Entertainment
Unlocking the secret of eternal happiness
TV Watch with Dave O’Connell
Now that Luis Suarez has paid a huge price for interrupting his World Cup for a bite of Italian, he might check out the RTE Player to have a look at Maureen Gaffney’s two part RTE series simply entitled How To Be Happy. The irony is that he’s probably closer to happiness than he realises – not because he earns £200,000 a week or is acclaimed as a fantastic if flawed footballer – but because he has a smile that could light up a planet … unless you’re Italian and see his smile heading for your shoulder.
But smiling – in its more traditional sense – is, apparently, the first secret to happiness.
Researchers at Berkley University tracked a group of women in a College Yearbook over the next 30 years – and found that the ones with the warmer, more genuine, full smiles meant a life less anxious and less distressing.
The women were examined at 27, 42 and 52 – and they were by and large more successful, happier, and at 52, they still saw their husbands as the love of their lives.
Breda is a middle-aged woman from Thurles who doesn’t like to smile because of her slightly prominent teeth – but now she’s doing more of it and finds it’s sending off what she calls a transmission to the interior and now she’s happier.
So now she’s grinning like she’s had ten Mojitos at a hen party.
And even if smiling doesn’t come naturally to you, Welsh psychologists point out that you can train to smile by holding a pen in your mouth to force your lips upwards.
Just remember to take it out afterwards or you’ll have difficulty talking, or you’ll swallow the ink.
Maureen Gaffney is one of those rare psychologists who talk in everyday language – and makes sense – but even she can resort to trite stats once in a while.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Sentinel.
Vocalist and artist Ceara Conway is collaborating with musicians Kevin Murphy (cello), and Ultan O’Brien (viola, fiddle) of Slow Moving Clouds, and Anna Mullarkey, (piano, electronics) to present a live performance of her album, CAOIN.
The event will take place in An Taibhdhearc next Thursday, April 6, at 8pm.
Ceara, who is from an Ceathrú Rua, is known for her unique use of traditional song and lament in contemporary art.
In this collection of sean-nós and world music songs, released last March, she explores the sounds and sentiments of love, loss and longing found in traditional praise songs and lullabies, with an emphasis on the Irish ‘caoineadh, or lament.
Ceara has gained recognition for her singing in traditional repertoires across cultures from Irish sean-nós to Portuguese, Arabic and African song and Georgian chant.
“As a vocal artist, I have been composing, performing, and using songs as a way in which to connect with audiences on issues that we experience individually and collectively,” she explains. This includes “exploring the sense of loss we experience in relation to experiences of death, migration, feminist issues, and the environmental crisis”.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
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The performance of Waltsáil Abhaile at An Taibhdhearc this Friday night, March 31, is in support of Peter Nelson.
Peter has been involved with theatre s in Galway for over 30 years, since he began his career with Macnas. In the three decades since, he has worked with almost every theatre company in Galway City and County.
In recent years, Peter has worked with Druid as a stage carpenter and Fíbín as set designer and builder.
However, he recently suffered a series of strokes and is unable to work and support himself financially. Funds are needed to provide Peter with an electric wheelchair, which will give him independent mobility.
The arts community is invited to come together and support Peter and his family during this difficult time by attending the fundraiser production of Waltsáil Abhaile this Friday night at 8pm.
Anyone who can’t attend but who would like to contribute, can do so by clicking on the “Tickets” link on the event page on an Taibhdhearc web site and there is a donate button that will allow you to contribute whatever amount you want. https://www.antaibhdhearc.com/
From Galway to the World is the title of Music for Galway’s strategy for the next three years as the organisation continues to extend its reach while providing access to top-quality classical and contemporary music here in Galway.
The initiative was launched this Wednesday in the city’s PorterShed a Dó.
“The title of the strategy conveys perfectly the main message of the organisation,” said Music for Galway’s CEO Anna Lardi. “In recent years, there has been a major transformation as the organisation has grown in capacity, ambition and output.”
While continuing to look after its home base, Music for Galway (MfG) is increasingly working with national and international partners on initiatives to attract audiences from further afield, she added.
Its eight-day cello festival, CELLISSIMO, with the next one scheduled for May of 2024 is one such vehicle. CELLISSIMO will include Songs of Travel, a major project for which MfG is leading a team of five participating countries. The Songs for Travel initiative has been awarded €1 million through the Creative Europe Cooperation Award.
At this week’s launch of From Galway to the World, MfG’s Artistic Director Finghin Collins announced details of a special concert connected to the CELLISSIMO festival, which is due to take place on November 18 in the city’s Galmont Hotel. Featuring major cello-piano duo Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason, it will give audiences a taste of what to expect in May 2024. Tickets are now on sale for that show.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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