'I have a lot to thank Connacht Rugby for - I was allowed to progress here'

Thu, Dec 03, 2015

Last weekend's win over Munster was 'an early birthday present' for Connacht captain John Muldoon who turned 33 on Tuesday. Tomorrow evening when leading Connacht onto Arms Park in Cardiff, he celebrates yet another milestone, becoming the first person to play 200 Guinness Pro 12 game.

‘I’m passionate about seafood’

Thu, Nov 26, 2015

This Sunday, November 29, Oscar’s Seafood Bistro on Dominick Street hosts the launch of chef and proprietor Michael O Meara’s stunning new book, Sea Gastronomy: Fish and Shellfish of the North Atlantic. More than a cookery book, this is an engrossing encyclopaedia of fish and shellfish, which will be equally as valuable to aspiring chefs as to those who are passionate about cooking at home.

'I’m always fascinated by how people group and connect'

Thu, Nov 19, 2015

The TULCA Festival of the Visual Arts is currently in full swing across the city and among the participating artists is Dubliner Rhona Byrne, whose It’s All Up in the Air can be seen floating in the foyer of University Hospital Galway.

'I'm a bit of a sponge for visual stimulus'

Thu, Nov 12, 2015

Until a year ago, the artist David Hill did not know how to send an email, and the internet was something of a mystery to him. Fast forward 12 months and he is now successfully operating both a website and Facebook page, that has seen his art bought by collectors, galleries, and retailers across Britain, Ireland, and the USA.

'Get your coat off and get stuck in'

Thu, Oct 29, 2015

It was something of a red letter day at Kenny’s Gallery last Friday with the dual launch of a major new exhibition by sculptor John Behan, and a terrific book celebrating the artist, by NUIG’s Adrian Frazier, entitled John Behan: The Bull of Sheriff Street - The Life and Work of an Irish Sculptor and published by Lilliput Press.

Reconnecting with thirty years of enduring songs

Thu, Oct 22, 2015

Glasgow, 1985, a Scotland enduring high emigration and the ravages of Thatcherism, but there still manages to be a thriving and creative music scene in the city, and it is there that songwriter Ricky Ross and singer Lorraine McIntosh form a band named after a key song on Steely Dan's 1977 album Aja.

‘You have to be honest whenever you’re onstage’

Thu, Oct 08, 2015

The Vodafone Comedy Carnival Galway is less than two weeks away and kicking off this jamboree of japes and jollity is Ireland’s own Patrick Kielty who brings his new show, Help, to the Róisín Dubh on Tuesday October 20 at 8pm.

'Mam eventually accepted my sartorial elegance'

Thu, Oct 01, 2015

WHEN AL Porter emerged on to the stage of the Spiegeltent, an opening act on the opening night of the Vodafone Comedy Carnival Galway last October, he was little known. Fifteen minutes later, those present knew they would never forget him, and that a new star of Irish comedy had announced his arrival.

‘I was never interested in performing’

Thu, Sep 24, 2015

ONE OF the highlights of the upcoming Vodafone Comedy Carnival Galway is The Simpsons Backstage Tour presented by series writer/producer Mike Reiss, which will take audiences inside the lives of Springfield’s first family, revealing secret trivia of the show, insane dealings with network censors, and lots of juicy gossip about celebrity guest stars.

'Poetry can illuminate people’s lives'

Thu, Sep 03, 2015

Among the attractions of the upcoming Clifden Arts Festival is the launch of the latest poetry collection by Moya Cannon, entitled Keats Lives and published by Carcanet Press. It is also something of a homecoming, as Moya was a long longtime stalwart of Galway’s literary scene.

‘Public libraries are changing’

Thu, Aug 20, 2015

Working out of Library Headquarters in Island House, Galway county librarian Peter Rabbitt oversees a service that comprises 29 libraries across the city, county, and islands, one which has a membership of some 40,000 regular users. The City Library in Hynes Building alone issues some 90,000 books each year, while the total for the county is some 600,000.

'In burlesque we see a different idea of femininity and it is empowering'

Thu, Aug 06, 2015

It is a story countless Galwegians are familiar with. You meet a person from outside the county or outside Ireland, and they tell you how they came here on a holiday, to study, or perhaps were just passing through, never intending to stay more than a few months, 12 at the most. Years later, they are still here, and regard the city as their home as much as any born and bred Galwegian.

'Alice In Wonderland was my introduction to surrealism'

Thu, Jul 23, 2015

Cartoonist, painter, poet, novelist, critic, rock musician, punster, polymath, raconteur and wit; Tom Mathews has so many strings to his bow he could open his own archery club.

'As an actor you’re not at the top of the food chain in the film world'

Thu, Jul 09, 2015

“The man who was Wreck-it Ralph just phoned and he’ll ring back in 10 minutes” hollered my excited daughter through the living room window that she had expressly opened for hollering purposes.

‘I think the world has changed rather than me’

Thu, Jul 02, 2015

The world - or at least the Western world - is a very different place now in July to what it was in May. In the space of around six weeks, Ireland became the first State where same-sex marriage was endorsed by the public through a referendum - kickstarting calls in Germany and Australia for the same; while the United States voted to approve gay marriage following a Supreme Court decision.

'I think the world has changed rather than me'

Tue, Jun 30, 2015

The world - or at least the Western world - is a very different place now in July to what it was in May. In the space of around six weeks, Ireland became the first State where same-sex marriage was endorsed by the public through a referendum - kickstarting calls in Germany and Australia for the same; while the United States voted to approve gay marriage following a Supreme Court decision.

When the Saint goes marching in

Thu, Jun 25, 2015

St Vincent, aka Annie Clark, is one of the hottest acts on the rock circuit at the moment with her last album, 2014’s St Vincent, featuring highly in best-of-the-year lists for Pitchfork, New York Times, NME, and Rolling Stone, while The Guardian named it as its album of the year.

'I was a working class boy'

Thu, Jun 18, 2015

One of the notable shows in this year’s Galway International Arts Festival is Maum at An Taibhdhearc, starring David Heap, who is best known for his role in Fair City. The play is based on a true story, this compelling new drama dares to uncover little known facts about a case that is still clothed in secrets and shame.

'When I was growing up you’d have thought the Australians had won at Gallipoli'

Thu, Jun 11, 2015

These are eventful times for Australian-Irish poet Robyn Rowland. Not only has she published two new collections of verse, but, after more than three decades in which she has spent half of each year in Connemara, she has also received Irish citizenship.

'Our music takes influences from the past, but our songs are about now, about our lives'

Thu, Jun 04, 2015

Music runs in the blood of siblings Kitty, Daisy, and Lewis Durham. It was inescapable, permeating all areas of home and family life. Even on their local streets of Kentish Town in Camden, where they grew up and still live, it was the air they breathed and the sound they heard from every corner.

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