefore taking up a more senior role at the CavanPost. She is Communications & Marketing Assistantfor Tempus Media and is the lead consultant on anumber of important Public Relations contracts.Briege is also an avid poet, short story writer and artist.

For further information contact:angela@tempusmedia.ie • 086 7732023 briege@tempusmedia.ie • 086 414 0906

BROSNA PRESSCreative Design and PrintLocated in the heart of the midlands, Brosna Presshas been providing a nationwide client-base withcreative, high quality design and print for over 50years. Its Irish Print Award acknowledges the company’scommitment to the pursuit of excellence in printand creativity in design. Clients in the arts sectorinclude: RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, RTÉConcert Orchestra, Music Network, Music for Galway,New Ross Piano Festival, County Council ArtsOffices, Dunamaise Theatre, Birr Theatre & ArtsCentre, Tuar Ard Arts Centre. Brosna Press operatetheir design studio & print works froma state-of-the-art 12,000 sq ft facility in Ferbane, Co. Offaly.

Creative Director: DIARMUID GUINANSenior Designer: ANN QUINLANProduction Manager: CIARAN GUINANCreative Director Diarmuid Guinan holds a BDes, and has more than 18 years professionalexperience in graphic design and printing. Hemanages a highly creative and experienced designteam including Andrew Moore, BDes, SeniorDesigner, Ann Quinlan, BDes, Senior Designer and the highly experienced Mary Egan. ManagingDirector Ciaran Guinan holds a Diploma in PrintManagement and has more than 25 yearsprofessional experience in the print industry. The production staff at Brosna Press are all highly skilled press operators and printfinishing specialists.

diarmuid@brosnapress.ie • Tel: 090 6454327ciaran@brosnapress.ie • Tel: 090 6454327

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If you have a story or news

relating to the arts in the

Midlands that you would like

to see covered in Midlands

Arts and Culture Magazine,

contact your local Arts Officer

(details opposite).

Have your storycovered…

ARTS OFFICE CONTACTSMuireann Ní Chonaill, Arts OfficerLaois County Council, PortlaoiseTel: 057 8664025 • mnichonaill@laoiscoco.iewww.laois.ie/arts

Sinead O’Reilly, Arts OfficerOffaly County Council, Charleville Road, TullamoreTel: 057 9357400 • soreilly@offalycoco.iewww.offaly.ie/arts

Arts OfficerWestmeath County Council County Buildings, MullingarTel: 044 9332140www.westmeathcoco.ie/arts

Fergus Kennedy, Arts OfficerLongford County Council County, Great Water St., LongfordTel: 086 8517595 • fkennedy@longfordcoco.iewww.longfordcoco.ie/arts_office.html

MidlandsArtsandCultureMagazine

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Tempus Media and Brosna Press, using their combined expertise injournalism, marketing, design, print and production have created anew-look Midlands Arts and Culture Magazine.

A REVIEW OF THE ARTS IN LAOIS, LONGFORD OFFALY AND WESTMEATH

PUBLISHED FOR THE ARTS OFFICES OF LAOIS, LONGFORD, OFFALY & WESTMEATH COUNTY COUNCILS BY TEMPUS MEDIA • DESIGNED & PRINTED BY BROSNA PRESS

MidlandsArtsandCultureMagazine

The College has unveiled its latest course offerings for the Spring of 2013, which

includes the ever-popular FETAC Level 5 Digital Photography Course, which is

on-going and will not be accepting applications until September.

Other courses taking place are The Introduction to Digital Photography for Beginners,

which is for anyone coming to photography for the first time and will cater for both compact

and DSLR owners and will introduce beginners to subjects such as memory storage

and filing and composition techniques.

The course will commence on Tuesday March 12, 7.30-9.30pm for seven weeks and

Improvers Photography will commence on Wednesday 13 March, 7.30 – 9.30pm for

seven weeks.

An Introduction to Portrait/ Studio Photography will commence on Saturday April 20,

10.00am-1.00pm for six weeks (double lecture on last week). This will involve an

introductory examination of such subjects as: posing subjects, lighting techniques,

framing, candid shots, photographer’s position and choosing the right location; for the

advanced post FETAC Level 5 photographers there is a course available in

Advanced Digital Photography: Still Life will commence Saturday April 13, 10am – 1pm

for six weeks and finally there is the Industrial Photography Course (Post FETAC Level 5)

which examines the cameras and materials necessary for photographing subjects for

commercial reproduction aimed at intermediate level non-professional photographers

who want to improve their knowledge of controlled lighting techniques commencing for

6 weeks on Saturday April 13, 2–5pm

F U R T H E R D E TA I L S O F A L L O F T H E S E C O U R S E S C A N B E F O U N D O N W W W. M I D L A N D C O L L E G E O F P H O T O G R A P H Y. I E

The Midland College of Photography, which is now in its

sixth year, offers its own selection of courses. It also operates

the Longford Schools Photography Programme involving six

secondary schools, in Longford, and one in Westmeath as well

as organising the Longford Schools Photographer of the Year

Exhibition and Awards Ceremony.

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Laois Arts

Awards andOpportunities

Organisations, individuals and groups from the county areinvited by Laois County Council Arts Service to apply for thefollowing awards and opportunities:

ARTS ACT GRANTS 2013Provision has been made by Laois County Council for thepayment of grants to arts organisations and individuals whomeet the artistic and financial criteria set down by Laois CountyCouncil and who provide adequate information on their proposedactivities. Maximum amount payable will not exceed €1000.

TYRONE GUTHRIE RESIDENCY BURSARY AWARDS 2013A Bursary is available to enable a Laois artist to spend oneweek working at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in CountyMonaghan. The bursary is open to artists in all fields and isselected on previous achievements and project/s in hand.

In 2013 a special Bursary for Printmakers is available and willenable two print artists to spend a week sharing and working in

the new Print Studio at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre. One of theartists must be an experienced printmaker and preferably amember of a recognised print studio.

ARTISTS IN SCHOOLS SCHEME 2013Grants are available for artists’ residencies in schools, toinclude all art forms. This scheme gives primary and postprimary schools the opportunity to select and work withprofessional artists and explore new arts media.

Details and application forms regarding the above schemes areavailable on request from: The Arts Office, Laois County Council, Áras an Chontae, Portlaoise, County Laois.Telephone: 057 867434Email: artsoff@laoiscoco.ie or can be downloaded from theWebsite: www.laois.ieThe deadline for receipt of project proposals is Tuesday 2nd April 2013.