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.
What are the parallels between Northern Ireland’s troubled history and its status now, during the Brexit upheaval? How can lessons of the past inform our world view today, especially during the turbulence of 2020? Award-winning former CNN correspondent Mike Chinoy addresses these topics and more in his discussion of Are You With Me? Kevin Boyle and the Rise of the Human Rights Movement, his new biography of Kevin Boyle.
Boyle, co-founder of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA), helped create the intellectual underpinning for the agreement that ended The Troubles. He was chief advisor to Mary Robinson, during her tenure as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and played a crucial role in advancing international protections for human rights. Followed by a live Twitter Q&A with Mike, use #LIF2020 to address your questions. Twitter: @mikechinoy and @LilliputPress
Are You With Me? Kevin Boyle and the Rise of the Human Rights Movement by Mike Chinoy is available via www.lilliputpress.ie. Use “LIF20” to receive a 20% discount during the Festival. Direct sales link.
Bio: Mike Chinoy, former foreign correspondent for CNN, has won Emmy, Peabody and Dupont awards for journalism. While he worked primarily in China and elsewhere in Asia, he also reported on The Troubles in Northern Ireland in the 1970s and 80s, where he met Kevin Boyle. Chinoy is currently a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the University of Southern California’s US-China Institute and is based in Hong Kong. His widely acclaimed books include China Live: People, Power, and Television Revolution (1996), Meltdown: The Inside Story of the North Korean Nuclear Crisis (2007), and The Last POW (2014).
Stairwell Books presents Greg Quiery’s new poetry book in a Liverpool Irish Festival exclusive. Hear live readings and ask questions. Part of our Meet the Maker series.
Greg Quiery is a well-known reader at poetry evenings in Liverpool. This collection of recent work is a miscellany of storytelling, observation and humour. Contemporary Britain and its past are explored with realism, affection, humour; occasionally with anger. Reflections of an Ireland which has passed, but remains alive in memory, are woven into this book.
“These poems are at times heartfelt, at times witty, but always true. As an Irishman in Liverpool, Greg’s poems feel like a parallel journey to my own, but from a different perspective. It is a comfort and joy to walk around these poems. Worked into strong form, they speak with urgency, style and vibrancy.”
Ciarán Hodgers, Writing on the Wall Festival, Liverpool; poet and author of Cosmocartography.
“Greg Quiery teases pomposity, unearned authority and hypocrisy, often explored through the lens of nature, with lines so physical, the reader shares the experience. People breathe on the page as Quiery captures poetry in our daily lives, and makes us take notice. Poems build in tension: the fellah who ‘threw a wobbler’ is revealed with, ‘They tried for kids/he put the blame on her’. It would take more than a fleet of armoured cars to crush these poems. Read them and laugh; read them and weep.”
Sarah MacLennan, Head of Creative Writing, Liverpool John Moores University.
Stray Dog Following is published by Stairwell. Copies will be available to event attendees, direct from Greg or Stairwell Books at a reduced price of £6. Alternatively, News From Nowhere (Bold Street, Liverpool) will stock this item.
Event recording:
Lessons of War documentary film followed by in person Q&A with music artist Matt McGinn. A #LIF2020 exclusive.
Matt McGinn is a seasoned Irish musician with a number of albums under his belt (and more in production!). He has collaborators the world over. Having grown up during The Troubles, music was a way for Matt to engage in expression and find peace. He wondered if he could create peace through music and, working with artists in war torn environments, created Lessons of War. Tonight we watch his beautiful documentary, which covers the making process of the album, before joining him to discuss the music, the experience and the opportunities that can be found in sharing, collaborating and putting a little generosity out in the world.
Watch the short documentary Terry has compiled looking at his internationally acclaimed music progression, via the Liverpool locations that brought him to where he is today.
Afterwards, join us for a Zoom where you can ask questions about Terry’s life, music, Irishness, career and experiences. Trade stories, hear others or simply watch a maker talk about his world. This is part of our #LIF2020 Meet the Maker series.
Terry has developed a tour of his Liverpool walk, which is documented in his film. If you wanted to, you could trace his route. There are eight stops, which include:
1. Liverpool Famine Memorial at St Luke’s church
2. Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Hope Street
3. Former Everyman Bistro plus The Pen Factory
4. Former Liverpool Irish Centre, 128 Mount Pleasant
5. St George’s Hall Plateu, Lime Street
6. Liverpool ferry terminal (now Mersey Ferries and cruise terminal) at Pier Head
7. The Cunard Building at Pier Head
8. Museum of Liverpool at Pier Head
You can follow the Googlemap here:
You could also send yourself this link: https://goo.gl/maps/DNKQ29Yf6x5YNEUf9 to use the map on your phone.
Event recording: The following video was recorded at #LIF2020, 6pm 23 Oct 2020.
The remaining films are from Terry’s collection.
Enjoy an evening of traditional tunes with Dublin based trad/folk duo Varo.
“Varo is the name of a river that, centuries ago, used to represent the border between France and Italy. Over time it wrestled between being French or Italian, as though it couldn’t really choose a nationality, like the two of us. We come from two different countries and have found ourselves falling in love with the Irish music and its culture” – Lucie Azconaga and Consuelo Nerea Breschi.
Varo are singers and fiddle players Lucie Azconaga (France) and Consuelo Nerea Breschi (Italy) who perform Irish traditional songs and tunes, with arrangement influences from the Folk, Baroque and Classical traditions; weaving melodies with harmonies, drones and countermelody. The duo met in 2015, having moved to Dublin to pursue their love for Irish traditional music, and immediately started a fruitful collaboration. They travelled to Ireland along different musical paths, Lucie from jazz, classical music and French folk; Consuelo from Irish trad, folk and world music.
Over the years, Lucie and Consuelo have had the pleasure of working in various other projects, such as Landless, Lisa O’Neill’s Band, Ye Vagabonds, The Morning Tree, Alasourse and The Nomadic Piano Project. They have now assembled a phenomenally talented group for a new collaborative album and video series, which they will premiere videos of and discuss as part of this exclusive live stream event.
Find out more about their upcoming collaboration project, here an listen to their 2020 album here.
“It is an exciting time for Irish folk music, and Varo’s accomplished debut should position them at the forefront of the scene”, Folk Radio UK
“The delicious austerity of the baroque intertwined with the current Dublin traditional music scene. Varo have mastered the art of subtle layering of tunes…”, The Irish Times
“Varo do magic things to traditional tunes…”, Hot Press
Other links: FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | BANDCAMP | SPOTIFY
This film was premiered on YouTube and Facebook on 23 Oct 2020.
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.
A shorts film programme, curated exclusively for the Liverpool Irish Festival from submissions to IndieCork Festival in 2020.
IndieCork has partnered with the Festival for many years now, bringing a wealth of new Irish filmmaking talent to our screens. We have found IndieCork’s programmes to be a dynamic showcase for emerging Irish voices, demonstrating the current preoccupations of the makers. Historically it has revealed subject trends and new genres and styles arising from Ireland. Mick Hannigan, Director of IndieCork, handpicks a selection from this year’s competition films, exclusively for the Liverpool Irish Festival, which can this year be enjoyed from your home armchair. Thanks Covid-19!
Image Credit: The Invisible Boy, dir. James Fitzgerald, 2020. This film will feature within the programme.
IndieCork have their own online platform on which to view films. To watch the collection they have compiled for #LIF2020 -from 8pm on Mon 19 Oct 2020- you will need to have signed in here: https://indiecork.filmchief.com/hub/browse
To sign in, you will need to provide an email address, which you must authenticate by replying to their registration email. After that, you will be able to log in. The Liverpool Irish Festival collection will not be available until 8pm on Mon 19 Oct 2020, but will remain available until 8pm on Wed 21 Oct 2020.
My Aunt and I: Carmen Cullen: Biographer is part of our Meet the Maker series.
Words, images, music and voice, to entertain and cajole. Draw up a vertical chair to view and listen to the enthralling poetry videos of Carmen Cullen. Experience the songs of her famous aunt, Delia Murphy (as sung by Carmen), and hear how their different artistic worlds merge.
Delia Murphy was Ireland’s Ballad Queen in the 1930s to the 1950’s and the unrivalled singing star of her day with such hits as The Spinning Wheel. Be intrigued by two successful, creative women, their family links and common difficulties. Carmen’s poetry is from her Pandemic Poetry, still ongoing, and her answer to the Covid-19 lockdown. Images are by Deirdre Ridgeway. Original music is by Gerry Anderson.
The film below is a quick edit film of the Zoom recording of this event, which took place as part of #LIF2020. It has ben produced as a document of the event, for use with subtitles. Please note, there were a number of technical issues during the show which affect both the visual and audio quality of the piece; however, as a guide for those who were unable to attend, we hope it serves its purpose.
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.
Local stories, recorded by Greg Quiery and Roger Appleton, in 2020.
Witness Famine and migration accounts of Liverpool’s Irish community, recorded for the Great Famine Voices archive as part of an ongoing partnership with the Irish Heritage Trust and the Strokestown National Famine Museum.
The film, produced specifically for previewing at Liverpool Irish Festival, will post on our Facebook page at 8pm on Tue 20 Oct 2020. This is not a live post, but this is when the majority of us will tune in to the page to watch. The Festival Director will be on hand to take comments and provide further information, as needed. Using this method, preserves the fidelity of the film and allows people to watch repeatedly and share in to the future.
You can view the film here:
This is the film you will find on the home page of the Great Famine Voices Roadshow site.
This event features as part of the Great Famine Voices Roadshow, taking place 4-25 Oct 2020.
Please join us this week for our “Famine Heroes” short film documenting Montreal’s Grey Nuns and the Great Hunger.
The most powerful eyewitness accounts of the suffering of Famine emigrants in North America can be found in the annals of the Grey Nuns who cared for them in the fever sheds of Montreal. Discover the stories of James Flood from Strokestown and Rose Brown from Galway who were cared for by the Grey Nuns after losing their parents. Learn about the miracle of Rose’s marble which led to her reunification with her mother and vocation to join the Grey Nuns as Sister St. Patrice. Over six thousand Irish emigrants are buried in Montreal, the largest Famine Irish mass grave outside of Ireland, which is marked by the Black Rock memorial. This burial ground has been recently excavated. The film pays tribute to Montreal’s Famine Irish and their Canadian caregivers.
Watch the story here: http://greatfaminevoices.ie/famine-heroes/
Please join us for a post-show discussion with the film makers on Zoom on Sunday, October 4th at 7pm Irish Time, 2pm Eastern Standard Time in North America.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://quinnipiac.zoom.us/j/96845795393?pwd=MXdDdnZJWDZDSHFsNTZGQnFGc1JkUT09
Meeting ID: 968 4579 5393
Passcode: famine
To find out more, please visit this link.
We have also been asked to share th efollowing:
Please watch “Frederick Douglass in Ireland” (Christine Kinealy, Rebecca Abbott, Kwaku Fortune) which is free to view at:
The film gives an overview of Frederick Douglass’s life-changing time spent in Ireland at the beginning of the Great Famine in 1845-1846. Irish actor Kwaku Fortune reflects on Douglass’s legacy for new communities in Ireland.
Please join us and special guest for a post-show discussion with the film makers on Zoom on Sunday, October 18th at 7pm Irish Time, 2pm Eastern Standard Time in North America (invitation details in link above).