News
36th Galway Arts Festival gets off to a flying start with impromtu show
This year’s Galway Arts Festival got off the ground yesterday evening when it was officially opened at the Radisson Blu Hotel with special guest Tim O’Connor, Chairman of The Gathering.
Participating artists in Festival 2013, which is in its 36th year, who attended the opening reception included Stella & Lou playwright Bruce Graham, director BJ Jones from Northlight Theatre and actor Francis Guinan who plays Lou arrived in Galway with many family and friends from Chicago over the weekend. Francis who is making his first visit to Ireland is well known from the hit US TV drama Boss was greeted by many fans of the show. Internationally renowned artist John Gerrard whose exhibition Cuban School is featured at the ABSOLUT Festival Gallery was also in attendance with friends and colleagues from Austria and London as was Elena Zardini and Neil McConnon from London’s Barbican.
Chairperson of the Arts Council Pat Moylan who is also the producer of A Galway Girl was with Galway actress Claire Barrett who stars in the show, while Druid’s artistic director Garry Hynes was with Druid manager Sarah Lynch and producer Tim Smith who had flown in from New York. Earlier that afternoon sensational fire breathing show Dragons surprised crowds on the streets of Galway with an impromptu show of excitement and terror in equal measure from the world famous Sarruga from Barcelona.
Company members of Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre and director Michael Keegan-Dolan made a brief visit to the opening party prior to their Irish premiere of Rite of Spring and Petrushka, at the Black Box Theatre on Monday night. Olwen Fouéré whose show Riverrun opens on Monday, a Galway Arts Festival co-production with The Emergency Room was with her producer Jen Coppinger and were joined by Culture Ireland’s Christine Sisk and Ireland at Venice commissioner Elizabeth Francis.
Festival highlights during the first week include two unmissable Festival Big Top concerts with Grizzly Bear and The Strypes on Friday 19th July and Josh Ritter and Mick Flannery on Saturday and an action-packed street theatre programme will see the streets of Galway come alive during the weekend. Music higlights include Kaleidoscope featuring two world premieres; The Arcady Experience featuring a new line-up of extraordinary musicans and special guests; Frankie Gavin and De Dannan and the prolific Matthew E. White.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Sentinel.
Plans to develop a marine park in Conamara were dealt a major blow this week after An Bórd Pleanála refused to grant planning permission for the development.
Galway County Council had already rejected proposals by Údarás na Gaeltachta to develop Páirc na Mara on lands east of Cill Chiaráin village.
The regional authority responsible for economic, social and cultural development of the Gaeltacht, appealed the decision to the planning appeals board but it too has refused to grant permission.
This latest decision blows a big hole in Údarás na Gaeltachta’s job creation plans for Conamara – its five-year employment strategy launched last year hinged on jobs growth from Páirc na Mara.
Reacting, in a statement to the Connacht Tribune, Údarás na Gaeltachta said it was awaiting ABP’s Inspector’s Report.
“This will help to inform how we proceed in the coming weeks. We remain committed to the Páirc na Mara project and to sustainable development and job creation in the Iorras Aithneach Gaeltacht area,” it added.
In a letter from ABP member, Chris McGarry, the Board gave two reasons for refusing the plan.
They related to the lack of information about the potential impacts of climate change; and the potential impact on water levels and the water supply in nearby water sources.
The proposal involved phase one of the continued development of a marine innovation park on a brownfield site of nine hectares, to include a number of marine-based industrial facilities and educational and applied research sites at Cill Chiaráin.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
A standby transformer which could have averted a major electricity outage across Galway City was out of action due to moving outdoor equipment into a new building. –
The cause of the power cut affecting 8,000 residents and forcing hundreds of businesses to shut for most of last Thursday emerged as City Chief Executive Brendan McGrath said the chronic traffic delays proved that a ring road and a fourth bridge over the Corrib was desperately needed.
Matt Cunningham, area manager for ESB Networks, declined to speak to the Connacht Tribune – but in an interview on Galway Bay FM he explained that the fault occurred at the ESB 110kv substation in Ballybane where four high voltage transformers are in operation.
“One tripped out on a fault…all these transformers have protection relays and protection gear on them but unfortunately this one tripped out,” he stated.
Crews were in the middle of a major project transferring all of the outdoor switch gear inside a new building at the site.
“The standby one [transformer] was not on stand-by, it was switched out in preparation for this other work but we were able to get it back as quickly as we could.”
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Publican Thomas Cheevers was sitting at home last Thursday ahead of St Patrick’s Day, traditionally one of the biggest days in the calendar of his Moylough pub.
He decided to check the cameras of his pub to see if his nephew Matthew was managing okay behind the bar when he noticed a familiar face.
“I said to my wife, ‘oh my God Bono’s sitting at the counter’. She wouldn’t believe me. Then I showed her and there he was with my dad. And Edward Burns sitting beside him having a pint.”
There were around ten regulars in Cheevers last Thursday at 6.30pm when the Hollywood actor popped his head inside.
“Are we okay to have a pint?” he asked. Outside two Range Rovers had pulled up.
When he got the thumbs up, in came the U2 frontman, his wife Ali Hewson, their daughters Eve and Jordan, former supermodel Christy Turlington, her husband Ed.
Thomas legged it to the bar to discover his dad, Des, was making a cup of tea for Ali who was driving. Another regular, Philip Windsor, had bought the two lads their Guinness. The women at the window seat sat and drank hot whiskeys.
“It was surreal, very peculiar. My dad was chatting away to Bono. They were talking about the rugby match on Saturday. I knew I knew Ed Burns’ face but couldn’t place him. I told him I know you’re an actor and it must be strange not to be asked for photos. He said that’s what happens when you hang out with Bono.”
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Just 3 Galway TDs went against Government as eviction ban survives Dáil vote
Opposition waits to see effect of fall-out to end of eviction ban
Marine Park looks dead in the water
Decommissioned generator at core of power cut chaos
Galway wrap up campaign with big victory in Mullingar
City seeks to annex Oranmore, Claregalway, Moycullen and Barna in boundary extension
Tech consultants open Galway hub
Man awarded €142,000 over unprovoked attack in toilet of County Galway pub
Volkswagen Vans Galway at Western Motors announced as Mobility Partner for Galway GAA
Woman convicted of harassing social media guru
