Misneach was set up back in the sixties by socialist-republican Gaeilgeoir and modernist author Máirtín Ó Cadhain. It’s recently been revived by a group of Irish-language activists with a fiercely anti-capitalist bent. Tomás Lynch caught up with Misneach member Seanán Mac Aoidh to talk about the ructions over the Irish language Act in the North and all things Gaeilge.
Translation Years.
Kabosh is a company on a mission to challenge the very notion of what theatre is. Their latest play Lives in Translation sold out the Belfast Festival in 2017 and is back for another run. It hones in on the survival instinct of one woman as she navigates conflict and gets stuck in the suffocating bureaucratic purgatory of the asylum process. Rosemary Jenkinson shared some thoughts about the production … Read More
Season Of The Witch.
Bristling with political resonances, Jesse Jones picks apart hidden histories of dissent and resistance. Her installation Tremble Tremble, represented Ireland at this year’s Art Olympics, the Venice Biennale. It features iconic theatre artist Olwen Fouéré and was inspired by research into witches and other feminist histories that are still relevant to contemporary Ireland. Caitriona Devery caught up with her to chat about art and politics.
One Night In Skintown.
Following the publication of his highly acclaimed debut novel Skintown about rave culture in 1990’s Northern Ireland, Enniskillen actor Ciarán McMenamin talks to Eileen Walsh about drugs, protein shakes and orange marches. And with his book being hailed as the new Trainspotting, the film rights to Skintown have already been snapped up. watch this space. People in Northern Ireland are tired of hearing stories about the Troubles, people in the South … Read More
Scratch That Itch.
Above: Patrick O’Brien captures the masked hip-hop crusader in his natural enviroment. From co-founding Galway’s Community Skratch games, being a member of the Vince McMahon scratch super-group to making some seriously innovative music as one half of one man duo Deviant and Naïve Ted, Andy Connolly has been a cornerstone of Irish hip-hop and electronica for over a decade. Martin Leen took the brave step and left Dublin for the … Read More
Another Outpost Gone.
Above: Captured by our man Beggars. The kiosk in all its architectural glory. This tiny hexagonal kiosk out in Ballsbridge is just 37 square feet. It’s about the size of a bathroom in a small gaff. It may be one of Dublin’s smallest buildings, but as Dan Lambert finds out it tells a terrible tale about where our city is going. On the outside it’s undeniably pretty. Sitting neatly on … Read More
Bye George!
Above: Illustartion by Mice. That’s next year’s totally inappropriate Halloween mask sorted so. George Hook is a long time Blueshirt supporter who made a good living from greasing the gears of the establishment and the fine craft of being a reactionary wind up merchant on prime time radio. We drafted in Paul Dillon to look at how the Hookie monster eventually fell from grace and the far bigger picture of … Read More
Everybody Dance!
Above: A member of the campaign lobbies council members to get rid of the Cabret Act. Credit to the Dance Liberation Network’s Insta acount. If you thought Ireland had poxy restrictions when it came to dancing, wait til you hear about New York’s Cabaret Laws. They were forged in 1926 amidst an atmosphere charged with racial fears of Jazz music. Much like our own 1935 Dancehall Act so. While … Read More
Come Out And Play.
A Playful City is a collaborative project aiming to create inclusive, child-friendly, and playful spaces in Dublin City. Coordinated by co-creation wizards Connect the Dots with sustainable play heads Upon a Tree (they met on north inner city temporary park project, Granby Park), the project is part consultation, part conference / hackaton and part urban intervention. The goal is putting people and play back into the urban landscape. Caitriona … Read More
Culture Vultures.
Above: Ian Hunter captures Smithfield Square over on Flickr. With plans well underway for yet another cultural qwartter in Parnell Square, Kerry Guinan warns us to be sceptical of Dublin city council’s love in with vulture fund Kennedy Wilson after the “culture” evaporated from Temple Bar and Smithfield Square quicker than the steam of piss behind the Hard Rock Cafe on Fleet Street. Past initiatives warn us that culture-led development in … Read More