Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Friday, October 10, 2008

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Friday, July 25, 2008

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Aiken Promotions presents...

Jerry Dammers

Live at Vicar St -Friday 12h Sept '08

Tickets on sale Fri 25th July at 9am

Jerry Dammers' Spatial A.K.A. Orchestra present :

"Cosmic Engineers - a tribute to the mystic music mavericks".

Founder and keyboard player of seventies ska band The Specials, Jerry Dammers visits Dublin with his new orchestra for the first time, for an evening of retro future jazz, with a little reggae, library music and even ska thrown in. Prepare to be entertained by visitors from dark worlds as Dammers and a selection of the U.K.s foremost jazz musicians pay tribute to the music of Sun Ra, Alice Coltrane, Coxsone Dodd and others, even including the odd Dammers' classic, in a manner credible to jazz, funk, breakbeat, and rock fans alike.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Monday, July 07, 2008



An Grianan Theatre, Wed 15 July.



An Grianan Theatre Wed 16th July.Tickets only 15 Euros. All Ages Show.

Monday, June 30, 2008

Tuesday, June 24, 2008




What you think? opinions please....

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Darklight 08 is nearly upon us ... warning this contains nothing but seriously bad language.

No Must Mean No

And so in the aftermath' (yes they are really using this term) of the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty the politicians are trying to convince us of two things. One is that we niaevly did the wrong thing, but it wasn't our fault, we had our poor heads filled with 'lies' by the nasty no campaign, and secondly that it is a disaster of hurricane proportions that has sent the EU into a tailspin and will come crashing down if we don't have another vote and ratify it. It's an insulting and patronising view. We are the only people that have been given the vote on this, in all other countries it is to be decided by professional politicians. Now to suggest, as many have that what is good for professional politicians must be good for the ordinary person is not always correct, just ask those suffering in Zimbabwae under the 'elected' Robert Mugabe. This is not the end of Europe, what it means is it stays the way it is now. The way the politicians decided it must be only a few years ago when bringing in the Nice Treaty, which was so important we had to vote on it twice until we got the vote 'right'. Sound familiar? Never mind that the people of Europe where given the opportunity have rejected this: in France and the Netherlands, when they were given the chance when it was framed as the European Constitution, and now in Ireland. French politicians have suggested the rest of Europe go on ahead without Ireland, ignoring the legal reality that it only becomes law if ALL 27 ratify it, and others have suggested we vote again and again until we give them the answer the politicians want. Which suggests none of them give a damn about Democracy. Why don't they just do what Mugabe is suggesting and put armed police in the voting centres to watch you vote? That would clean it up quickly enough. If they care about Democracy the Lisbon Treaty will be scrapped, but then maybe they don't care about it? Maybe that is the European development that convinced so many to vote no in the first place, the worrying drift away from what the people want and what the politicians and bureaucrats decide we should have. If they bring it to a second referendum anyone who cares about Democracy must vote no. No must mean no for Democracy's sake.

Punx Picnic June 28 & 29

The inaugural (first) Punx Picnic is on this weekend out at Churchill, by the Rock. It's going to be a well organised musical weekend for up to 800 happy revellers. And a nicer bunch of people than the regular Rebellious Jukebox goers you would be hard pushed to meet. There's over 70 acts including punk rock, rock n roll, blues, garage, ska, reggae, acoustic, folk, polka and many more genres of music. Pick up your ticket at Universal Records in the Market Square. Letterkenny.

the Abbey and The Seafarer
Following on from all the publicity about the Seafarer winning a Tony Award (like an Oscar for Stage Actors) tickets have been flying out but fret not, ring now and get some of the remaining ones, call us on 074 91 20777 at An Grianan Box Office. It opens next Tuesday and runs until, and including, Saturday night. Author Conor McPherson will be on Shaun Doherty's radio show on Friday around about mid day so tune into Highland on 103.3fm, he's a very entertaining bloke (and Conor is too!).



Nasty & The Fantastics
Nasty and His Fantastics, all decked out in Superman underwear I believe, will be playing in Mary's (O'Shaughnessy's as it says above the door) also this Friday night, tunes from 10.30.

A Message From Jade
'yo, since you're always looking for stuff for your column why don't you mention how the amazing single 'Red Apple' by Cuckoo Savante featuring Mary Coughlan is currently on sale in Universal Records for 5 tiny euro, and all proceeds go to very worthy charities. The band are currently putting the finishing touches to their debut album and have a number of gigs lined-up in such reputable venues as The Boogaloo Bar in Highgate, London and Camden's Dublin Castle, not to mention slots at Electric Picnic and the Mantua Festival (with a lot more gigs in the pipeline). there ya go ;-) Jade.' So eeerrr who's Jade?

Earagail Arts Festival Highlights Number 2

Bell X1 have been the big highlight of the past few years on the Irish Music Scene, playing to huge crowds all over the country. Bell X1 stalwart Dave Geraghty released his own album Kill Your Darlings in September 2007. In conjunction with the release he completed a sell out Irish tour, and headlined the 2FM 2moro 2our last November. We are delighted to have him play An Grianan in the company of John Shelly & The Creatures on Wednesday 16 July. Tickets on sale now form 074 91 20777, www.angrianan.com.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Monday, June 16, 2008

What the cool kids are groovin' to

Here Come The Abbey!

The Seafarer is taking the world by storm and An Grianan are one of only three venues outside of the Abbey to be receiving it, a huge coup for Donegal. It's a big play wth loads of laughs and plenty of sobering thoughts, although not too many sober characters! It's powerful, funny and unsettling tale that proves once again that Conor McPherson is a born storyteller. The Seafarer has received four nominations in this year's Tony Awards including Best Play. It's Christmas Eve and Sharky has returned to Dublin to look after his irascible, ageing brother who's recently gone blind. Old drinking buddies Ivan and Nicky are holed up at the house too, hoping to play some cards. With the arrival of a stranger from the distant past, the stakes are raised ever higher. In fact, Sharky may be playing for his very soul… Highly recommended for everyone, it's on at An Grianan from next Tuesday 24th for five nights.

Regional Cultural Centre Summer Camps

The Regional Cultural Centre is pleased to offer a variety of weeklong workshops for young people aged 5 – 16 years. Art Safari and Film Buffs will take place at the Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny from Monday 11th August – Friday 15th. This programme includes a Field Trip to the Glebe Gallery in Churchill. For further information please contact: Sally Murphy / Ruth McCullough on 074 91 29186. The Regional Cultural Centre also welcomes any feedback or suggestions for further courses.
Art Safari is an explorative journey through the wonderful world of art! This week-long creative workshop programme will have a wide range of fun and active art classes to engage all levels of ability in making and creating art. Sessions will include printmaking, 3d sculpture, painting, digital photography and much more. Group 1 will be led by artist / facilitator Roxane Keeney (ages 5-8) Group 2, led by artist / facilitator Mhairi Sutherland (ages 9-12).
Film Buffs, this week-long workshop for young people with artist / facilitator Tracy Cullen will guide budding filmmakers through all aspects of the movie process from storyboarding, cinematography, script development, lighting, sound, directing techniques, production and editing. Each participant will be given a specific theme and will have one week to make their own short film! Ages 13-16. Prior booking is essential as places are limited.
Children and their parents are invited to come to the Regional Cultural Centre for a drop-in Family Art Camp on Saturday 16th August, from 1 – 4pm to explore the magical world of Op Art through the work of Victor Vasarely. This exciting afternoon session offers families the opportunity to get together and be creative. Prepare to get paint on your hands! Admission Free. All adults must be accompanied by a child.

An Grianan Summer Camps

An Grianan has three Summer Camps this year: The Performing Arts Summer School, Mon 21 to Sat 26 July, suitable for ages 8 to 20. After the adventures of Red in 2006 and Finn McCool in 2007, this year's Performing Arts Summer School goes through the looking glass with Alice in Wonderland. Throughout the week participants will take part in a variety of workshops covering singing, acting, choreography and stagecraft. Running the school are a group of seasoned musical theatre professionals including actors, choreographers and technicians. The school culminates in a showcase performance where participants will perform alongside professional performers. A perfect introduction to the world of theatre for beginners and a great way for more experienced students to build on their knowledge.
Mon 28 July to Sat 2 August, Choral Academy with Jim Maley, suitable for ages 10 to 18. If singing's your thing then this is the workshop for you! As with all our summer schools the emphasis is on live performance and the week culminates in a concert in which the participants will sing together as a choir, complete with musical accompaniment from Jim Maley and guests. Every year we get the same feedback – the standard achieved in just one short week is nothing short of brilliant!
Mon 4 to Fri 8 August, Ballet Ireland Summer School, suitable for ages 6+. Dance alongside professional ballet dancers with Ireland's national ballet company! Suitable for boys and girls alike, each will be schooled to work to the best of their own abilities, and it may surprise you how much you can do under this expert guidance. During the week’s workshops, exploration into all the component parts of ballet is made: music, mime, painting and drama, as well as that of dance. Your friends and family will have the chance to see you in a wonderful end of week ballet performance alongside dancer/tutor Stephen Brennan and other members of Ballet Ireland. Book or get more information on 074 91 20777.

Earagail Arts Festival

The programme for the 20th Earagail Arts Festival is out now and very good it is too. Despite being reduced by a few days it has 20 or so more shows than last year! Get your hands on a brochure which should be everywhere around you at the moment, or you can definitely get one in An Grianan or The Balor. Loads of highlights but the stand out one is Sensazione, which will be the centrpeice of Letterkenny Town Park. Once through the gateway the audience are transported to a world of fairground folk with fantastic tales and extraordinary requests devised and improvised by the internationally renowned Laika performers. The audience are free to roam the fairground following the performers from location to location and enjoying the array of custom fairground rides all made from recycled materials by the ingenious Time Machine makers. In the true spirit of the new age of renewable power all the energy to operate the rides comes form the patrons of the funfair….even the lights.
A globascope, a ferris wheel, a merry-go-round, or a visit to the fairground fortune teller, are all on offer, the funfair, the carnival theatre and circus all rolled into one fantastic spectacle that is Sensazione Laika is an international theatre company based in Antwerp that creates ‘theatre for the senses’. Its productions appeal abound with tasty stories, new recipes and unknown worlds. Artists in different disciplines join forces to deliver the company’s hallmark: lucid, expressive, and accessible theatre. Time Circus Collective is a travelling company from Antwerp who specialise in building innovative theatre machines. Book now on 074 91 20777.

Thursday, June 12, 2008





lilliput love


Loving Laura buchanan's site, good luck with the end of year grades and all that ....