in An Cupán Tae café, Carraroe
Over the past year, artist-poet Aoife Casby has been holding a series of bilingual evenings in Carraroe, Co. Galway.
Earlier this month and with the support of Údarás na Gaeltachta, Aoife hosted readings by Trish Casey and Micheál Ó Cuaig, who also sang sean nós (see beneath for short biographies). In a cheerful Gaeltacht style, Ceara Conway creatively eMCeed the proceedings which later included an open-mic session featuring Maire Uí Eidhin, Pádraic Harvey, Aoife Casby (reading a poem by Dan O Flatharta), Annette Lohan, Caroline Lynch and Biddy Jenkinson.
A spirited Connemara crowd filled the venue and after a most pleasurable few hours the evening ended with an impromptu sing-along. I think one enjoys poetry that much more in an inspiring setting, and gently rolling, luminescent Carraroe with its panoramic views of the Aran Islands and the cliffs of coastal Clare, proves ideal. Aoife will be hosting more readings every month or so, and can be contacted at carraroereadings@gmail.com
Sláinte Aoife. Here’s to many more.
Micheál Ó Cuaig
A native of Cill Chiaráin, Micheál Ó Cuaig is currently singer in residence with the Centre of Irish Studies NUIG. He is a sean nós singer and is also the author of highly regarded collections of Irish poetry Uchtóga (1985) and Clocha Reatha (1986) which critics have applauded for their emotional delicacy and scrupulous use of language. His poetry will be featured during The Cúirt Festival 2008 in Nead an Dreoilín, a series of short films of poetry directed by James Kelly, which, using a combination of new and carefully selected archive footage, lyrically reflect the poems they accompany.
Trish Casey
Trish Casey, from Cobh in Co. Cork, is a graduate of the Gaiety School of Acting. She won the performance prize in the RTE Rattlebag Slam at the Dublin Writers’ Festival in 2003 and the Cúirt Grand Slam in 2004. As well as writing and performing, Trish works as a voice/performance coach, and has coached the last three winners of the Cúirt Grand Slam. Trish has performed her work across Ireland, as well as in England, Wales and the United States. Her poetry has been anthologised and amongst other publications, her work has appeared in the Irish Times and a recent Leaving Certificate Geography textbook.
Maire Uí Eidhin
Pádraic Harvey
Dan O Flatharta
Annette Lohan
Biddy Jenkinson
