Out and about around the county

Spring Awakening in Castlebar

Spring Awakening, a delightful evening of words and music with writer Michael McCarthy, poet and critic Caitríona O’Reilly, and musician Brigid Mae Power, takes place at the Linenhall Arts Centre in Castlebar on Thursday, March 15, at 8pm.

Spring Awakening is a night exploring epiphanies in literature and life: turning points, and no turning back, featuring award winning environment journalist and writer Michael McCarthy (Say Goodbye to the Cuckoo, The Moth Snowstorm: Nature and Joy ), and Caitríona O’Reilly whose multi-award-winning collections include The Nowhere Birds, The Sea Cabinet and Geis, with amazing singer and multi-instrumentalist Brigid Mae Power completing the stellar line up. This event is the second in a three part series Seasons - Waiting for You, programmed by Siobhán Kane in association with Words Ireland for the Linenhall.

Arcanadh to kick off Gathering for Patrick

Arcanadh are a six-piece band hailing from north, south, east, and west of Ireland. Arcanadh have performed worldwide at prestigious venues in countries such as Germany, Taiwan, Kuwait, and the United States. They have also played extensively in France as part of the Semaines Irlandaises concert series. They have picked up several accolades along the way including best newcomers at the Irish Music Awards and best band of the Lorient Festival Interceltique.

Arcanadh have recorded three studio albums – Soundings, Turning of a Day, and Light from the Water. Renowned for their powerful blend of vocals and exquisite harmonies. Arcanadh continue to endear themselves to audiences with their combination of self-composed songs and songs from traditions all over the world bringing shivers to many a spine. Do not miss the opportunity to see Arcanadh perform live in Westport Town Hall Theatre tomorrow, March 10. For bookings check out www.westporttheatre.com or call (098 ) 28459.

Someone Who'll Watch Over Me in Ballina

Adam, an American doctor, Edward, an Irish journalist, and Michael, an English academic, have little to unite them beyond being humans in the same small space. Yet somehow, together, they determine to ward off madness and forestall despair. Somewhere lurk their unseen captors, yet, in the cell, there are stories of adventure and love, there is song and laughter, and even a surge of writing, cocktail-drinking and movie-making. Inspired by the abduction of Brian Keenan taken hostage in Lebanon in the 1980s, Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me is playwright Frank McGuinness’s hymn to the defiant power of the human spirit and the creative imagination. The play will run for two nights at Ballina Arts Centre on Friday, March 23, and Saturday, March 24, at 8pm. Tickets from www.ballinaartscentre.com

The Good Father at The Linenhall

Rise Productions presents the highly acclaimed and moving drama The Good Father at the Linenhall Arts Centre in Castlebar on Wednesday, April 4, at 8pm. New Year’s Eve. A house party like any other, in a suburb like any other. Two very different strangers meet, each looking for a new start and to shake off the disappointments of the past.

But champagne, cheap lager, and their chance encounter lead this unlikely couple to an unplanned pregnancy. Against all odds, can they make their new-found family a success? Written by Christian O’Reilly, screenwriter of the award-winning film Sanctuary, and winner of the Stewart Parker Award, this heartfelt, moving, drama charts their journey of love, loss, and redemption.

St Gerald’s spring recital and exhibition

St Gerald’s College, Castlebar's music department presents its annual spring recital at the Linenhall Arts Centre in Castlebar on Wednesday March 14 at 8pm. A variety of genres will feature from rock to pop, classical to traditional. All are welcome to see and hear for themselves just how talented these students are. The same day also sees the official opening of St Gerald’s College art exhibition at 2.15pm. The exhibition runs until Saturday, April 14.

Call Me By Your Name next up for film club in Castlebar

Linenhall Film Club continues its spring 2018 season with a screening of the gorgeous, atmospheric, Call Me By Your Name on Tuesday, March 20, at 8pm. Set in the mid 1980s in the north of Italy not far from Lake Garda, the film tells the story of a sensitive and cultivated 17-year-old Elio, an only child of the American-Italian Perlman family, who is facing another lazy summer at his parents’ villa when Oliver arrives.

A charming 24-year-old American scholar, Oliver is breezy, spontaneous, handsome, and the kind of person who charms everyone he meets. The meeting of these two young men sets in motion the danger of an unbridled passion in the setting of the beautiful and languid Italian countryside. Nominated for Best Picture and winner of Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2018 Academy Awards, a lyrical masterpiece from Luca Guadagnino, the director of I Am Love.