Event type: Comedy

A collaborative digital and physical exhibition, run by Art Arcadia at Sefton Park Palm House for #LIF2019, A Trip here, a trip there grows across the Festival, hence its original title Watch Me Grow.

Art Arcadia takes up residency at the Palm House during the Liverpool Irish Festival for a remote collaboration with Derry based artist Locky Morris. The outcome of this daily conversation, taking place across the Irish Sea, is an experimental exhibition that unfolds over the length of the Festival. Locky’s unique perspective on collective identity, experience and humour will, undoubtedly, play a witty hand in this project that develops -in parallel- on Instagram and at the Palm House. During the residency Art Arcadia also aims to connect with local artists to explore possibilities for future collaborations and residencies in Derry. A trip here, a trip there is the outcome of a visual conversation between Art Arcadia’s Paola Bernardelli and Locky Morris.

Each day in Liverpool Paola will publish a photograph taken in Liverpool on Art Arcadia’s Instagram account, triggering a response from Locky. This reply will be printed and displayed in the Palm House, in a project running simultaneously digitally (via Instagram) and physically (exhibtion at Palm House).

The title of the project, A trip here, a trip there, conjures the unpredictable, zigzagging and unsteady nature of an exchange that has the potential to guide its contribu;tors to unknown destinations and myriad outcomes.

 

Paola Bernardelli is an Italian lens-based artist who has made Derry her home since 2002. She has exhibited in Ireland, Canada, Iceland, Italy, Spain and the UK. In 2016 she established Art Arcadia.
Locky Morris rose to prominence in the 1980s with works such as Town, Country and People (1985-86) and An Bhearna Bhaoil – Gap of Danger (1988) which used the language of international art to comment on the local realities of life during the conflict in Northern Ireland. He has exhibited extensively from the mid-1980s both regionally and internationally. Locky Morris’s work is often underpinned by humour and sometimes triggered by what he refers to as ‘daily epiphanies’. His current practice has, for the most part, been marked by a concentration on the familial and the familiar – sourcing a large amount of his material directly from the interstices and interactions of life ‘…where it seems as if he is trying to establish the border between humanity and the appearance of humanity…’.
Art Arcadia will be at the Palm House during these times:

Thu 17th 2:00pm-4:00pm

Sun 20th 12:00pm-4:00pm

Tue 22nd 12:00pm-4:00pm

Wed 23rd 12:00pm-4:00pm

Thu 24th 12:00pm-4:00pm

Sun 27th 10:00am-2:00pm

The exhibition can also be viewed during Palm House opening hours.

You can visit the project page here and follow it on Instagram and Facebook.

Please email paola@artarcadia.org for additional info.

Art Arcadia is an artist run organisation based in Derry, Northern Ireland, providing local and international artist residencies with associated exhibitions and public programmes.

This project is kindly funded by Arts Council England, Derry City & Strabane District Council and Arts Council of Northern Ireland.

Liverpool Family Ties: The Irish Connection is a documentary about Irish women, filmed by Mersey-based artists and oral historians, John J. Campbell and Moira Kenny.

Known as The Sound Agents, John and Moira have been commissioned by Liverpool Irish Festival to document and celebrate dual-heritage stories told by women living in Liverpool.

Funded by the Irish Embassy, as part of their national St Brigid’s Day celebrations, having sprung from the Festival’s In:Visible Women programme (Oct 2019) the film hears stories from Black and Irish, Chinese and Irish and diaspora-Irish women living in the city.

The work premières on Saint Brigid’s Day celebrating the empowerment of women, their history and contribution to family life. We celebrate Ireland’s ‘second saint’ for her compassion towards the young, sailors and watermen, scholars and travellers. These concerns have such a resonance with modern issues that Brigid serves as a relevant role model for today.

The women’s stories are a start point for an exciting Liverpool Irish project, coming in 2020.

This event comprises a talk about the film, a film screening and a Q&A with The Sound Agents’s Moira Kenny and Liverpool Irish Festival Director, Emma Smith. Please be aware, there is a second sceening (without talks and Q&A) at Bluecoat, the same day at 4pm. As with this event, tickets are free, but must be booked.

NB. The image used to promote this event is of Mr Kwok Fong and Mrs Elizabeth Fong (nee Gannon), provided by family member during the filming of the documentary. It features their first-born grandchild, Roma.

100 years ago Constance Markievicz was the first woman elected to the British parliament.

She was in prison. She had been a leader of the Dublin Easter Rising, but her pacifist sister, Eva Gore-Booth, was campaigning for her release. Wealthy young women from Sligo, they had turned their backs on convention. This “stunning and evocative” play tells the remarkable story of these Irish sisters through theatre, poetry, songs, music, dance and over 600 archival images.

Constance married a Polish count, was an artist and ran a soup kitchen in the Dublin lock-out. Eva was a poet who campaigned for the rights of barmaids and other working women in northwest England with her lifelong partner, Esther Roper.

This new production by Lynx Theatre and Poetry of Jacqueline Mulhallen’s play is directed by William Alderson and choreographed by Siân Williams (of the Globe Theatre and the BBC’s Wolf Hall). It is supported by Arts Council England, the Irish Government’s Emigrant Support Programme and Unite the Union.

Saturday’s showing will be followed by a Q&A for those who wish to stay on and discuss the production, story or archive.

100 years ago Constance Markievicz was the first woman elected to the British parliament.

She was in prison. She had been a leader of the Dublin Easter Rising, but her pacifist sister, Eva Gore-Booth, was campaigning for her release. Wealthy young women from Sligo, they had turned their backs on convention. This “stunning and evocative” play tells the remarkable story of these Irish sisters through theatre, poetry, songs, music, dance and over 600 archival images.

Constance married a Polish count, was an artist and ran a soup kitchen in the Dublin lock-out. Eva was a poet who campaigned for the rights of barmaids and other working women in northwest England with her lifelong partner, Esther Roper.

This new production by Lynx Theatre and Poetry of Jacqueline Mulhallen’s play is directed by William Alderson and choreographed by Siân Williams (of the Globe Theatre and the BBC’s Wolf Hall). It is supported by Arts Council England, the Irish Government’s Emigrant Support Programme and Unite the Union.

Saturday’s showing will be followed by a Q&A for those who wish to stay on and discuss the production, story or archive.

Celebrate the Liverpool Irish Festival with family and friends at Museum of Liverpool. The day will incorporate music, talks and activities for everyone to enjoy across the day. Delivered in partnership with National Museums Liverpool, contributions will be made from the -ever-thrilling- Armagh Rhymers, Liverpool Comhaltas, Melody Makers, the Bolger-Cunningham and George Ferguson Irish dancing schools, Pagoda Chinese Community Orchestra, Tourism Ireland, Ireland Reaching Out and others.

The Family Day is a highlight of the Festival, where cultural sharing, enjoyment and conviviality are placed at the absolute centre of everything; the programme, the building and the city.

With a veritable buffet of activities (and an entire museum for visitors to admire), you can be certain of encountering music, dance, screenings and previews, giveaways, story sessions and mumming across the day, plus much more besides.

Visit liverpoolirishfestival.com/events for more details.

The #LIF2019 Family Day forms part of our wider Family Days programme, including the Family Céilí at Liverpool Irish Centre on Sun 27 Oct (see listing). The day is held in partnership with National Museums Liverpool and Tourism Ireland.

This tour will visit sites around the city where the Irish community have left their mark, including the Great Hunger memorial, St Patrick’s Church, Clarence Dock and a good deal more. Kitty Wilkinson, James Nugent, Agnes Jones, T.P.O’Connor, and many will feature. Magical and a little mysterious, the coach will return you to the Liverpool Irish Centre ready for the Family Céilí.

As with the walking tours, this coach tour has been prepared and presented by historian Greg Quiery.

We strongly recommend advance booking as places are strictly limited. Remaining coach seats will be sold on the day on a first-come-first-served basis.

Please note: this tour leaves the Liverpool Irish Centre at midday and not 10am as printed in the Liverpool Irish Festival brochure. This was a misprint and we are communicating this error wherever possible.

Traditionally, Irish céilís provided an opportunity for families and friends to unwind, share time together and celebrate.

So, how better can the Liverpool Irish Festival help families to wrap up #LIF2019, ahead of the working week, but to provide you with a brilliant céilí? This is the perfect time to (re)connect with loved ones, your (or another) culture and plan your trip to Ireland. Bring family, friends and your dancing feet to join the fun, learn some Irish céilí dances and witness live music and dance. No previous experience is necessary as full instructions will be given by an exceptional caller.

Not only will there be fun with music and dance, but The Armagh Rhymers will be in attendance, bringing with them folk stories, mumming and children’s books, galore. A truly spectacular outfit, they are replete with giant woven head pieces, costumes and drama, as presented by the true rhyming traditions of Ireland. For more details on their work visit armaghrhymers.com

Irish stew and other lunch offers will available from the Liverpool Irish Centre’s shop, along with a range of Irish produce sold all year ‘round. Do stop and take a look.

The Family Céilí forms part of our wider Family Days programme, including the Family Day at the Museum of Liverpool on Sat 26 Oct (see listing). It is organised by Liverpool Irish Festival in partnership with the Liverpool Irish Centre.

 
The Armagh Rhymers at Navan Fort (c) Charles Freger – detail only.

Peggy Peakin was a Liverpool music ‘influencer’ for over 50 years.

She’d collected tunes, made them her own, played and shared them. She and her sister played in Liverpool, notably with the Brian Boru Band and, most famously in the Liverpool Céilí Band, with Sean McNamara, Eamon and Terry Coyne and others. As a teacher she was greatly revered and as a peer, much loved. This night remembers her joy of music, revisiting many of the tunes she played, recognising her skill, friendships and legacy to music in Liverpool. Pupils, fellow players of traditional music and friends, honour her by playing and passing on stories in an evening of celebration.

We’re welcoming anyone who was taught by Peggy or who played with her during her long career. It would be good to hear more stories on the night, if you’ve something to share. Remember to bring any instruments, as there’ll be a chance to join in a few well-known tunes and perhaps learn an old tune in the way Peggy taught it.

Liverpool Irish Festival and TG4 bring you three exceptional masterclasses with (recent) past Gradam Ceoil winners and experts in the fields of accordion, fiddle and concertina.

These classes are for existing musicians to sharpen their skills with the assistance a leading musician. Places are limited to allow for close tuition within small groups.

To apply, you will need to send your name, contact details, level of musical training/professional equivalent, masterclass choice and reason for wanting to attend to info@liverpoolirishfestival.com with the subject: TG4Masterclass.

It is important we collect this information so that the artists can come prepared with ideas for the session and an understanding of the skill set in the room. Places operate on a first-come, first-served basis. This is a rare opportunity to meet a remarkable artist, gain from their experience and hone your skills.

Session times run as follows:

12pm – Conor Connolly (Gradam Ceoil Young Traditional Musician of the Year, 2019) on accordion
1.30 pm – Clare Friel (Gradam Ceoil Young Traditional Musician of the Year, 2018) on fiddle
3pm – Liam O’Brien (Gradam Ceoil Young Traditional Musician of the Year, 2017) on concertina.

Gradam Ceoil Masterclasses run at 12pm (Conor Connolly, accordion), 1.30pm (Clare Friel, fiddle) and 3pm (Liam O’Brien, concertina) on Wed 23 Oct, not at 12pm, 2pm and 4pm as printed in the #LIF2019 brochure.

 

Liverpool Irish Festival and TG4 bring you three exceptional masterclasses with (recent) past Gradam Ceoil winners and experts in the fields of accordion, fiddle and concertina.

These classes are for existing musicians to sharpen their skills with the assistance a leading musician. Places are limited to allow for close tuition within small groups.

To apply, you will need to send your name, contact details, level of musical training/professional equivalent, masterclass choice and reason for wanting to attend to info@liverpoolirishfestival.com with the subject: TG4Masterclass.

It is important we collect this information so that the artists can come prepared with ideas for the session and an understanding of the skill set in the room. Places operate on a first-come, first-served basis. This is a rare opportunity to meet a remarkable artist, gain from their experience and hone your skills.

Session times run as follows:

12pm – Conor Connolly (Gradam Ceoil Young Traditional Musician of the Year, 2019) on accordion
1.30 pm – Clare Friel* (Gradam Ceoil Young Traditional Musician of the Year, 2018) on fiddle
3pm – Liam O’Brien (Gradam Ceoil Young Traditional Musician of the Year, 2017) on concertina.

Gradam Ceoil Masterclasses run at 12pm (Conor Connolly, accordion), 1.30pm (Clare Friel, fiddle) and 3pm (Liam O’Brien, concertina) on Wed 23 Oct, not at 12pm, 2pm and 4pm as printed in the #LIF2019 brochure.

 

* Not Doireann Ní Ghlacáin (TG4 presenter) as cited in very early listings. We apologise for any disappointment.