Event type: Comedy

This event was held on 19 Jan 2021. The recording (including subtitles) of this event, is available here:

If you wish to download a  transcription of the subtitles, CCEN subtitles.

Event information

A network of Irish and Northern Irish artists and creatives, cultural providers and commissioners, collaborating for better representation.

As part of the 2020 Liverpool Irish Festival, a Cultural Connectedness Exchange was held to introduce Irish and Northern Irish artists to Irish and Northern Irish cultural commissioners and providers (mainly in England), to determine

the needs of Irish and Northern Irish artists (particularly those working in England or with England-based organisations)
barriers they were facing post-Brexit and during Covid-19
how cultural providers/commissioners could provide value/service in relation to Covid-19/Brexit.

This is the second meeting of the group, which hopes to approve a white paper on the role and remit of the group, set up next steps and pass on a list of advocacy points and issues for Irish In Britain to take to the All-Party Parliamentary group they attend. You can see that paper, here.

We intend for this to become a valuable network to any Irish or Northern Irish artist wanting to work in public art delivery as well as to cultural providers and commissioners who focus -or could focus- on Irish and Northern Irish work. This is only the second meeting of the network and we welcome new additions. If you need any further information, please contact the Liverpool Irish Festival Director, Emma Smith, on emma@liverpoolirishfestival.com
Use this link to watch Meeting #1.

 

This event has now passed, but there is an interesting write up in The Irish World on 2021’s celebrations, with many intersting stories about St Brigid and the people who admire her, here.

Below you will see how our St Brigid’s Day national commission hour -held in partnership with the Irish Embassy and its benificiaries- was rolled out.

Monday 1 Feb 2021 is St Brigid’s Day. With friends across the country, we will celebrate her enduring message of equality with a selection of commissions, which we will share between 5-6pm as part of a national programme of events that you can follow, which run as follows:
• 11am –Consulate General of Ireland, Edinburgh
• 5pm –Liverpool Irish Festival
• 6pm –Irish Cultural Centre Hammersmith
• 7pm – Irish Film Festival London
• 8pm –London Irish Centre.

We will be rolling out our programme using Facebook. Here’s what you can expect in our hour (links may not be active until 5pm on 1 Feb 2021):

17:00: Our St Brigid’s Day message (post)
17:01: Ifah Ahmed: A Girl From Mogadishu (film and event link)
17:05: Edy Fung: Retrospective Future Gazers (essay)
17:10: Cathy Carter: The Widow’s Friend (film and song)
17:15: Alison JLittle: Quarantine (visual art and poetry response work)
17:20: The Sound Agents: The Art of Living: The Life and Times of Miss Amy June Furlong (film and Irish dual-heritage links)
17:50: Carmen Cullen: Covid-19 reflections (film and poetry)
17:55: Ciara Ní É: Darlughdach’s song (film and song)
17:58: Jean Maskell Art: A Leap of Faith (poetry).

Our commissions have been funded from the creative community fund, issued under the Irish Government’s Emigrant Support Programme.

#CreativeCommunity

Since the onset of Covid-19, cultural organisations and artists have suffered a lack of creative opportunities because of restrictions on arts venues and engagements. #CreativeCommunity is a once-off initiative by the Embassy of Ireland to Great Britain, the Consulate General of Ireland (Cardiff), and the Consulate General of Ireland (Edinburgh) that provided creative opportunities for Irish artists living in Britain to produce cultural content, shared online. Through Creative Community, the Embassy of Ireland in London and the Consulates General in Edinburgh and Cardiff have supported arts and culture-focused projects with eight organisations, directly engaging with at least 40 Irish creatives across Britain to produce and show their work.

 

For St Brigid’s Day 2021, the Liverpool Irish Festival have commissioned a number of artists to create works that consider female empowerment and endeavour.

We contacted Cathy Carter, who has been a brilliant Festival supporter and performer for a number of years, to see if she fancied taking on a commission and within moments, she suggested writing a song about Kitty Wilkinson (1786-1860), ‘Saint of the Slums’.

Kitty has featured in the Festival before, being the eponymous hero of Carol Maginn’s play of the same name, performed by Falling Doors Theatre (2018). Now she is honoured in song, marking her life as the quasher of cholera, which saw her take on the medical fraternity with her wash-house; the first public wash-house in Liverpool.

Kitty’s life in Liverpool began on a ship from Ireland. So bad was the crossing, she lost her father and sister to the sea, affecting her family life from then on. Kitty’s story chimes with today in all manner of ways. Her tragic journey to get here by sea is relfected in the news stories of migrants crossing treachourous waters to try to find safety. Some don’t make it. That she helped to combat cholera, which swept through the nation and killed 23,000 people, reminds us of what is being done -and must still be done- to combat Covid-19 and the toll it is taking. Kitty’s ability to look at her neighbours and provide help, shows us that, we too, must think of our neighbours and remain safe.

In the spirit of St Brigid’s work -and Imbolc, celebrating renewal and refreshment- Kitty’s story seems resonant and befitting.

 

Lyrics – reproduced courtesy of Cathy Carter:

The Widow’s Friend

At the age of 9 in Liverpool
A new life to be found
Catherine lost her family
When their ship it ran a ground

A life she’d build and working hard
Until the day was done
Working cleaning other’s clothes
Until the sickness come

Chorus:
A blanket for your baby girl
A shirt and socks for Da
The sheets that lay upon your bed
Cleanest you’ve ever had
The simple things that all know the rich don’t understand
A gift to my sweet Liverpool from my home Ireland

Like no other known before
It ran throughout the streets
spread to all the baby boys
A sickness hard to beat

But kitty opened up her heart
Her mind and home to lend
And washed the clothes of those in need
Became the widow’s friend

Chorus

Bridge
To hear the children cry
The gently wipe their eyes
With a heart so pure
The saint of the slums
And more
The saint of the slums
And more

When she passed In Liverpool
buried in St James
A window with the widows face
Her memory remains

Chorus :
A blanket for your baby girl
A shirt and socks for da (for our fathers)
The sheets that lay upon your bed
Cleanest you’ve ever had
The simple things that all know the rich don’t understand (they don’t understand)
A gift to my sweet Liverpool from my home Ireland

Repeat chorus.

Cathy Carter
Cathy Carter  was born and bred in the heart of Liverpool, with parents linked to the Beatles through their school years and brought up in a family of musicians. Cathy is in great demand in the thriving Liverpool Irish music scene and has revived her Irish roots, whilst completing her family tree, tracing her father’s grandparents from Dublin and her mother’s Grandparents from Cavan. Cathy has a strong love for her ancestry and is involved in many Scouse Irish community projects.

A respected performer for over 10 years within the city, Cathy plays for the love of sharing her passion, merging music and Irish History. Irish in Liverpool will be the theme of her first EP which she hopes to release early in 2021.
Andrew Connally
Andrew Connally is a musician/singer songwriter. “I come from an Irish family that emigrated to Liverpool and the Wirral via my grandparents. I was taught traditional Irish music and songs from a young boy by my grandfathers, father and within the old Liverpool Irish Centre where I enjoyed competing in many Comhaltas Fleadh competitions. I have performed with many artists and bands throughout music venues and festivals across the country, as well as over in Ireland. I enjoy teaching music, both in person, group classes or online. Although a big passion of mine is to play live, I love writing my own material and to produce music in my own style. I try to introduce the many influences I have experienced over years into my music writing, production and playing. As well as singing, I play traditional Irish flutes, whistles, piano, guitar and bodhran”.

Funded by the Irish Government’s Emigrant Support Programme’s creative community fund.

#CreativeCommunity

Since the onset of Covid-19, cultural organisations and artists have suffered a lack of creative opportunities because of restrictions on arts venues and engagements. #CreativeCommunity is a once-off initiative by the Embassy of Ireland to Great Britain, the Consulate General of Ireland (Cardiff), and the Consulate General of Ireland (Edinburgh) that provided creative opportunities for Irish artists living in Britain to produce cultural content, shared online. Through Creative Community, the Embassy of Ireland in London and the Consulates General in Edinburgh and Cardiff have supported arts and culture-focused projects with eight organisations, directly engaging with at least 40 Irish creatives across Britain to produce and show their work.

The artists Liverpool Irish Festival has commissioned using this programme, include: Cathy Carter / Andrew Connally / Edy Fung (via Art Arcadia) / Alison Little / Maz O’Connor / Ciara Ní É / The Sound Agents. The links will take you to the individual commissions.

 

 

 
Image credit: (c) Edward McCormack (detail only), 2020.

St Brigid’s Day marks the start of Imbolc (spring).

St Brigid, also known as Brigid of Kildare, is a symbol of female empowerment and equality. Her story tells us of a life lived in harmony with others, by sharing art, education and spirituality. Taken in a contemporary sense, we believe this is what arts and culture do and so we celebrate St Brigid’s day to advance our In:Visible Women programme and engage artists in intersectional programmes and work.

The Irish Government’s creative community fund allowed us to create a series of commissions, which we have mounted in honour of St Brigid’s Day, and this commission is no different. Having worked with Ciara Ní É two years hence -and understanding how much work has vanished for artists due to Coronavirus- we appraoched Ciara to see what she would like to create in honour of the occasion, given the opportunity. Known for her spoken word work and ability to combine Gaelic and English in her practice, Ciara created a poem and worked with Aoife Ní Mhórdha to develop the following film, presented as part of the Festival’s St Brigid’s Day In:Visible Women programme.

Darlughdach’s Song for St. Bridget
Poem/song lyircs – reproduced courtesey of Ciara Ní É.

Colainn gan cheann
neach gan anamchara
Colainn gan cheann
neach gan anamchara

I died today
February 1st I took my final rest
Last year today
Death called upon my love

As winter melts, she’s on your lips
Naomh Bríd Chill Dara
Woman, priestess, goddess, saint,
my soul friend, m’anamchara

I whispered her a deathbed pledge
To stay on earth twelve months
I died today
To reunite above

In death we share our feast day
As in life we shared our bed
Woman, priestess, goddess, saint,
my soul friend once said:

“One without a soul friend
Is a body without a head
One without a soul friend
Is a body without a head

Colainn gan cheann
neach gan anamchara
Colainn gan cheann
neach gan anamchara”.

To find out more about the story of St Brigid and Darlughdach, we recommend this piece.

https://qspirit.net/brigid-darlughdach-saint-soulmate/

 Ciara Ní É
Dubliner Ciara Ní É (sounds like KNEE YAY) is the founder of REIC, a monthly multilingual spoken word and open mic night that features poetry, music, storytelling and rap. She has performed in New York, London, Sweden, and across Ireland including festivals like ours (Visible Women, 2019), Electric Picnic, Body and Soul, and IMRAM. Published in a variety of journals including Icarus and Comhar, Ciara was chosen for Poetry Ireland’s Introductions series 2017. In 2018 she released a series of four poetry videos in partnership with the Irish Writers Centre. Ciara’s commissions include RTÉ 1 TV; UNESCO Dublin City of Literature; and her poem for Seó Beo Pheil na mBan on TG4, which received more than 300,000 views online.

Ciara’s work was commissioned with creative community funding, awarded by the Irish Government through its Emigrant Support Programme.
#CreativeCommunity

Since the onset of Covid-19, cultural organisations and artists have suffered a lack of creative opportunities because of restrictions on arts venues and engagements. #CreativeCommunity is a once-off initiative by the Embassy of Ireland to Great Britain, the Consulate General of Ireland (Cardiff), and the Consulate General of Ireland (Edinburgh) that provided creative opportunities for Irish artists living in Britain to produce cultural content, shared online. Through Creative Community, the Embassy of Ireland in London and the Consulates General in Edinburgh and Cardiff have supported arts and culture-focused projects with eight organisations, directly engaging with at least 40 Irish creatives across Britain to produce and show their work.

The artists Liverpool Irish Festival has commissioned using this programme, include: Cathy Carter / Andrew Connally / Edy Fung (via Art Arcadia) / Alison Little / Maz O’Connor / Ciara Ní É / The Sound Agents. The links will take you to the individual commissions.

Image credit: Hannah McGlynn

They wanted a better life in a brave new world.

He stowed her away to pursue their dream. Off they sailed into the sunset with their secret. However, it was the song in her heart that set her free. See how Fortune threatens to overwhelm wannabe singer Kathleen. Will she survive waves, war and stormy love affairs, only to founder in marriage or might those newly found airwaves waft her to success? Watch this Stowaway strive to exchange the inequalities of her times for her worldwide musical message of love.

Barbara Marsh’s new play is aired for the first time as part of #LIF2020. Watch this scratch reading of a new work, directed by Zara Marie Brown. Detailing an Irish journey between Liverpool and New York, witness the exchange between actors and page; story and dreams. Q&A follows with the play’s writer and director.

This is an In:Visible Women marker. It shows this event continues our In:Visible Women work. These events are always open to everyone, but are female led and often contain stories pertinent to women. In:Visible Women began in 2016 and shows the Festival’s dedication to promoting equity and hearing from women who have, historically, been diminished by societal systems. This is a small contribution to making invisible women -and their stories- visible.

Join a live webinar to learn about some interesting historical characters from Liverpool’s Irish Diaspora.

With roughly 50% of Liverpool’s population having Irish ancestry, that’s quite a pool to draw from.

Using the XO Chronicles to learn about some fascinating Irish Liverpudlians and their connection with Ireland, we will also discuss the close relationship between Liverpool and Ireland and the connection has shaped our customs, cultures and languages, throughout history. The XO Chronicles are a free feature on the IrelandXO.com website. It works by enabling all people of Irish ancestry, both in Ireland and around the world, to add to the heritage of every Irish locality by recording what they know about our ancestors, the places they lived in and the events that shaped their lives.

Travel may be off the cards right now, but we can still connect our Global Irish Communities and learn about our shared ancestry, especially the special bond between Ireland and Liverpool. The Webinar will run for 30 minutes on Zoom.

This event was recorded. You can see the session below.

Can you help us support the Festival charity and its artists by making a gift?

Have you enjoyed something at the Festival that you think is worth a reward or the value of a standard event ticket? Every donation helps. In 2020, we have seen devastating losses across our income streams. In spite of this, we have done our best to develop a positive and exciting Festival with #LIF2020. Coronavirus has affected our ability to arrange and host events for four reasons:
• social distancing
• arts funding (we received 35% less arts funding in 2020 compared to 2019)
• sponsorship, advertising and ticket sales (we have lost 98% of this income compared with 2019) .
what we can expect from visitors at computers over 10 days.
Anything you can do to support us will help our work and benefit the charity (number 1100126) in to next year. We -the Festival Director and Board – thank you in advance for your kind donations.
URL to Paypal donation link.
Scan this QR code to take you to our donations page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

POSTPONED: We are sorry to say this event has had to be postponed, following new lockdrown restrictions and our commitment to safety. We hope to run them in the new year or when new guidelines permit.

Greg Quiery -author, poet, historian- leads exceptionally researched trails of Liverpool, outlining the influence Irish lives have had here.

One of few physical events in 2020, this two hour walk, popular in recent years, visits the remarkable architecture of the Hope and Rodney Street areas, to discover their connections to the history, politics and culture of Liverpool’s vibrant Irish community. Led by historian Greg Quiery, we advise you book early to avoid disappointment.

Anyone interested in this may also like the City of Hunger; City of Gold walk (Sun 18 Oct) and the Scotland Road walk (24 Oct).

This in an outdoor walk; please be weather prepared, comfortable and hydrated. We will observe Covid-19 regulations as at the date of the walk. Walkers should act responsibly, including wearing a mask in the event streets or locations are busy. We will do all we can to maintain social distancing, but need your active co-operation in this.

This year’s walks are held in memory of Vin Finn, Festival volunteer and Irish community champion.

Donations can be made via this Eventbrite link. All proceeds will go to the work of the Liverpool Irish Festival. Please note any amount you give will include a cost to Eventbrite for making the transaction.

Meet Réamonn Ó Ciaráin, a leading expert in Cú Chulainn and Gaelic translation.

In our Meet the Maker series, he discusses his work and the influence these stories have on Irish culture, his exchanges and what folklore means to us, in a modern world.

Cú Chulainn is a mythic Ulster man, whose powers -and stories of conquest- equate to those of the ancient Greek and Roman deity stories. Adopted by different parties through time, the folkloric stories are embedded in to Irish history.

Listen as Réamonn regales you with stories from Cú Chulainn, ‘Ireland’s greatest source of psychic inspiration’.

Especially good for older children, illustrations from Dara Vallely will also be shown. This is the first time this story will have been read aloud, in English.

This event will be recorded and shared online with subtitles within 48 hours.