A New Leaf is the compelling story of a woodland and its discovery of an enchanting new leaf.
The Grand Old Oak must solve the mystery of this new ‘leaf’, but she needs the help of an unexpected ally – Florence the Woodpecker. The performance is a mixture of poetry, prose and song.
“The poetry was brilliant. All gentle and powerful.” “Brilliant guitar playing. Amazing lyrics & songs.” “Made-me-cry. Emotive.”
For children and adults 7 years and up.
Image (c) Ian Hodgson.
Follow the lives and family histories of three young men as they grow up in Coolock on Dublin’s northside. What shapes them and entices them to a life of crime? Examining issues of class, religion and identity, this new play is an unflinching exploration of the Irish psyche, bringing our collective guilts, secrets and flaws to the surface.
Written, toured internationally and performed by 2018 Best Irish Actor winner, John Connors, this is sure to be a thoroughly gripping experience and a ‘must see’, ahead of what is sure to be a meterioc rise for this budding star of stage and sceen.
Developed as part of Show In A Bag, an artist development initiative of Dublin Fringe Festival, Fishamble: The New Play Company and Irish Theatre Institute to resource theatre makers and actors.
Are you into music by women for everyone? Do you want to support emerging talent? Are you riding the (fourth) wave of Feminism? Then this evening is just for you, your friends and your family!
Bringing together three unique music artists, Visible Women shows off the contemporary talents of Irish singer-songwriters Maz O’Connor, Laura Duff and headliner Lisa O’Neill.
Hosting the evening is a bilingual spoken-word artist, broadcaster Ciara Ní É, supported by Irish television broadcaster TG4. With two hours of music, this is set to be an evening of musical adventure and lyrical storytelling, all tied up with a beautiful Gaelic twist.
Linking visual art with music; music with story and story with cross-album narratives, Kilkelly reveal their new concept album: The Prick and the Petal.
Featuring the visual artworks of band member, Stephanie Hannon, and personal stories, wrestled with by Conor Kilkelly. Listeners will be brought in to the world of creation, the meanings the artworks layers onto the music and more about the identity of those telling the stories.
Look out for the Festival newspaper, in which there will be a feature on the art work and story of The Prick and the Petal. The Festival newspaper will land in October 2019.
Sue Rynhart will open, supported by stellar guitarist Rob Luft. Sue’s a seasoned LIF performer, whose song La Malouine featured heavily at during Liverpool River Festival 2018. We welcome her, once again, to share her insightful song-writing, soaring voice, dramatic musical journeys and generous stage presence as a warmer to Kilkelly’s dark, heartsore renderings.
This evening is presented in partnership with Mellowtone, who celebrate their fifteenth birthday this year.
The materials library provides a core resource and drop-in-space in which to hold discussions and impromptu seisiúns (sessions). With a growing selection of fiction, history and children’s texts to lose yourself in, it provides festival goers with a space to drop-in on and pick up another brochure, read the festival newspaper and enjoy a brew, a bite to eat and a chat.
The Bluecoat Display Centre present ceramicist Rory Shearer (Derry) for their monthly In the Window feature as part of #LIF2019.
Selected in response to a brief set by Liverpool Irish Festival and the Bluecoat Display Centre, and supported by the National Design and Craft Council of Ireland, the panel felt Rory’s work best reflected “unique stories, creatively told”.
Responding to the physical terrain of his studio, Rory’s work speaks of the land, through the clay used, the marks made and the glaze he applied (and makes). His amazing display contains work from two of his series. Read more about this in the Festival newspaper and in store.
In:Visible Women is an annual strand of work within the Liverpool Irish Festival.
It has been generated by conversations with artists, academics, activists, audiences and communities about the role of women in Irish society and creativity; today and historically. In:Visible Women is both a week-long event taking place at Tate Liverpool as part of its Tate Exchange programme and a trail through the #LIF2019 programme, embedded in to the very fabric of the Liverpool Irish Festival.
Read about us at Tate.
Reflecting certain aspects of the difficulties still presented to women –particularly those in Ireland or of Irish descent- the contributions made to this programme come from those who are progressing women’s rights through their work, focus and/or the access they provide.
With discussion, engaging presentations and a positive and welcoming atmosphere, these events are open to all, but will be of particular interest to
fourth wave feminists
people with stories about Irish women in their life
those who supported Repealing the Eighth amendment to Ireland’s constitution and
anyone keen to meet like-minded, spirited women.
Across the week, the Liverpool Irish Festival hope to learn more about
which Irish female writers and activists are known about and who audiences would like to hear more from
make meaningful additions to Ireland XO, thus assisting the gender imbalance of the platform
better understand the diversity of the Liverpool Irish community, what their lived-experience is today and whether or not the Liverpool Irish Festival is relevant enough for them. If not, what can we do?
whether there are specific subjects that touch the Liverpool Irish community that the Festival has not considered previously; what these are and how it can programme for them in future.
Basic overview
Monday: Dual-heritage, diaspora and Liverpool life
Tuesday: It’s not just the working classes. Go Lovely, Rose
Wednesday: Caillte: Can anyone deal with mass trauma creatively?
Thursday and Friday: Who am I? Ireland Reaching Out Ireland XO
Saturday and Sunday: Fold and Rise: fermenting discussion.
#LIF2019 #TateExchange #InVisibleWomen
Monday
Women: dual-heritage, diaspora and Liverpool life. Today we consider dual-heritage women and their lived experience in Liverpool, using the 1919 Race Riots as a catalyst for story-sharing.
Why women, particularly? As the domestic linchpins of family story, photo albums and birthday diaries, women are still often regarded as the maintainers of histories, facts and mementoes. Rarely documented by men, women’s voices -and the hand-me-down tales of those we have already lost- are important to capture.
A centenary on from the anti-black race riots that erupted in Liverpool in 1919 (and other seaports across the UK) we examine the attitudes towards race, in particular those concerned with inter-racial relationships, which encouraged extreme racial violence.
The term ‘miscegenation’ came into prominence in Europe, during the colonial era, and was used primarily negatively and as something to be avoided. In the United States the term came to be associated with laws banning interracial marriage and sex, known as Anti-miscegenation
Laws, which remain a cause for white supremacists today.
We’re aware that attitudes crystallised in 1919 continue to shape white agendas, views on mixed relationships and the offspring of mixed parentage. We believe these continue to impact on lives today. Aware of specific dual-heritage communities in Liverpool we will hold story release sessions for black and Irish; Chinese and Irish and later Irish diaspora dual heritage groups.
The first talk charts how the discourse of anti-miscegenation, prevalent at the time of the 1919 Race Riots, gained academic approval and shaped perceptions to –and policy interventions with- Liverpool’s black and minority communities through to the 1980s and beyond. We have used this discourse to prompt a reconsideration of Liverpool’s Irish connections and the many communities Irish migrants came in to contact with, which continue to form part of city’s community profile today. After this, are our three ‘story release’ sessions, in which anyone with Irish dual heritage is invited to share their story. We will document these sessions and they will inform our programme for #LIF2020. Contributions are additionally sought for a documentary film, to be screened on St Brigid’s day 2020 (1 Feb 2020), working with The Sound Agents. See liverpoolirishfestival.com nearer to the date for details.
Day overview
10:30am The 1919 Race Riots. Madeline Heneghan (Writing on the Wall) locates anti-miscegenation within the ideologies of Empire and its effects on Liverpool’s diverse communities
11:30am Black and Irish. Michelle Charters (Kuumba Imani Millennium Centre) tells and hears stories from black and Irish communities and individuals
1:30pm Chinese and Irish. A Chinese Irish representative, from the Pagoda Chinese Community Centre will lead a public conversation about Chinese Irish experiences
3:30pm Irish Diaspora. Win Lawlor (Irish Community Care) will debate and discuss diaspora life and experiences.
Black History Month
This is a Black History Month event. Black History Month is series of activities that consider black lives, black history and black connectivity. We highly recommend the Black History Month programme to you, running throughout October, which is coordinated, primarily, by our COoL partner, Writing on the Wall, please visit: wowfest.uk
This day is part of a COoL (Creative Organisations of Liverpool) produced event, supported by Arts Council England. This project commissioned an essay from Liam Hogan (Limerick Libraries), which features in the #LIF2019 newspaper. Look out for the piece, entitled: An Irish Slave in Antigua.
We highly recommend the Black History Month programme to you. Coordinated primarily by our COoL partners, Writing on the Wall. It also features an augmented reality trail and animated walking tours run by project partners First Take, Pagoda Chinese Community Arts Centre and Tmesis Theatre. Please visit: wowfest.uk
Tuesday
It’s not just the working classes. Go, Lovely Rose (Mary Manning) is a play about Rose Fitzgerald-Kennedy (JFK’s mother) and the way her early life was formed by masculine Boston politics. It demonstrates how even in the upper echelons of American-Irish society, women were moved as described by their male counterparts, not in the direction they wanted to travel.
With two performances of the work (c.45mins, 11:30am, 2:30pm), we will hold a Q&A with director Gavin McAlinden about what drew him to this female writer, the female only performance and what themes he most wanted to draw from them. We will also discuss other Irish female playwrights and why so few have risen to heady heights of their Irish brothers.
Audience members are asked to think about female Irish writers and playwrights they would like to see represented in future Liverpool Irish Festivals and take part in the table top activities provided to help us understand what themes our guests would most like to see us explore.
Wednesday
Caillte: Can anyone deal with mass trauma creatively? Ireland has witnessed many systemic issues unearthed in recent years. Whether it is the friction between faith and state, female body autonomy, arranged marriages or abuses within the Anglican and Catholic churches, there has been a lot to drive division and hurt, affect the national character and form identity.
Clara Kerr is a recent LIPA graduate who took on the story of the mass graves of Tuam and chose to question the historical story using her experience as a choreographer. As well as sharing aspects of the dances she created, we also talk with Clara about her process, reception to the work and what else she hopes Caillte can achieve.
Table top activities ask audiences what large scale issues, pertinent to Ireland, they would like the Liverpool Irish Festival to consider in future years and whether people believe these concepts are important for art to challenge. We will also ask, how we do this with sensitivity to the issues -and families- and who has the right to use these stories as stimuli for debate.
Caillte performances at 11am and 1pm, each followed by a Q&A. Gather in Tate Exchange to proceed to performance space.
Please note: 11am and 1pm are the correct times for the performances, not 1pm and 3pm as printed in the #LIF2019 brochure. This was an error. We apologise for any inconvenience.
The Liverpool Irish Festival are grateful to LIPA for their support of Glas Creative in this endeavour. If you are interested in this subject, be sure to read Clara’s article in the festival newspaper.
Thursday and Friday
Who am I? Ireland Reaching Out aims to connect all Irish people with their place of origin. Chronicling as many Irish people as will register and can be reported, Ireland Reaching Out provides links and resources to trace genealogy and create entries for you and those who came before you. In partnership with Ireland Reaching Out, also known as Ireland XO, the Liverpool Irish Festival invites people to share their invisible women –and others- by talking about their Irish ancestors. Ireland Reaching Out will help visitors use the resources and provide practical support and guidance to their (and other) family history resources. A typical point of guidance might be that you may know the name of the townland your family came from, but not the Civil Parish. Through Ireland Reaching Out’s services –primarily the Chronicles- ancestors can be linked to their Civil Parish in Ireland, which can locate those descended from the area and their destination homes.
For those not seeking to locate family, there will be information on other In:Visible Women, such as Agnes Jones and Kitty Wilkinson ad access to the Chronicles.
Of all the biographical entries on Wikipedia only 17% are women. Ireland Reaching Out believe that of their Chronicles only c.20% are about women. These two days will help to address the imbalance – we have to start somewhere! All those chronicled during their time at Tate Exchange will be marked up as such and recorded for posterity.
These workshops are held in partnership with Ireland Reaching Out. Visit their website for more information IrelandXO.com
Saturday and Sunday
Fold & Rise artists, Julie Griffiths and Maeve Collins ferment a public conversation using bread making –a reference to the traditional work of women- as both a metaphor and methodology, in an exploration of labour, the body and temporality; using the domestic as political.
The participatory art project, running since 2016, questions the ambiguous and differential standards by which women are frequently measured and constrained by today. Participants create a loaf of their own, using yeast which has been cultivated within the project since 2016. They will discuss female effort (exertion, employment, toil) making their loaf, waiting for it to rise and forming before taking it home to bake. In talking about effort those involved will talk about their own rights, freedoms, work and lived-experiences, folding time, rising bread and life together. Simultaneously, they will further cultivate te yeast ready for further discussion.
Sessions begin at 11am and 2pm.
In her first outing as Patron for the Liverpool Irish Festival, Eithne hosts an evening of substance; full of Irish story and song in the summer surrounds of the Palm House.
Featuring a number of guests (hand-picked by Eithne*), the evening promises stories about Eithne’s connections between Liverpool and Ireland, personal and collective; lots of laughter and some cabaret along the way. All ticket proceeds go to the Liverpool Irish Festival (charity number 1100126) to support their annual programme.
* Guests include Clare and Margaret Bowles also known as Sister Sister; poet Ciarán Hodgers and Blood Brothers and Brick Up star Davy Edge.
Eithne Browne is a Liverpool actor -the daughter of an Irish man, raised in Huyton- who has graced stage and screen internationally. First featured in Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers at Liverpool Playhouse, Eithne’s credits are far reaching, including stage roles in key female works such as Take Three Girls, Shirley Valentine, Wuthering Heights and The Vagina Monologues, through to television work in Brookside, Cold Feet and Emmerdale. Always returning to Liverpool, Liverpool Irish Festival are proud to welcome Eithne as Patron.
You can read little more about this event in our news article, here.
Ticket Quarter and the Liverpool Irish Festival
The Liverpool Irish Festival and Ticket Quarter are working together to ensure you get the very best value for your money. As a festival, we are subsidising all tickets bought through Ticket Quarter to ensure that you do not pay a booking fee. If you receive eTickets or collect your tickets personally, there should be no additional charges. You’re welcome!
The River Festival is back!
Each year Liverpool plays host to an incredible set of installations, acts, ships and activities to welcome the dawn of summer (we hope!) and Liverpool Irish Festival are stoked to be involved once again. This year, vsitors will see enormous sea urchins, ship wrecks and large scale artworks as well as music and dance, the Bordeaux Wine Festival and street art.
We will present a number of different acts across different stages, involving shanty singers, the George Ferguson Dance School, Irish band The Druids and many more besides. See below for a full Liverpool Irish Festival act list and locations and here for all their biographies.
To find out more about the River Festival itself, click here.
All Liverpool Irish Festival acts will be free to watch at either the Ship’s Stage (located near the International Slavery Museum; look for the tall ship La Malouine), by the big red funnels on Salthouse Quay or outside the Martin Luther King (MLK) Jnr Building, as indicated. Do come and find us!
Sat 1 June 2019
12:45 – 13:00 – Sea shanty – ship stage
• Kimber’s Men
13:15 – 14:00 – acoustic music – outside the funnels on Salthouse Quay
• Jo Pue and John Walsh
14:30 – 15:00 – band – ship stage
• The Folk Doctors
15:30 – 16:00 – dance performance – MLK Building stage
• George Ferguson Dance School
16:30 – 17:00 – dance performance – MLK Building stage
• George Ferguson Dance School
18:00 – 18:30 – band – ship stage
• Only Child
19:00 – 20:00 – band – ship stage
• Celtic Knot Ceilidh Band
Sun 2 June 2019
Please note -if Liverpool Football Club wins the Champions League on Sat 1 June 2019, this running order will change and all our activity will have to end at 4pm to accommodate the Victory Parade. If not, the following running order will remain in place.
12:45 – 13:00 – Sea shanty type – ship stage
• Anti-shanty
13:15 – 14:00 – acoustic music – outside the funnels on Salthouse Quay
• The Druids
14:30 – 15:00 – band – ship stage
• Catherine Cook
15:30 – 16:00 – dance performance – MLK Building stage
• George Ferguson Dance School
16:30 – 17:00 – dance performance – MLK Building stage
• George Ferguson Dance School
18:00 – 18:30 – band – ship stage
• Wee Bag Band
19:00 – 20:00 – band – ship stage
• The Druids
These presentations are commissioned by Culture Liverpool from the Liverpool Irish Festival. We are delighted to be involved in this wonderful event and grateful for the City Council’s continued support.
Playing the Liverpool Irish Festival for the first time, Jack Lukeman (Co.Kildare) is becoming a Liverpool regular, having played the Philharmonic Music Room and Vince Power’s 2018 Liverpool Feis previously.
A loyal and fast-growing audience means booking early is recommended to avoid disappointment. “The most magnificent and enigmatic of performers.” Edinburgh Spotlight Magazine, Scotland
About Jack
Jack Lukeman is an Irish singer-songwriter, performer, raconteur and a whole lot more besides. As a platinum-selling, critically acclaimed artist in Ireland, in recent years Lukeman has devoted more of his time to winning a growing fanbase in the UK and abroad. In this regard, he has toured the UK as a special guest on tours by artists as varied as Imelda May, Jools Holland, The Proclaimers and Neil Sedaka, and is currently promoting “Magic Days” (see video below), his latest album of idiosyncratic original songs.
Stage qualities
Lukeman is a compelling, dazzling stage performer. Incorporating the theatrical and romantic sensibilities of the likes of Jacques Brel, but with genuine melodic appeal and a knack for creating his own ‘magic realist’ world that is peopled by all manner of unusual, picaresque characters – Lukeman is a rare, unusual brand of performer.
What came before
The best music artists know that the world of the recording studio and onstage are two entirely different mediums – Lukeman’s recordings are colourful, absorbing collections, but it’s in the live environment, where his stage craft and desire to inspire really take flight. Despite the many achievements he has notched up in his lengthy career, Lukeman still has the hunger and drive to take his music to new audiences. During 2019 he takes to the road in the UK with his own headlining shows and more special guest appearances with Caro Emerald, The Proclaimers and Jools Holland. Other highlights include opening for Sting in July in Bonn, Germany, offering yet more proof of the outstanding versatility and unique talent of Jack Lukeman. From clubs to concert halls, theatres to festivals, Lukeman has the performing power and compelling presence to win over the most demanding of crowds.
Ticket Quarter and the Liverpool Irish Festival
The Liverpool Irish Festival and Ticket Quarter are working together to ensure you get the very best value for your money. As a festival, we are subsidising all tickets bought through Ticket Quarter to ensure that you do not pay a booking fee. If you receive eTickets or collect your tickets personally, there should be no additional charges. You’re welcome!