A move to a new place is, in many ways, like writing a poem. ?
Both involve a return to ground-zero and require bravery to investigate the unknown (or the blank page).
Vitor’s talk will illustrate the above analogy, with the process of making Harry Kernoff’s Guest, a book about the Irish-Jewish painter’s errands between London and Dublin. He’ll compare those journeys with his own between Portugal and Ireland (and some other parts of the continent). Beyond geographical travels, the talk also explores Kernoff’s appetite for discovering the small and mundane in everyday life. Whilst Vitor’s book is about the Emerald Isle, inspired by a man in love with Dublin,
he’ll also explore how embracing Irishness has strongly influenced his own work and, to some extent, his way of life.
Harry Kernoff’s Guest was written during a period of unemployment. At that time, Vitor had to move from room to room eight times in eight months (true story!). This experience informs the talk with a sense and theme of displacement. The Art of Departures should be of interest to poetry enthusiasts, painting oddities, ex-pats and the sorts of adventurous souls who allow themselves to be devotees of the fair city of Dublin.
Vitor Vicente is a Portuguese author who has lived abroad since 2006, between Spain, Poland and Hungary, and currently lives in Bray, Ireland. He’s the author of 12 published books. Travel runs through all of them. His latest title is the poetry collection Harry Kernoff’s Guest, which also shares reproductions of the paintings that inspired the writing.
The event will be hosted on Zoom and bookers will be sent the link ahead of the event.
Here’s a link to purchase Vitor’s book. Though this is a Portuguese site, it exports internationally.
Recording
In 2023 she was taken on an amazing adventure, through Irish folklore, when something is stolen from her Grandad Mac by a pesky púca. Now she’s back, returning a lost item from the Famine to an Irish King lost in the annals of time!
In this richly illustrated (second) book, the reading will be voiced by author and artist Stu Harrison. Witty, energetic and designed for kids aged 7-11, this is a fun event to spend with a child in your life.
Stu will bring some of his illustrated cut outs, so kids can pose with a sword, Brave Maeve and púca. Bring your cameras! Book copies will be available.
This event was made possible via a co-commissioning fund, in partnership with Gael Linn, An tUltach and Gaelbhratach.
Nominated as a Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year, Tony Crowley’s Liverpool: A Memoir of Words (2023) is a work of creative non-fiction that combines the study of language in Liverpool with social history, the history of the English language, and personal memoir.
A beautifully written book — based on a lifetime’s academic research — it explores the relationship between language and memory and demonstrates the ways in which words are enmeshed in history (and history in words). Starting with ‘ace’ and weaving its way alphabetically to ‘Z-Cars’, the work illustrates the deep relationship that has been forged in the past two-hundred-years or so between a form of language, a place and a social identity.
In this talk, Tony — born and raised in working-class Liverpool in the 1960s and 70s — will discuss Liverpool: A Memoir Of Words in relation to the (im)possibility of leaving Liverpool and the joy of linguistic homecoming. He’ll consider topics such as the story of the Irish roots of Liverpool English, the multicultural complexity of the form, our common use of ‘plazzymorphs’ and the ways that Liverpudlian words exemplify standard processes of linguistic development.
Open to all age groups, whether you’re a keen Gaelic Football player or have never heard of the game!
Come along to our ‘give it a go’ Festival session, 1pm-4pm.
John Mitchel’s GAA coaches will be there to welcome everyone, offering a great opportunity to find out a bit more about the game and our club; with a chance to meet our members and play a bit of Gaelic Football. There’ll be ‘blitz’ sessions for young ones, from fully qualified and checked coaches (guardians to stay throughout). From 2.30pm-4.30pm, people can take part in or watch the underage Gaelic Football Tournament.
This is an outdoor event in October. Please be ready with waterproofs and/or sun cream as needed and know any one of you could get muddy or grass-stained!
For more details on the club follow Facebook @johnmitchelsliverpool and X @JohnMitchelsGAA
The Bluecoat Display Centre and Liverpool Irish Festival are delighted to announce our 2024 maker: Muck Murphy; continuing our annual In The Window partnership. ❤️??
This event provides visitors with the chance to speak with Muck directly, about his work. Centred on commemorating the ash tree, after disease spread through ash stock globally (including two in the garden of The Bluecoat), Muck shows what can be done with ‘dead wood’. Refreshments will be provided on arrival.
Friends of the Bluecoat Display Centre will receive a 10% discount on all purchases during the event.
Booking is needed. Please call +44(0) 151 709 4014, to book a place, or stop by the gallery to reserve a space with a member of staff. This event has a recommended donation price of £10 per ticket, providing a speaker fee for Muck.
?? Completely informal opportunity to come a long for a tune. The first seisiún of two in the Festival, the other takes place the following Fri (25 Oct 2022).
Bring an instrument, your voice and a will to play along. There’ll be Festival friends to help bring the gang together, whilst a fully stocked bar — in one of the most historic and quirkiest pubs in Liverpool — eases you towards the dawn. This event gets busy quickly and sometimes it’s ‘standing room only’, so be prepared to ‘hotch up’ and swap places so everyone can get a piece of the action.
Her family would like to invite all those who knew her to Netherley Valley Community Theatre…
(Except the Kelly’s from the Glens, anyone from the council, Big Jim, Miss Gilmour, and Brendan – he knows what he did). We’d like you to pay your respects and give her a good send off.
She will be dearly missed by her devoted, adoring, clever, beautiful, hardworking, long-suffering, generous-to-a-fault daughter Susan and by the rest of the family.
P.S. Anyone who would like to connect with her, she will also be streamed across several platforms and mixed realities – Darren Jackson (grandson).
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This performance uses flashing lights, loud noises, fire and immersive technology. It involves themes of death and grief. It is produced by Big Telly Theatre Company.
♀️❤️?? Sat 19 Oct 2024 is Festival night, with performances at 6pm and 8pm, but there are additional performances on Fri 18 Oct and possibly an extended run! Please make sure you know which performance you have booked for. Additionally Big Telly may run 3pm matinee performances on any of their performances days. Please check online for details of these.
Image credit: Neil Harrison.
Please be aware that this is a theatre piece that you move with. If you have any concerns, please contact Big Telly to assist with mobility questions.
❤️?? Meet the Festival team and some of our #LIF2024 artists.
Hear about the programme and meet with friends.
The Centre, the spiritual home of the Irish community in Liverpool, provides a convivial space in which to toast ‘sláinte’ (health) to all those who join us, have helped us and will be with us for Festivals ahead. Book ahead to ensure you have the best seats and to claim your arrival refreshment!
This year we will be toasting those that have left us and raising a glass in their memory.
We’ll introduce our new chair, Dr Ann Hoskins, hear from Melody Makers and – international singing sensation – Sue Rynhart, poet Flora Small and soul singer Sinéad Campbell.
People interested in the launch should look at our exciting #LIF2024 programme.
From being the ‘Bombing Irish’ of Mrs Thatcher’s era, to a reviled ‘Plastic Paddy’ back ‘home’ in Ireland, bestselling author Kate Kerrigan hilariously explores what it takes to finally fit into small town Ireland in her taboo-breaking one-woman show, Am I Irish Yet?
Born and raised in London, Kate moved to Ireland in the 1990s. 35-years on, with a family and career rooted in Ireland, Kate brings the wisdom and wit of her award-winning writing to audiences, in person for the first time, to ask: ‘Am I Irish Yet?’.
Exploring identity, culture, exile, Am I Irish Yet? is a fabulously funny, bittersweet journey into the dreams and disasters of every second-generation Irish kid who grew up calling somewhere else ‘home’.
‘Brilliant. So well-crafted, a most accomplished performer. Funny, honest and poignant. The audience loved it’, Mary Kenny, The Irish Post.
If you like this, make sure you look at our other performances, too.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE EVENT STARTS AT 7.30PM, NOT 8PM AS PREVIOUSLY STATED.
♀️?
The Festival would like to thank Circus 250 for bringing this piece to our attention and The Unity Theatre for hosting. To find out more about Kate Kerrigan and her work, do visit her website.
The Cultural Connectedness Exchange Network links Irish creatives with people who commission Irish work. This practice day brings independent creatives and programmers together. Here, we’ll discuss
Work sharing and problem solving
Using the ordinary to explore the extraordinary
Making work in communities
Challenging assumptions around representation
Using your voice.
Find out more about the #CCEN here.
Artist led activities and talks will be held in The Bluecoat’s Garden Room and participants will be provided with lunch. Full details of the day will be available on the booking page after 18 Sept, though people can book in advance.
?️ If you have any dietary requirements, please email emma@liverpoolirishfestival.com ?️
This event has received support from the Irish Government’s Department for Foreign Affairs Emigrant Support Programme.
09:30 Registration opens
10:00 Networking and intros (ft. Irish Consul in the North)
11:00 The Great Indaba – work sharing/problem solving
12:00 Arán Agus Im (Bread and Mutter) – with Manchán Magan
12:45 Lunch
13:30 St Brigid’s Arms/Emerald CIC
14:30 Where are we with representation?
15:30 Put it all together
16:00 End (do a 10-min close out with Sue Rynhart).
See the working agenda (PDF) here.
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