Shortcut to Hallelujah, Ballinrobe playwright Mick Donnellan’s latest play, comes to the Linenhall Arts Centre in Castlebar for two special performances on Wednesday January 18 and Thursday January 19 at 8pm.
From the creator of the smash hit play Sunday Morning Coming Down comes the latest play from Mick Donnellan. Set during the run-up to the All-Ireland football final, Mayo are playing Kerry and the clientele of Quinn’s Bar in Ballinrobe are certain the Sam Maguire Cup is coming home at last. But rumours begin to surface of a curse on the team. Meanwhile, heavy-drinking young Chris McGuire is in a bitter dispute with local landgrabber Black Tom Tully, and is adamant that Tully won’t get a single blade of grass from him. And Chris’ fiancée Eimear finds that, despite her best efforts, she cannot reconcile herself to a life in Ballinrobe, but leaving proves more difficult than she imagined. A darkly hilarious exploration of small town Irish life, the play proved a major success at its sell-out run at the Town Hall Theatre in Galway.
Dazzling trad at the Linenhall
For a drop of the pure stuff, look no further than stellar trad supertrio The Teetotallers, brewing up a storm at the Linenhall Arts Centre in Castlebar on Tuesday January 24 at 8pm as part of a music network tour.
Three of the most popular and highly regarded exponents of Irish traditional music today combine forces to create a powerfully potent brand of trad: fiddle player extraordinaire Martin Hayes, who is recognised as one of the most important Irish musicians of his generation; virtuoso multi-instrumentalist Kevin Crawford, who is a key member of Lúnasa and Moving Cloud; and dazzling guitarist/bouzouki/mandolin player and singer, founder member of Irish-American band Solas and Grammy nominee John Doyle. The Teetotallers represent a breathtaking summit of talent, skill, and imagination that will captivate followers of Irish traditional and other roots music everywhere. A group brewed in heaven. Expect the extraordinary.
