Search Results for 'author'

091 Labs, 5-9pm

I hope the recent scandals in the Catholic Church will not discourage the noble tradition of the cleric as the social champion of the people. It is time that we had their like to nail their colours to the mast once again. Growing up in the last century, I was familiar with such names as Fr James McDyer and his tireless campaign against the official neglect of Gleann Cholm Cile; and Canon George Quinn and his fight for better social housing. There were several others, who have spilled over into recent years, including Fr Peter McVerry and his fight for homeless people in Dublin, and Fr Harry Bohan and his belief in the staying power of families in rural Ireland. But the champion of them all, the priest with the soft voice and a twinkle in both eyes, was the indefatigable Monsignor James Horan. Not only did he re-design the village of Knock to make it more people friendly, he built schools, clinics, and a convent, and a vast basilica. He organised community water schemes, and forestry plantations, and built an impressive international airport in the bogs of Mayo. 

TWENTY-NINE years later, the route directions still resonate: “You drive as far as Malin Head and reverse 10 mile”. These were given to my brother Tom in 1986 when he received an invitation to what turned out to be one of the more singular book launches he ever attended.

FOR THOSE of us blessed with kids, or who can borrow kids, a highlight of the year is the Baboró International Arts Festival for Children. So it was with great delight that your trusty correspondent attended the Monday evening launch for this year’s festival where details of the 2015 programme were unveiled.

ONE OF the big hits of last year’s Galway International Arts Festival was Star Of The Sea, the superb stage adaptation of Joseph O’Connor’s acclaimed novel jointly produced by Moonfish and An Taibhdhearc. Audiences now have a second chance to see this much-praised show when it returns to An Taibhdearc for a short run prior to embarking on a national tour.

GUESS HOW Much I Love You, the much loved and award winning children's story written by Irish author Sam McBratney and illustrated by Anita Jeram, will be brought to the stage as part of the Baboró International Children's Festival.

GALWAY ADVERTISER arts editor Kernan Andrews, poet Kate Ennals, broadcaster Clara Rose Thornton, and writers Susan Lanigan, and Ruth Aylett, will all read at the Over The Edge Writers’ Gathering in The Kitchen, Galway City Museum, on Friday September 11 at 8pm.

Galway’s Oscar Wilde Festival takes place next weekend for its third year, from Friday, September 4, to Sunday, September 6. The festival boasts a packed programme and will see Wilde experts and enthusiasts gather to celebrate his life and work in a west of Ireland setting. 

A new report confirms the hospitality sector is a significant component of the tourism infrastructure in Galway, with 504 pubs, 64 hotel bars and 141 fully licensed and wine licensed restaurants in the county. 

What was Home Rule? How did John Redmond’s Irish Parliamentary Party operate and how was it viewed throughout the country prior to 1916? How popular was Redmond’s decision to call on Irishmen to fight in World War I?