One of the most compelling and inspirational musicians Ireland has ever seen, Christy Moore has a universal fan base and continues to entertain. It is his deep urge to connect with the listener and transmit the meaning of the songs he sings that endears him to audiences of all ages. Christy has released over 25 solo albums, from Paddy on the Road (1969) to his most recent On The Road, released worldwide (Nov 2017) to great acclaim. Featuring 24 songs, the two-discs collect the songs that Christy has made his own during 50+ incredible years of live touring.
This event is a festival preview organised by Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.
Sit back and be enthralled by the songs and story of Co. Mayo’s own Delia Murphy, sung in Delia’s unique style.
Roll back the years with The Spinning Wheel, If I were a Blackbird and other much loved songs.
From Hollymount (Co. Mayo), Delia rose as a celebrity singer, admired by music fans who appreciated her vinyl recordings and radio broadcasts. Married to Irish Ambassador, Thomas Kiernan, Delia was a star in her own right. She mixed with the famous and mighty, but retained her identity as a recording artist and performer. She was an extrovert who liked people with the same openness as herself.
2018 marked the 80th anniversary of Delia’s first Abbey Road HMV recordings. After ten successful years of touring, Carmen remains keen to remember Delia to those who recall her and share her -as a unique woman and artist- with new audiences. Among other incredible stories, audiences will hear tell of Delia’s dealings in the Vatican’s ‘Spies Parlour Network’, in German occupied Rome during the war. Delia’s musical legacy continues in her celebrity, in grandson Ronan Browne’s Uilleann-pipe playing and in this very event.
Hello Delia Murphy is an illustrated, beguiling talk with songs –compiled and performed by Delia’s niece, Carmen Cullen- accompanied by Gerry Anderson on guitar. Delia -a significant musical-history figure- is credited with laying the groundwork for the Irish folk revival of the late 1930s-50s (before Liam Clancy), which she took to the world stage.
Providing a snapshot of the festival ahead, the launch welcomes everyone to come and get a taste of Ireland, with some Irish stew and a glass of the black stuff, in the natural home of Liverpool’s Irish community. There will be music, stories, speeches (only short ones allowed!) and singing for everyone to watch, listen to and take part in.
Come along and meet the #LIF2019 team; share your Irishness, raise a glass (Sláinte!/Health!) and welcome in this year’s festival, celebrating unique stories, creatively told. We look forward to greeting you.
Please note: this event runs 8pm-10pm not 6pm-8pm as noted erroneously in the brochure!
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.”
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.
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.
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