John Hurley

I called in to John Hurley's Art Gallery on Denny Street in Tralee the other day to ask him if he'd like to be featured in Arts Attack. Smiling broadly he said, "I'd be delighted".

He then proceeded to alarm me with the amount of information he had to give me about his work. "John," I said, "how am I going to fit all this into my article?"

He responded with a modest shrug, as if to say "I'll leave that up to you!"

Looking around the gallery, which John opened in 2005, it is easy to see why he has become one of Kerry's best-known artists. His abstract oil paintings - confident and vibrant works of great passion and sensitivity to nature - are compelling and absorbing. Each painting exhibits characteristics that distinguish it as a John Hurley original, yet all vary significantly in style, composition, colour and mood.

"Opening the gallery has been a success," he told me. "I am managing to make a living from my sales."

The elemental power of the sea inspires John's work and that is why he has made Kerry his home. Since graduating from the National College of Art and Design in Dublin in 1984 he has had eleven solo exhibitions and is represented in private and corporate collections in Ireland and abroad. In 2005 he had a solo exhibition in London's Royal Albert Hall.

John Hurley is a rare talent. And he's actually a bit of a Renaissance man as he is also a musician of profound skill and ability. He is a gifted songwriter and released his popular CD "Wellspring" in 2000. In February 2006 his musical "Seagull's Dance", directed by David Hayes of "Riverdance" and "I Keano" fame, opened in Dublin's 350-seat Draíocht Theatre for a sell-out two week run.

John is even in the Guinness Book of Records because in 1998, in Killarney, along with Bagatelle's Liam Reilly, he wrote, recorded and transmitted a song in just under four hours. The song, "Leaving Abbie", was the fastest produced and broadcast song in history. Written in aid of the "Omagh Appeal" it reached No 15 in the Irish Charts.

"Open Sky", the opening track on Tommy's Fleming's current CD, "A Life Like Mine", is composed by John.

As a live performer John is, well, great. A fine singer and guitarist he plays regularly in Tralee where his admirable ability to interpret beautiful and emotive songs can be measured by the warm reception he effortlessly elicits from his audience. Baily's on Ashe St on a Monday night is strongly recommended if you appreciate original material.

Despite his incredible talent John Hurley is hugely approachable and really down to earth.

"I don't consider myself well-known. I don't have time to worry about it. I just want to work."

View John's paintings and pick up a copy of "Wellspring" at The John Hurley Gallery, Denny Street, Tralee or log onto

Tarry Flynn

Adapted from Patrick Kavanagh's novel, Tarry Flynn, which was published in 1948 and quickly banned, the Sliabh Luachra Drama Group's latest production proved to be a wonderful success.

Telling a story of the repression of the individual in rural Ireland during the 1930's, a time when the Catholic Church's strict teachings on sexual mores and the reigning in of individual freedoms stuck fear into the heart of society, Tarry Flynn was a wonderfully acted piece with Moira O' Connor as lead, Mrs. Flynn, stealing the show and Dermot O' Leary, playing the wonderfully sleazy Petey Meegan, heading up the ensemble cast.

The production was staged in Scartaglen Community Hall. "This year's production has been an amazing success," said Fiona Brennan, Assistant Director. "We always have a fantastic support but we sold out practically every show and even had to add an extra show to cater for the demand." No mean feat in a hall that holds in excess of two hundred seats with a production that played for five nights and had to be extended to a sixth.

Tarry Flynn, played by Danny O' Leary, the eponymous hero of the piece, like many a poet that has gone before and since has two great loves - nature and young women! The young women in this instance were the beautifully pretty but prim Mary Reilly, played by Sinead O Driscoll, and the wonderfully wicked but readily available Molly Brady, played by Mary Horgan, who flashed her bloomers with hilarious regularity.

"Every member of the cast put a huge amount of work into the production," said Fiona, "so it was really satisfying to see the audience reaction. Everything from set design and decoration to selling of tickets was done by members of the Sliabh Luachra Drama Group and I'd just like to thank them for their dedication. Nora Walsh, director of the piece, also deserves a special word of commendation. She's the backbone of the group, has been involved in all the productions and even acted in the play."

Tarry Flynn, Sliabh Luachra's seventh production, and its success in terms of both numbers of people that went to see it and the professionalism of the cast and crew is proof, if any were needed, that the traditional Irish love of theatre is alive and well through out the country.

Previous works performed by the Sliabh Luachra Drama Group include Sive and Moll by Kerry native, John B. Keane, and Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel.

"We're very aware of the importance of theatre to the people of Kerry and are delighted to be able to add a little bit to our rich cultural heritage, we try to put on plays that speak to the people of the community," said Fiona. It's nice to see theatre alive and well in the villages of Kerry.

For more information on Sliabh Luachra Drama Group or to get involved in upcoming productions please email Fiona Brennan at scrahanmf@eircom.net

RTE Symphony

Some people have all the luck - talent to die for and beauty to kill for. With the double barrel helping of genius and looks, fame and fortune must have been an easy target for Nicola Benedetti.

Hailing from southwest Scotland, where she was born in Ayrshire in 1987, she first picked up a violin at the age of four, though it is rumored she cried when it was handed to her, she quickly overcame her initial reluctance and began Suzuki lessons some time before her fifth birthday.

By the age of ten she had enrolled in the equally prestigious Yehudi Menuhin School and her artistry grew in leaps and bounds until, at the tender age of 16, she was named as the BBC's Young Musician of the Year in 2004.

The next year, the then-17-year-old, signed a not too shabby million pound, six album deal, with Deutsche Grammophon, the holy grail of classical recording artists. While some members of the press have been quick to dismiss her as the 'Britney Spears of Classical music' she has stayed thankfully clear of the many pitfalls of fame that plague other child stars - though at still only 19 years of age there's plenty time for the champagne, cocaine lifestyle to pop up yet!

It's all too easy to credit such gargantuan early success on looks or luck rather than on talent while assuming that other more talented musicians, with the bad luck to be born looking like the back of a bus are sitting forlornly at home.

Such criticism, however, can be easily dismissed with The Sunday Times describing Nicola's playing as having 'glass-shattering perfection...and deliciously unaffected charm'. This concert truly presents an exciting opportunity to hear a formidable talent performing one of the great violin concertos.

Nicola will play in the Tralee Regional Sports Centre on March 15th at 8:00 p.m. where she will perform Mendelssohn's beautiful Violin Concerto, Beethoven's powerful Seventh Symphony, and Nicolai's captivating Overture to The Merry Wives of Windsor.

All feature in the RTE National Symphony Orchestra's Spring tour under conductor Gerhard Markson who is the principal conductor of the RTE National Symphony Orchestra but additionally has a busy international conducting career.

The RTE National Symphony Orchestra plays a central role in classical music in Ireland, through live performance, broadcast and touring. As an integral part of RTE, the orchestra reaches a great number of listeners through its live broadcasts on RTE lyric fm and through its association with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It promises to be a concert not to be missed.

Comedy Workshop

Comedy is an entirely subjective thing. A joke that has some people rolling in the aisles with laughter has others cringing in embarrassment. And yet laughter and comedy are universal and universally held in high regard. Ireland and the Irish have long been associated with a particularly dark sense of humour and wit that is, quite literally, world famous.

With this in mind Frances Kay, writer-in-residence for Kerry County Council, will give a comedy writing workshop in the Samhlaiocht Gallery, Lower Castle Street, Tralee on Saturday March 10th. The workshop begins at 10:30 a.m. and lasts until 4:00 p.m. with a break for lunch and will give participants a chance to hone their comedic writing skills.

"People can come along and find out exactly what makes us laugh, and how to produce more of it," said Frances. "Everyone is asked to bring along just one thing - a story, a joke or a cartoon - that makes them laugh."

"Then we will write! Maybe try a little stand up if the atmosphere is empathic enough. We'll act out each other's scripts and try not to copy Father Ted, the Mighty Boosh, Frasier, Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, though we may 'pay homage to' our personal favourites," says Frances.

Frances Kay has worked in theatre and television since 1973. She was senior scriptwriter and editor on RTE's 'The Morbegs'. She was writer-in-residence with TEAM theatre company from 2000-2002 and has been writer-in-residence for Kerry County Council for the past year. This will be positively the last appearance of Frances Kay before she "leaves her post to go and plant potatoes in West Cork."

The workshop is entirely free of charge but interested parties must sign up in advance. For more information or to sign up for the workshop please contact Ann at Samhlaiocht on 066 712 9934, or log onto

Busking Competition

As part of its upcoming Easter Arts Festival, April 6th to April 9th, Samhlaiocht will hold a Busking and Street Entertainment competition. All street entertainers are invited to take part in the festivities, everything from talented musicians, jugglers, singers, dancers, comedians, fire-eaters and street artists will be welcome. The competition will be judged by Tralee native, Catriona Ni Shuilleabhain, of Glor Tire, the TG4 Country Music competition, fame.

'Music and entertainment has always played a huge part in the Samhlaiocht Easter Arts Festival," said Jason O' Mahony, Artistic Director, Samhlaiocht. "With the launch of the Busking & Street Entertainment competition we're hoping to bring all the excitement of the festival to the streets of Tralee."

The Busking & Street Entertainment Competition will run over the Easter weekend, April 8th and 9th in Tralee. "We're really looking forward to Easter Arts Festival and we think that the Busking & Street Entertainment Competition will add to the wealth of free activities that it brings to Tralee," said Michele Sheehan, co-ordinator of the competition. "The town will come alive with all kinds of wonderful entertainment."

The people of Tralee are very supportive of the festival and always appreciate the wealth of talent brought to the town each Easter weekend and the Tralee branch of the Vintners Federation of Ireland, has offered to sponsor the cash prizes that the winning Entertainers will receive.

"The Tralee Vintners Federation is only too delighted to be associated with the Samhlaíocht Busking & Street Entertainment Competition because our aims are similar -to bring people to town," said Danny Leane, Abbey Inn Tralee, Chairman of the Tralee Branch of the V.F.I.

With artists from all over Ireland descending on Tralee for three days over Easter, the annual Easter Arts Festival has become a favourite bank holiday treat for lovers of culture and 'craic'. This year the festival promises to whip up a whirlwind of fresh, exciting music, dance, literature, street theatre, workshops, childrens' activities, markets, a parade and much more.

Finnegan's Hostel on Denny Street Tralee, which is a long time supporter of Samhlaiocht, has offered a discount rate to entertainers that come from outside of Tralee. To book a room please call 066 712 7610 or log onto www.finneganshostel.com

All interested buskers and entertainers should contact Michele at Samhlaiocht at info@samhlaiocht.com or call 066 712 9934, or drop into the Samhlaiocht office in the Old Presbytery on Lower Castle Street to fill out an application form.

Street Busking

Samhlaiocht today issued a call for entries for the inaugural Annual Busking & Street Entertainment Competition which will take place as part of the Samhlaiocht Easter Arts Festival, which runs in Tralee from April 6th to April 9th, 2007. All street entertainers are invited to take part in the festivities, everything from talented musicians, jugglers, singers, dancers, comedians, fire-eaters and street artists will be welcome.

"Music and entertainment has always played a huge part in the Samhlaiocht Easter Arts Festival," said Michele Sheehan, Co-ordinator of the event. "With the launch of the Busking & Street Entertainment competition we're hoping to bring all the excitement of the festival to the streets of Tralee."

The Busking & Street Entertainment Competition will run over the Easter weekend, April 7th, 8th and 9th in Tralee. "We're really looking forward to Easter Arts Festival and we think that the Busking & Street Entertainment Competition will add to the wealth of free activities that it brings to Tralee," said Michele. "The town will come alive with all kinds of wonderful entertainment."

The people of Tralee are very supportive of the festival and always appreciate the wealth of talent brought to the town on Easter weekend and the Tralee Vintners Federation, as a show of appreciation, has offered to sponsor the cash prizes that the winning Entertainers will receive.

"The Tralee Vintners Federation is only too delighted to be associated with the Samhlaiocht Busking & Street Entertainment Competition because our aims are similar - to bring people to town," said Danny Leane, Abbey Inn Tralee, Chairman of the Tralee Branch of the V.F.I.

With artists from all over Ireland descending on Tralee for three days over Easter, the annual Easter Arts Festival has become a favourite bank holiday treat for lovers of culture and 'craic'. This year the festival promises to whip up a whirlwind of fresh, exciting music, dance, literature, street theatre, workshops, children's activities, markets, a parade and much more.

Finnegan's Hostel on Denny Street Tralee, which is a long time supporter of Samhlaiocht, has offered a discount rate to entertainers that come from outside of Tralee. To book a room please call 066 712 7610 or log onto

All interested parties should contact Michele at 066 712 9934 to register, or log onto

The Gathering

Stars of the Irish traditional music scene will be out in force in Killarney when the eighth annual Gathering takes place from February 21st - 25th.

Considered by many to be one of the highlights of the year for traditional Irish musicians and fans, The Gathering is an exciting five-day annual festival which celebrates the rich heritage of traditional Irish music. With concerts and ceilis, sessions and songs, dancing and drinking, workshops for both adults and children, guided walks of Kerry national park and a musical tour and lecture on the unique musical style of the Sliabh Luachra area, the event promises to have something for everyone - young or old.

Internationally acclaimed artists feature heavily throughout the jam-packed programme including, The Swallow's Tail Ceili Band, fiddle player Manus McGuire and Ireland's Eurovision hopefuls, Dervish. The Johhny Reidy Ceili Band are one of the groups lined up and organisers expect them to get people dancing with their superb Kerry music.

Traditionalist fans will be most excited to hear that Arcady, famous for their excellent musicianship, have resurfaced and will be showcasing their new line-up - legendary bodhran player Johhny 'Ringo' McDonagh still present. The impressive ten-piece Allow Ceile Band, who have won second and third place in the All-Ireland Ceili Band Competitions for the last two years, will also be appearing at The Gleneagle.

The Gathering takes place in the INEC in Killarney from February 21st to February 25th. For more information please call 064 71 555 or log onto

Garda Band

"The healthy and strong individual is the one who asks for help when he needs it, whether he's got an abscess on his knee or on his soul."
Rona Barrett

On a recent Friday February night these words, clearly visible over the stage of the Brandon Conference Centre, for a concert given by The Garda Band, and organised in association with the Lions Club, focused the audience's attention on the charity towards which the 10 euro entrance fee was going - the Irish Association of Suicidology.

This extremely worthy cause is one which is close to the hearts of the Gardai, who have to deal with the effects of suicide at close quarters and, sadly, on an increasingly regular basis. It also proved a strong draw for the people of Tralee and beyond as the Conference Centre was packed to capacity.

"I'm absolutely delighted with the turn out," said Organiser Dave Rath, a Tralee-based community Garda and former Garda Brass Band member. "We have over 1300 people here which is way more than we could have hoped for, everybody from the band to the audience loved the event and more importantly we raised a lot of money for a very worthy cause."

From the minute they came on, the band generated the irresistibly upbeat, smile-inducing, heart-warming atmosphere that only a really good brass band can create. First was the popular “Old Comrades March”, then a rousing Al Jolson medley, delivered with gusto, instantly showing the audience that The Garda Band now have vocally as well as instrumentally talented people. A lively traditional flute arrangement which closely followed, called “Sarah’s Delight”, was played by a very gifted flautist to a virtuoso bongo accompaniment, making for a very exciting and impressive number.

The quality was sustained throughout the whole performance, never flagging at any point. The audience was mostly mature, no doubt fondly remembering the many appearances of the Garda Band on the streets of Tralee for the Rose of Tralee festival, and purring with delighted recognition as well-loved titles were introduced.

There is something very disarming (pardon the pun) about a Garda Band performance. I think it's the combination of the stern Garda Siochána-like implacability that is generally maintained but which breaks into spontaneous outbursts of good-humoured laughter in between numbers.

Dave Rath also invited the Gospel Choir of the Redeemed Christian Church of Tralee along on the night to sing a few songs. With most of the choir, including singers and a young keyboardist, coming from Nigeria, the African flavoured melodies with light-hearted harmonies and up-tempo rhythms were performed with reverance, sincerity and style.

When it was all over, after the performers had received a standing ovation, I chatted to Shegu, one of the members of the Gospel Choir, and asked him how he'd enjoyed the night. "It was the best concert I’ve been at in years," he said.

Dave Rath agreed entirely saying, "I've never seen The Garda Band receive a warmer reception at any performance. It was a joy to behold."

Tighe O'Donoghue

Rooted An exhibition of prints by Tighe O' Donoghue Ross opened on Tuesday February 6th to the sound of uileann pipes and whistles by Dave Hegarty and Michael Doody. The exhibition titled 'Rooted' will run until March 3rd, 2007, Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m and includes prints from Tighe's son, Eoghan, and daughter D'Ana.
Much of the art of Tighe O'Donoghue Ross is rooted in the medieval and this interest in the great classical themes coupled with his love of his Irish heritage produces a body of work that spring from the mist of time.
"In Tighe's Children of Lir the four swan-children look like a single tower of strength and feathers, full of awkwardness yet also full of grace as they strive for the heavens," said Gallery owner Frank Lewis. "The piece is an evocative expression of jealousy, determination, love and frustration and these are emotions that surface time and again in Tighe's work."
For more info please drop by the Frank Lewis Gallery, 6 Bridewell Lane, Killarney. You may also telephone on 064-31108 or log onto

Gearscannain

Dr. Muiris O' Laoire and Samhlaiocht's Sheila Kelly

Dr. Muiris O' Laoire and Bernadine Mhic Giolla Phadraig to facilitate a workshop for Irish Teachers titled: "Exploring ways of teaching Gearscannan"

A workshop for secondary school Irish teachers, entitled "Exploring ways of teaching Gearrscannain", will be held at The Teachers Education Centre on the North Campus of the Institute of Technology Tralee in Dromtacker, Tralee on Tuesday, February 27th.

Gearrscannain, which means short film "as gaeilge", is a study option for senior cycle students studying Irish and explores the short film format through the medium of Irish. The workshop, which will be facilitated by Dr. Muiris O' Laoire, senior lecturer at the Insitute of Technology, Tralee and Bernadine Mhic Giolla Phadraig will help teachers to better understand short films and to use the medium to instruct students studying Gearrscannain.

"There has been an absolute explosion in short film making recently," said Jason O' Mahony, Artistic Director of Samhlaiocht Kerry Film Festival, "and this is reflected in both the quantity and quality of short films shot in Irish. The workshop ties in wonderfully with the Kerry Film Festival and shows Samhlaiocht's dedication to both short films and the rich cultural history of Kerry and Ireland."

"This is a very welcome opportunity through Samhlaíocht's initiative to work with teachers, to hear about their experiences of teaching film to date and together to develop new approaches to appreciate the growing Irish language film industry" said Dr. Muiris O Laoire.

Dr. O' Laoire, a senior lecturer at the Institute of Technology, and author of a recent book on the teaching of Irish (Siollabais Chumarsaide na Gaeilge) conducts and supervises research into different aspects of language teaching. Dr. O' Laoire was education officer for Irish at the NCCA and oversaw the implementation of the inclusion of film in the revised Leaving Certificate syllabus. He chaired the working group at the NCCA who produced the guidelines for the teaching of film and literary texts.

Sheila Kelly education programme co-ordinator for Samhlaiocht, is delighted to bring this quality workshop to Kerry. "The Gearrscannan workshop for teachers extends Samhlaiocht's reach to educators and consolidates our commitment to short film".

This workshop is supported by Second Level Support Services. For more information or to sign up for the workshop please contact Sheila Kelly of Samhlaiocht on 066 712 9934 or email info@samhlaiocht.com

Delorentos

The Granary in Killarney played host recently to one of Ireland's most successful acts, Delorentos and to two up and coming local bands - Philtre, from Tralee, and Dirty Faced Kids, from Killarney. The two local bands were competing for a chance to win a pheonomenal prize worth 10,000 euro that includes an EP launch with Fifa Records, studio recording time, a national distribution deal, full PR and a six month management deal in the Murphy's Live competition.

Delorentos, though they have been together for less than three years, took to the stage with all the charisma and class that you would expect of a band with such a reputation. With songs jointly & individually written by Ronan (guitar, vocals) & Kieran (guitar, vocals) with Nial (bass, vocals) & Ross (drums, vocals) their sound ranged from soft acoustic melodies to angular, driven guitar rock. With riffs and rhythms combining to produce powerful, intimate & captivating tunes, Delorentos undoubtedly added to their dedicated fan-base.

Murphy's Live is not, however, about established bands - it's all about mentoring up and coming Irish bands, giving them the chance to perform alongside more established acts and Philtre and Dirty Faced Kids did themselves proud. It's a crime that only one of these two very talented bands can progress to the semi-final stage.
Both bands can however take solace from the fact that with the chance to perform with such bands as Vesta Varro, The Marshals and The Immediate up for grabs, hundreds of hopeful bands sent in demos and so to get to play in the Granary was a very notable achievement. Only twleve bands were selected from the over 300 applications and these twelve compete in heats in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford and, of course, Killarney.
The four best heat bands will go forward to the semi final stage at the end of March 2007 where they will support The Immediate in Whelan's, Dublin or Duke Special in Brog in Cork.
Two bands will then be selected to perform at the Grande Finale on 10th May and support an international act. Let's hope that Philtre or Dirty Faced Kids are there!

Photographic Competition

Click into action!

Samhlaiocht Open Submission Photography Exhibition is issuing a call for photographs from snappers all over Kerry. Selected photographs will be displayed in our gallery at the Old Presbytery, Lower Castle Street, Tralee as part of our Easter Arts Festival from Thursday 5th April to Friday 27th April.

Mr. Michael Diggin, of Michael Diggin Irish Landscape Photography, will adjudicate the submissions and decide on the winning entries. These photographs will then be professionally mounted and framed and presented to the winning photographers. The mounting and framing is sponsored by MaineFrame, No 2 Maine Street, Tralee.

"The photography competition is always a huge success," said Jason O'Mahony, Artistic Director, Samhlaiocht. "In previous years the quality and variety of photographs has been simply astonishing."

The theme of the Samhlaiocht Easter Arts Festival is STARS and photographers are asked to bear this in mind when submitting their work. A liberal interpretation of the theme is encouraged, however, as the organisers look forward to receiving a wide diversity of styles and subject matter.

"With a theme like stars an almost limitless number of possibilities leap to mind," said Karen Maunsell, Photography Competition Co-ordinator, Samhlaiocht. "Anything from the obvious astronomy associations to night time shots to pictures of the stars of screen, stage and sports to any picture that's lit with light from our nearest star, The Sun!"

Photographs may be black and white or colour and must measure 6" X 8". Contestants must submit a hard copy of the picture to Karen Maunsell, Samhlaiocht, The Old Presbytery, Lower Castle Street, Tralee. For those submitting photographs taken with a digital camera please also email a copy to info@samhlaiocht.com citing 'Samhlaiocht Photography Competition' in the subject line.

For more information on Samhlaiocht please call 066 712 9934 or log onto

Liam O'Maonlai

Liam O'Maonlai plays St. John's Arts Centre in Listowel

During my student days in Dublin in the eighties the most exciting new live band were Hothouse Flowers, with gifted and charismatic front man Liam O'Maonlai. He glowed with musical and physical charm and a youthful exuberance that was beyond cool and, if you were a female, impossible not to adore.

Our attention was effortlessly held by O'Maonlai in the crowded Buttery Bar at TCD or at an open air gig on the UCD campus as he danced, sang, sat smiling at the piano or gleefully hammed it up with his old friend and lead Flowers guitarist Fiachna O'Braonain. Occasional heated duets of 'Fever' were performed with singer Maria Doyle (now Doyle-Kennedy), causing frissons of excitement tinged with envy.

O'Maonlai's love of Irish language and culture was not so much in evidence back then. It was jazz/blues covers and light-hearted countrified ditties all the way.

While Hothouse Flowers have weathered the years and survived Eurovision-related success relatively unscathed to remain a popular act both here and abroad, O'Maonlai now also tours as a solo performer and released his debut album 'Rian' in October 2005.

St John's Theatre in Listowel was packed on a recent cold Friday evening for an O'Maonlai gig. It was a revelation to see and hear O'Maonlai give full reign to his artistic abilities with a mixture of sean-nos, gospel, romantic ballads and lively trad Irish.

A master at the bodhran and tin whistle, nifty at the guitar and his piano playing would make you cry. He has a beautiful, soulful and richly melodic voice. He also read a poem in Irish, which he speaks fluently, composed by him in solidarity with the Shell to Sea movement. Is he human, you wonder?

Well, yes, he is. He was still suffering from the effects of a cold and apologised for "punctuating" the night with his frequent sniffing.

No doubt that was why the gig was somewhat shorter than we expected it to be. But we forgave him, of course. "That's ok, you craythur!" shouted one of my friends. It may be more than twenty years on... but he's still got it. And got it to spare!

St. John's Theatre & Arts Centre is located in the heart of Listowel. For more information please call 068 22566 or log onto

Amu

Lost in a ChangingWorld

Fourth year students in the B.A. in Folk Theatre Studies course offered by the Institute of Technology, Tralee in association with Siamsa Tire are getting ready to call a temporary halt to the fast paced, consumer driven, instant gratification world in which we live.

As part of their course work the students have formed a production company called Diversions and will bring a 'Siamsa-Style' piece, called Amu, to the stage, which consists of movement, song, dance and music.

"Amu is Irish for Lost and the idea came about at a brain-storming session, "said Sarah Walsh, PR Manager of Diversions. "We were sitting around and couldn't quite come up with an idea for a production. Someone suggested doing a piece inspired by traffic lights because we were stuck at a cross roads!"

To stage a production inspired by traffic lights seems a most unlikely undertaking. Sarah agrees saying, "at first everyone just laughed but then the ideas began to take hold and we realised that everyone is faced with choices - some difficult - some mundane - and so, metaphorically speaking, we're all at a cross roads looking at traffic lights."

Diversions staged an extract of Amu at Siamsa Tire recently in which Caroline Byrne, originally from Ballymore Eustace in Co. Kildare, was lead dancer. She embodied perfectly the confusing feelings of loss and bewilderment facing people at a cross roads, as the other dancers whizzed in waves of movement around her, sweeping across the stage, leaving her momentarily behind before catching her in the next tidal surge.

I don't even like dance. But I gotta see the rest of this show!

Amu plays for one day only - February 9th at 11:00 am and 8:00 pm - tickets available from Siamsa Box Office at 066 712 3055

Milltown

Slow Times at Milltown Market

In this crazily hectic world in which we live, we've become all too familiar with the concept of Fast Food. There are, however, alternatives – the polar opposite to Fast Food being Slow Food.

Founded on the belief that everyone has a fundamental right to pleasure, the Slow Food movement believes that with this right comes the responsibility to protect the heritage of food and the tradition and culture that make this pleasure possible. The movement is founded upon this concept of eco-gastronomy - a recognition of the strong connections between plate and planet.

Slow Food is good, clean and fair food that tastes great and is produced in a way that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or people's health.

The Milltown Farmers Market embraces the concept of Slow Food and is one of the most comprehensive organic markets in Ireland, taking place in the Old Church every Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The Old Church is also home to the organic center from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. every Tuesday to Friday.

"The market has been here for roughly six years and was set up by Mary O' Riordan to provide a market place for local producers while at the same time preserving this beautiful old church" said Mr. van Kan, "and my wife, Rebekah, and I have been running it for the past year or so."

The Market has up to fifteen stalls selling a full range of foods, including meat, fish, vegetables, bread, wine and prepared food. In addition, a full range of products for organic gardeners and farmers, from worm systems to seeds and fertilizers, is also available.

The Old Church in Milltown is full of character and the Farmers' Market is full of characters, like Giovanelli Daniele, an Italian living in Glenbeigh. There may be a more entertaining way to buy sun dried tomatoes, which are actually cheaper than the supermarket chains, but I've not found it.

For more information on the Milltown Market log on to http://www.milltownfarmersmarket.com/ or call Rebekah van Kan on 066 976 7869