Éigse Michael Hartnett Literary & Arts Festival 2013 - Kerry County ...

Limerick County Council
Arts Office Presents
Michael Hartnett
Literary & Arts Festival
www.eigsemichaelhartnett.ie
Newcastle West,
Co. Limerick
25 th - 27 th April | 2013

thinking in English
dreaming in Irish

ag cuimhneamh as Béarla
ag taibhreabh as Gaeilge

Introduction:
On behalf of Limerick County Council I would like to welcome
you to the 14th annual Éigse Michael Hartnett Festival,
County Limerick’s prestigious literary & arts festival. Spirit and
imagination are at the heart of this year’s programme. Leading
Irish and international poets, writers and thinkers collide with
musicians, dancers, singers and storytellers, what Michael Hartnett
termed ‘the harp side of the Irish coin’. Events that are bound to
enthuse, stimulate, inspire, and occasionally bemuse, celebrate the
literary and oral legacy of Michael Hartnett, the poet and man.
Hosted throughout the town of Newcastle West, in the library,
schools, the courthouse, church, hospital and pubs, the breadth of
the programme creates an ambience of warmth and conviviality
that lends itself to lively gatherings, easy conversation and spirited
debate.
Éigse Michael Hartnett opens on Thursday, April 25th – 27th
Bí linn agus fáilte.
Joan Mac Kernan
County Arts Officer
Michael Hartnett
Literary & Arts Festival

Micheál Ó hAirtnéide 1941-1999
Rugadh ar Mhicheál Ó hAirtnéide sa
Chaisleán Nua Thiar i 1941. Thosaigh sé ag
scríobh go luath ina shaol agus d’fhéach sé
air féin mar oidhre ar thraidisiún liteartha na
bhfilí Gaelacha. Le linn a shaoil, d’fhoilsigh
sé níos mó ná fiche gcnuasach filíochta, agus
rinne sé aistriúchán ar theangacha éagsúla
chomh maith. Déanann Éigse Mhicíl Uí Airtnéide céiliúradh ar an
traidisiún literartha mar aon leis an traidisiún béil – ar Mhicheál
Ó hAirtnéide mar fhile agus mar fhear.

Déardaoin / Thursday 25 th April
8.00 p.m. Official Opening of Éigse Michael Hartnett by the
Cathaoirleach of Limerick County Council,
Councillor Jerome Scanlan
Keynote Speaker: Noel Curran on
Public Media and Public Discourse – Where to Now?
Spirit of Munster performed by County Limerick’s
professional integrated dance company Spoken Dance
Music by Mike and Ken Hinchy of High Society
Venue: Newcastle West Library
Bí linn agus fáilte / All Welcome
Saor in Aisce / Free Admission.
10.00 p.m. Launch by Clíodhna Cussen of Macalla Maidu,
Mike Mac Domhnaill’s latest collection published
by Coisceim.
Venue: Shamrock Bar, Newcastle West
Bí linn agus fáilte / All Welcome
Saor in Aisce / Free Admission.

Dé hAoine / Friday 26th April
11.30 a.m. Busy Bodies and Brazen Wheels - Choreographed
by Dancer in Residence Mary Hartney, this is dance
that will both entertain, surprise and uplift. The
combination of mobile chair, moving bodies and
joined hearts makes this performance fun, daring and
exciting. Dancers of diverse abilities celebrate together
co-operation, friendship and imagination. It’s a time
to shine for the Residents of Rathfredagh Cheshire
Home as they showcase their collaboration with
students from Hazelwood College, Dromcollogher.
Also sharing the limelight are service-users of the
Brothers of Charity, Newcastle West as they dance
with students from Scoil Mhuire agus Íde. Joining
the dance, fun and exploration on the day will be
Spoken Dance, County Limerick’s first professional
integrated dance company.
Venue: The Courtenay Lodge Hotel, Newcastle West
General Audience - Admission Free / All Welcome
3.00 p.m. And Spring Again… – Opening of artist Gerry
Carew’s exhibition of paintings And Spring Again…
by Abbot Mark Patrick Hederman OSB. This
exhibition records the return of the seasons, the
dependability of the cherry blossom and of the many
other events and traditions which mark and colour
our lives.
Venue: The Red Door, Newcastle West
Saor in Aisce / Admission Free
All Welcome
3.00 p.m. Storytelling, music and song with Sonny Egan and
the residents of St. Ita’s Community Hospital,
Newcastle West.
Venue: St Ita’s Community Hospital
Online booking: www.lcc.ie/events

4.00 p.m. Moving Bodies … Moving Hearts. A magical
performance with Co. Limerick’s professional
integrated dance company Spoken Dance
Venue: The Red Door, Newcastle West
Saor in Aisce / Admission Free
All Welcome
8.00 p.m. The Harp Side of the Irish Coin – an enthralling
evening of poetry with Dermot Healy and the
sean-nós dancing of Seosamh Ó Neachtain
accompanied on flute by Harry Bradley.
Venue: The Courtenay Lodge Hotel, Newcastle West
Táille isteach €10 / Admission €10
10.00 p.m. Fishamble: The New Play Company’s Silent by Pat
Kinevane. Éigse Michael Hartnett is delighted to
welcome Silent to Newcastle West. In this acclaimed
play, Pat Kinevane performs as homeless McGoldrig
who once had splendid things. But he has lost it all -
including his mind. He now dives into the wonderful
wounds of his past through the romantic world of
Rudolph Valentino, in this brave, bold, beautiful
production.
Venue: County Council Area Office, Newcastle West
Táille isteach €10 / Admission €10
Dé Sathairn / Saturday 27th April
11.00 a.m. Michael Hartnett Memorial Lecture: Robert Ballagh
will give this year’s lecture on ‘Words and Pictures’.
Venue: County Council Area Office, Newcastle West
Táille isteach €10 / Admission €10
2.45 p.m. Ned Lynch’s Pub, Newcastle West - the afternoon
commences with Ned’s annual rendition of ‘The Ballad
of Salad Sunday’.

3.00 p.m. I Live in Michael Hartnett – Join us at The Red Door
for the launch of I Live in Michael Hartnett, an
anthology of poems by contemporary poets in
celebration of Michael Hartnett, published by Revival
Press in association with Limerick County Council and
edited by James Lawlor. Fellow poet, and friend of
Michael Hartnett Paula Meehan, will officially launch
the collection.
Venue: The Red Door, Newcastle West
Saor in Aisce / Free Admission
Bí Linn agus Fáilte / All Welcome
4.00 p.m. An open mic session where contributors will read from
the recently launched collection I Live in Michael
Hartnett and the Éigse audience is invited to read some
of their favourite Hartnett poems.
Venue: Cleary’s Bar, Newcastle West
Saor in Aisce / Free Admission
Bí Linn agus Fáilte / All Welcome
8.00 p.m. Bright Night of Two Moons - an evening
of poetry and song with the magical combination of
poet Tony Harrison and the evocative singing voice of
Julie Feeney.
Venue: County Council Area Office, Newcastle West
Táille isteach €10 / Admission €10
10.00 p.m. Club na hÉigse – Join us as we round off Éigse
Michael Hartnett 2013 with lively song, story and
poetry contributions from the audience and
Éigse guests
Venue: Courtenay Lodge Hotel, Newcastle West
Bí Linn agus Fáilte / All Welcome
Online booking: www.lcc.ie/events

‘The harp side of the Irish coin’
Robert Ballagh Harry Bradley Gerry Carew Noel Curran
Clíodhna Cussen Sonny Egan Julie Feeney Tony Harrison
Mary Hartney
Mike Mac
Domhnaill
Dermot Healy
Paula Meehan
Mark Patrick
Hederman OSB
Seosamh
Ó Neachtain
For extended guest biographies please vist
www.eigsemichaelhartnett.ie
Pat Kinevane
Spoken Dance

Robert Ballagh
Robert Ballagh, who lives in Dublin, studied
architecture and worked as an engineering
draughtsman, a musician and a postman before
taking up painting in 1967. He is now recognised
as one of our leading artists, representing Ireland
at the Paris Biennale in 1969, and at graphic
exhibitions in Florence, Ljubljana and Tokyo. His
paintings are held in national and international
collections and he has exhibited widely. He has
produced over 70 stamps for An Post, the final
series of Irish banknotes and numerous murals,
posters, limited prints and book covers. His
theatre set designs include Riverdance and stage
design for the opening ceremony of the Special
Olympics in Croke Park, 2003. For 10 years he
chaired the Irish National Congress, a non-party
organisation working for peace in Northern
Ireland, is currently president of the Ireland
Institute and a fellow of the World Academy of
Art and Science. He is a member of Aosdána.
Harry Bradley
Harry Bradley was born in South Belfast in 1974.
He discovered Irish traditional music through
popular recordings and the vibrant recording
heritage from the 1920s and 30s has had a huge
influence on his personal playing style as has
the playing of more contemporary exponents
including Seamus Tansey, Dessie Wilkinson, John
Carty and piper Seamus Ennis. Noted for his
unique tone and driving rhythm, Harry has come
to be recognised as one of the most distinctive
flute players in Ireland today. He has recorded as a
solo musician as well as duet and trio recordings.
Harry is also a dedicated uilleann piper and has
served as a member of the board of directors of
Na Píobairí Uilleann, the society for uilleann
pipers, where he taught pipes. He designed and
initiated the NPU Heritage & Research Project, a
joint FAS/NPU training initiative based in the Na
Píobairí Uilleann archive.

Gerry Carew
Gerry Carew from Doon Co. Limerick is an
artist and art therapist. After graduating Limerick
College of Art and Design in industrial ceramic
design, she returned to her first love, painting,
over 25 years ago. She has exhibited regularly over
the years and her work is in private and public
collections.
In 1991 she became artist in residence in
St. Joseph’s Hospital Limerick and this led her
to pursue a Master in Art Therapy at Crawford
College of Art, Cork. She has continued to
work in the area of Mental Health since the
90’s and uses art as a vehicle for assessing
and communicating feelings for which words
sometime are not enough.
Noel Curran
Noel Curran was appointed Director General
of RTÉ in November 2010 with effect from
February 2011. He is a native of Co. Monaghan
and a graduate of Dublin City University.
Noel’s experience in Irish media runs from
the print industry to senior management level
in broadcasting, taking in high level and diverse
production experience in Current Affairs and
Entertainment programmes in addition to work
in the independent production sector.
Noel Curran completed a BA in
Communications from Dublin City University
before beginning work in the print media as a
business journalist. He was Deputy Editor with
Business and Finance before joining RTÉ in
1992.
In RTÉ Noel worked as a reporter, producer
and editor in RTÉ Television. He was executive
producer of the Eurovision Song Contest in
Dublin in 1997 and served two terms as Editor
of Current Affairs in the News Division, where
he established the Prime Time Investigates
programme strand. Noel Curran joined RTÉ’s
Executive as Managing Director of Television in
2003. In March 2010 Noel left RTÉ to pursue
private business interests before returning to the
role of Director General. He has previously been a
company director in the independent production
sector in Ireland.

Clíodhna Cussen
Ba as an Caislean Nua, Co. Luimnigh do
thuismitheoiri Chlíodhna. D’fhreastail si ar an
ollscoil agus ar cholaiste ealaine. Is mar ealaiontoir
agus mar dhealbhadoir go hairithe is fearr
aithne ag an bpobal mor uirthi. Ta saothar lei i
mbailiuchain phriobhaideacha agus in ionaid eile.
Ta tri leabhar deag de chinealacha eagsula i gclo
aici, orthusan Gearoid Iarla (BAC: Clodhanna
Teo., 1978); Inniu an Luan (BAC: Coisceim,
1987); agus An bhean ud thall (BAC: Bord na
Gaeilge, 1993)
Sonny Egan
Sonny Egan is a storyteller, singer, musician
and impromptu dancer who hails from North
Kerry. A winner of The Eamon Kelly Seanchaí
Storytelling Award at Writers’ Week Listowel,
Sonny is welcomed at Festivals and venues
throughout Ireland for his witty and warm style
of traditional storytelling. He is celebrated for
his role as Fear an Tí at the weekly Rambling
House sessions, which he hosts in his own home
in his native townland of Garrynagnore, in
Abbeydorney. Sonny has kept this great tradition
alive for over two decades; people flock from all
over North Kerry and beyond to play music, to
dance, sing songs and deliver poetry and verse
while enjoying the hospitality of their amicable
host. Sonny Egan is a true upholder of the
traditional craft of the storyteller, a custodian of
our folk tradition.
For extended guest biographies please visit
www.eigsemichaelhartnett.ie

Julie Feeney
Galway native Julie Feeney is an award-winning
and critically acclaimed composer, singer,
songwriter, record producer, musician, theatre
artist, orchestrator and educator. She composes
instrumental and electronic music, and songs
with full orchestrations. Her avant-garde
approach while rooted in classical music straddles
both the pop and theatrical worlds. Her debut
album, 13 songs, won the Choice Music Prize
for Irish Album of the Year, 2006. Her second
album, Pages, for which she composed the music
for orchestra was also nominated for the same
prize in 2010. Her third album Clocks was voted
Best Album, 2012 by readers of The Irish Times.
It has also been nominated for the Meteor Choice
Music Prize for Irish Album of the Year, 2012.
Julie has toured nationally and internationally and
her 2012 live performance in New York received a
stellar review in the New York Times.
Tony Harrison
Tony Harrison, who lives in Newcastle upon
Tyne, is one of Britain’s major literary figures.
His first collection of poems, The Loiners, was
awarded The Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize
in 1972. His poetry has since won many other
prizes, including The Whitbread Prize for Poetry,
1993, The William Heinemann Prize, 1996, The
Wilfred Owen Award for Poetry, 2006 and the
inaugural Pen/Pinter Award, 2009. Tony is also
a leading theatre and film poet who has written
verse drama, opera librettos and music theatre for
the National Theatre, the New York Metropolitan
Opera, BBC Television and Channel Four. He is
an exceptional reader of his work and has made
two recordings, which were issued by Penguin/
Faber and Bloodaxe. In 2011 he was awarded the
European Prize for Literature.
For extended guest biographies please visit
www.eigsemichaelhartnett.ie

Mary Hartney
Mary Hartney, dancer and dance teacher has
developed an innovative integrated dance
programme under the auspices of Limerick
County Council. This programme which is now
an integral part of the transition year studies
in 6 county post primary schools, engages
disabled and non-disabled dancers in creating
and performing dance. Mary also works with
students at the University of Limerick, the Irish
Wheelchair Association, Rathfredagh Cheshire
Home, Brothers of Charity, Enable Ireland and
Shanagolden Youthreach Centre. In 2012 she
received a bursary from the Arts Council to be
mentored by choreographer Cathy O Kennedy in
her work with Spoken Dance, County Limerick’s
first professional integrated Dance Company.
Dermot Healy
Dermot Healy, who lives in Sligo, is one of our
leading literary figures, poet, novelist, playwright
and actor. He has published four collections of
poetry with Gallery Press, four novels, a short
story collection and his evocative memoir “The
Bend for Home”. He has won two Hennessy
Awards, the Encore Award for his novel “A
Goat’s Song”, and was the recipient of The Irish
American Award for Literature, 2002. He is a
member of Aosdána.

Mark Patrick Hederman OSB
Mark Patrick Hederman is Abbot of Glenstal
Abbey, Co. Limerick. He was a founder editor
of The Crane Bag magazine and is the author of
numerous books. These include Kissing the Dark,
The Haunted Inkwell, Underground Cathedrals and
Dancing with Dinosaurs: A Spirituality for the 21st
Century. His latest book is The Boy in the Bubble:
Education as Personal Relationship. He has taught
literature in the United States and Nigeria and
held the posts of librarian in Glenstal Abbey and
headmaster in the post-primary school attached
to the Abbey.
Pat Kinevane
Pat Kinevane, a native of Cobh, County Cork
is one of Ireland’s best known actors working
in the field for the past twenty-one years. An
accomplished playwright, his first play, “The
Nun’s Wood”, won a BBC Stewart Parker Trust
Award. This was produced by Fishamble: The
New Play Company, as is this performance of
“Silence” for Éigse Michael Hartnett 2013. Pat
has toured the world to critical acclaim with his
various productions and has numerous film and
television credits to his name.

Mike MacDomhnaill
Rugadh Mike Mac Domhnaill i gCluain Cath,
Contae Luimnigh sa bhliain 1953. D’aistrigh
an chlann go dtí An Caisleán Nua i 1957 ar
bhás a athar. Gníomhach le lúthchleasaíocht,
Gaelscoileanna, Mór-Shlí an Deiscirt, Éigse
Michael Hartnett.
Dánta foilsithe i Nua Aois, An Cloigeann is
a Luach, The Stony Thursday Book, Microphone
On, Dal gCais, Weekly Observer, Limerick
Leader. Gearrliosta sa Francis Mc Manus Short
Story Comp 2006(RTÉ). Gearrliosta sa Francis
Ledwidge Comp 2012. Leabhar dhátheangach
filíochta Mac Baintrí/Widow’s Son(2009)
foilsithe aige.
Paula Meehan
Paula Meehan was born in the north inner city
of Dublin in 1955. She was educated at Trinity
College, Dublin, and at Eastern Washington
University in the U.S.A. She has published six
award winning collections of poetry and has
written plays for stage and for radio, for both
adults and children. Recent collections are
Dharmakaya and Painting Rain, and this spring
Dedalus Press publish a selection of seminal
poems from the 80’s and 90’s, Mysteries of the
Home. She was elected to Aosdána in 1996.
For extended guest biographies please visit
www.eigsemichaelhartnett.ie

Seosamh Ó’Neachtain
Seosamh Ó Neachtain is from An Spidéal in Co.
Galway. Since a very young age, Seosamh has had
a keen interest in Traditional Irish Dance Music,
in particular the dance aspect of it. Although he
never received any formal training as a dancer,
he has received both national and international
acclaim. He has performed with some o the most
influential acts in Traditional Irish Dance Music:
Altan, De Danann and Mairtin O’Connor. In
addition he has recorded with renowned solo
musicians , including Harry Bradley, Jesse Smith,
Johnny Connolly, and The Tap Room Trio. He
has wowed audiences with his performances
at County Limerick festivals including Eigse
Michael Hartnett and SoulScapes, Kilmallock.
Spoken Dance
In 2011 in collaboration with dancers Lisa Cahill
and Sultan Kakar, Mary Hartney set up Spoken
Dance, a professional integrated dance company.
The company have since been joined by dancers
Rhona Coughlan and Georgina Lubek for their
recent performances at the Millennium Theatre
Limerick.
Spoken Dance performed for President of
Ireland Michael D Higgins at the Éigse Michael
Hartnett Festival at Newcastle West, Co Limerick
in April 2012. They also featured on RTE’s
Nationwide in April 2012. Since then Spoken
Dance have performed at Féile na Gréine in
Waterville, Co. Kerry, the Galway Fringe Festival,
Mamuska event at the I.F. O.N.L.Y. Festival, ,
Birr, Co. Offaly and at An Fhéile Bheag Filíochta,
Dingle, Co. Kerry.
For extended guest biographies please visit
www.eigsemichaelhartnett.ie

The éigse Michael Hartnett website
Would you like to know more about Éigse Michael Hartnett Literary
& Arts Festival, know more about Michael Hartnett, poet and man?
Then visit www.eigsemichaelhartnett.ie and find
• Updates and news on éigse events and guests
• MP3 Audio files of past speeches, lectures and poetry readings
• Image galleries of past éigse events
• Extended guest biographies and links.
• Subscribe to the Éigse Mailing List/book tickets and
avoid disappointment
www.eigsemichaelhartnett.ie

Michael Hartnett
Literary & Arts Festival
Co-ordinator: Joan Mac Kernan, County Arts Officer
Committee: Bríd Quinn, John Cussen, Aileen Dillane,
Gabriel Fitzmaurice, Vincent McDonnell,
Vicki Nash, Norma Prendiville,
Eileen Sheehan, Fiona Quinn, James Lawlor
& Helena Close
County Arts Office t. 087 3949974
Limerick County Council e. eigsemh@gmail.com
County Hall, Dooradoyle
Co. Limerick
www.eigsemichaelhartnett.ie
Online booking:
www.lcc.ie/events
Éigse Michael Hartnett is an initiative of Limerick County Council
supported by The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon