Arts Alive And Well In Tipperary
Cathaoirleach Marie Murphy says the arts are alive and well in County Tipperary and cannot wait to sample the vast array of activity on Culture Night.
Speaking as she reviewed the extraordinarily rich and diverse offering for Tipperary Culture Night, Cathaoirleach Marie Murphy said, “We are as always delighted to present Culture Night in Tipperary where organisations on the ground in the County have worked tirelessly to present this rich programme of live and online events. Our arts and culture are always crucially important in our lives, never more so than they have been in the past 20 months during lockdowns and the Covid 19 pandemic” In these challenging times for everyone, this year’s Culture Night theme is Come Together Again and with ‘an eclectic programme of live and online events for all the family, throughout the length and breadth of the county’ said Melanie Scott, Arts Officer at Tipperary County Council, we look forward to coming together safely in a spirit of celebration of our many cultures and the role that culture has played to enhance all of our lives over the past 20 months.

Throughout the County, organisations have pulled out all the stops to celebrate local communities with a mixture of film – in Roscrea at Damer House, they’re screening Last of The Summer Wine, radio drama – in Carrick-on-Suir at the Artisan Hub where they have been working with older communities to generate plays based on real life events, visual arts – at the Source Arts Centre, Thurles, Eamon Colman’s wonderful Walking At Night exhibition and Gordon Hogan’s Moving Portraits as well as What Makes You Smile at Nenagh Arts Centre.
In keeping with the move outdoors that has become the norm this past year, Clonmel Arts Partnership present four wonderful concerts in the gorgeous outdoor setting that is Lily’s Lane at Hearn’s Hotel in Clonmel. Booking is essential for each event commencing at 5pm with the always terrific Bijou Opera followed at 6 by the effervescent jazziness to throw you Back In The Mood. That’s followed at 7.30pm by About Time: Alex Petcu presented by the Finding a Voice Concert Series. he Wood of O at 9.30
Meanwhile, Tipperary County Museum invites everyone to help solve the mystery of who let our Historical Heroes escape our Gallery?! Starting off at the Museum, explore Clonmel town and see if you can find the escapees from various time periods throughout Tipperary’s History. Enjoy a film installation for Culture Night outside The Main Guard, Clonmel, curated from the content of the exhibition 100 Years of Women in Politics and Public Life.
Tipperary Town Library start their evening with an outdoor storytelling event for the younger family members and after that you can catch music with Stetsons & Stilletoes. While Cashel library are hosting an outdoor Big Bang Drumming Workshop followed by an Open Mic evening with local writer Breda Joyce. Culture Night is an opportunity for everyone to take a look and to participate in something new, so check it all out at www.culturenight.ie Some highlights:
On display at the Source Arts Centre, Thurles will be ‘Moving Portraits’ – a looped filmed work by Artist Gordon Hogan. In this work, Hogan has filmed a group of individual moving portraits of people in Tipperary. Approaching the camera lens, each person takes a passive or active role as they come into focus. Some approach the camera with warmth, others with strength and pride, many with a sense of vulnerability. Are they themselves or do they become performers for the camera? Hear the wonderful Carole Nelson trio or join Eamon Colman for a talk about his work. In Nenagh Arts Centre you can listen to the voices of Nenagh, young and not so young, as they express what Culture means to them.
Whether it be art, music, theatre, sport, language, food, new ideas, friendship, family values and beliefs. It is unique to some and shared by others. You can visit a unique exhibition of work led by artist Leisa Gray inspired by ideas of what makes people smile. Coming together, while apart, through a positive shared experience. Finally in an amazing outdoor performance at the Arts Centre, Vlad Smishkewych and Ivan Garriga bring you on a journey across time and place exploring the music of the Pyrenees north and south through the centuries.
Visit Roscrea to gain insights into the story of a place and its people as the Damer Gallery presents. Therry Rudin’s beautifully and sensitively filmed documentary “Last of the Summer Wine”. It gives us an understanding of the town of Roscrea through the views and memories of several senior residents, witnesses to many changes over the years. But it is an individual’s story, that of the late Liam Maloney features. Born in the grounds of Dungar Cemetery in 1941 and spending his working life in the local drapery trade, Liam reminisces in the relaxed and convivial atmosphere of his home, dog on lap. Not to be missed.
On Friday, the 17th of September, “Found Links”, are running a unique fun event, suitable for all age groups, at Derrynaflan, from 5pm to 9pm, bringing together traditions in music, print, storytelling and the joys of walking and exploring our own beautiful Tipperary landscapes. Derrynaflan is an island of high ground situated in the extensive bog of Littleton, Co. Tipperary. It is the site of an ancient monastic settlement known locally as ‘the Gobán Saor’. The famous Derrynaflan Hoard: a chalice and paten along with other medieval ecclesiastical treasures were discovered there in 1980. To book on one of our guided walks or book a place on the return bus from
Cashel to the Horse and Jockey email printvango@gmail.com Carrick On Suir’s Artisan Hub has produced wonderful radio plays and thanks to the KEEP WELL campaign, a Healthy Ireland initiative of the Government of Ireland, which was rolled out earlier this year, they had the opportunity to fund the first volume of ‘The making of Radio Dramas in a virtual realm’ producing three Radio Plays inspired by stories generously shared by nursing home residents. These interviews were recorded remotely during lockdown three. The residents shared more stories resulting in radio plays which you can hear online on Culture Night.
Journey virtually to Borrisokane for a look at Borrisokane Is Dancing, co- created and performed by both migrant and host communities in Borrisokane, the work will draw from Instant Dissidence’s background in contemporary dance, whilst also embracing popular dance culture, and traditional/folk dance forms from the countries of origin of the migrant and host communities.
And this is only for starters. Keep an eye out in local press and on our webpage for further information and updates on all events and Culture Night activities.