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Newry, Mourne and Down District Council has announced a spectacular line-up for the finale event of its 2020 St Patrick’s Day celebrations.
The St Patrick’s Miscellany concert, conceived and produced by Camlough violinist, Joanne Quigley McParland, promises to be a thrilling experience that will include internationally renowned Irish soprano, Claudia Boyle, dancer, Colin Dunne and traditional music star, Zoe Conway and her husband, guitarist John McIntyre.
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Chairperson, Councillor Charlie Casey said, “As the home of St Patrick, Newry, Mourne and Down’s St Patrick’s Day celebrations are steeped in history, tradition and culture. This fantastic event of music, song and dance in Newry Town Hall on Tuesday 17 March, will bring the district’s St Patrick’s Day Celebrations to a fitting close. I am very much looking forward to seeing this stellar line up and I would urge you to book tickets as soon as possible.”
Speaking ahead of the event, Joanne Quigley McParland commented, “I was thrilled to be invited again this year to put together a concert for the district’s St Patrick’s Day celebrations. Anyone attending the Misellany can expect highlights such as Bill Whelan’s beautiful double concerto, ‘Inishlacken’ for fiddle and violin, played by myself and Zoe Conway. Internationally acclaimed traditional dancer, Colin Dunne, will perform a piece by Cork composer, Linda Buckley and I will also be performing several pieces with my brother, David Quigley.
Joanne continued, “We are of course steeped in culture in this area and have a wealth of talent on our own door step, therefore it is important for me to also present world class performances from our local artists. Hilltown’s award winning singer/songwriter, Matt McGinn will be on stage, as well as a group of very talented young musicians from the Traditional Arts Partnership in South Armagh. Three Ulster or World Champion Irish dancers, from the locality will also be performing.
“The concert will be brought together on the night by BBC Radio Ulster’s John Toal. John is a well-known Newry man and an accomplished writer who has written a short story for the event. A 22-piece string orchestra, comprised of the country’s top professionals, completes what is certain to be Ireland’s premier St Patrick’s Day event.”
Tickets for this fabulous line-up cost £20 per adult and £8 for under 16s, available from WWW.EVENTBRITE.CO.UK and Sean Hollywood Arts Centre, Newry Box Office T: 033 0137 4032.
For full details for the St Patrick’s Celebrations programme, including Religious Services, shows and other events for to www.visitmournemountains.co.uk
Facebook @VisitMourne Mountains
Twitter @VisitMourne
#StPatricksCelebrations
ENDS
Enquiries should be forwarded to the Press Office
Telephone: 0330 137 4006
Email: marketing@nmandd.org
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Surviving the Holocaust literally due to having been born in Newry is the topic of an online presentation in January by Public Records Office NI.
The event to mark Holocaust Memorial Day will be presented by Norwegian born, Lill Fanny Saether and will detail how her mother survived the Holocaust.
This is the powerful and moving story of how Lill’s mother, Elsie Mendel/Mendle, and other family members survived the round-up of Jews in Nazi occupied Oslo. By being born in Newry, Elsie’s passport literally saved her life. Lill will share how the family were smuggled to Sweden and reflect on those Norwegians who risked their lives to save Jews. Lill also tells the harrowing fate of those family members who ended up at Auschwitz. This presentation will be illustrated using family papers and photographs.
This event is taking place on Zoom. Registration closes one hour before the event and an invite link will be sent to everyone registered one hour before the beginning of the event.
Register at Eventbrite at WWW.EVENTBRITE.CO.UK
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Harbourside Radio, Warrenpoint’s community radio station is hoping to raise money by hosting a 24hr Radiothon. Presenter Mark Hughes will take to the airwaves for an entire day on the 20th of February, encouraging people in the area to donate much needed funds.
Hughes has been a budding radio presenter since he was knee high. He’s the producer and presenter of the successful YouTube Quiz channel ‘Big Nerd Pub Quiz’. He has made appearances on TV quiz shows such as ‘King of the Nerds’ (Sky One), ‘Fifteen to One’ (Channel 4) and ‘Lightening’ (BBC2) and has been a guest on BBC Radio Ulster, BBC Radio Scotland and RTE Radio 2FM. Mark hosts and produces ‘Point Matters’, ‘Sports Point’, ‘Friday Drive Time’ and ‘Sampled’ on Harbourside Radio.
Mark won’t be taking on this mammoth task alone. The station’s whole squad of presenters will be joining him throughout the day bringing their unique styles of music and banter from rock to country, blues to funk, indie to electro and much more.
Speaking of the marathon broadcast Mark said “Harbourside Radio means so much to the people who are running it and to the wider community of devoted listeners. We started in the middle of the pandemic back in July 2020 with a mission to bring in local talent and keep people entertained during these difficult times. Now that further lockdown restrictions have been imposed and it’s put a strain on our station, we’re looking for alternative ways to fund ourselves. That’s when we came up with the idea of hosting this marathon event!
"We’re hoping to get local businesses on board to sponsor each hour of the event and even get local restaurants and cafés to feed me during the day! We’re going to involve all of our presenters by getting them to come in and co-host at various points. We’ll also bring in local talent to perform from our studios; all in a socially distanced and safe manner of course. We’ll live stream all the fun on our Facebook page so people can see how I’m holding up during the day."
Mark is really looking forward to the challenge adding "I’ve never done anything like this before and I’m keen to see how I get on trying to stay awake into the wee hours of the morning!”
Harbourside Radio has set up a GoFundMe https://www.gofundme.com/f/keep-harbourside-radio-on-the-air page so people can donate directly to the cause. The Radiothon will start at 7am on Saturday the 20th of February and run until 7am the following day. The event can be viewed via livestream on Facebook.com/HarboursideRadio or you can listen in via www.HarboursideRadio.com.
Any businesses who would like to get involved or would like further information can email info@harboursideradio.com or call 07789852774.
About Harbourside
Harbourside Radio was established in July 2020 to harness and promote the talent of the local area of Warrenpoint as well as provide a shared community space at its studio location in the town. It has been broadcasting continuously online since its launch. The station has something for everyone with its diverse programming.
Listeners can tune in to shows ranging from The Breakfast Show with veteran comedy star Big O to ’Blues on the Bay, hosted by Ian Sands to ‘The Rock Show’ and ‘Erase/Rewind’; ‘Hot Country Saturday Nights’; ‘Outcast Culture’; ‘The Lighthouse Christian and Gospel Show’, ‘The Afternoon Irish Traditional Session’ and ‘The Big Nerd Pub Quiz’ presented by Mark himself!
The full list of shows is available to view online.
Harbourside Studios host ‘The Live Sessions’ from their fully equipped studio space. The studios aim to become a leading centre for arts and entertainment in the South Down area, offering a host of community events, cultural nights and workshops and providing young people with industry training and opportunities to get involved in music and production. All this can only be achieved with the help of the local community so donate whatever you can to keep Harbourside running. You’ll get a shout out as a thank you and there’s even some cool merchandise up for grabs!
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Newry's Sticky Fingers team are back with a bang with the Sticky Fingers Childrens Festival taking place online from 17 - 21 March.
It has been a long and difficult year for many so it's very exciting to see the return of the Festival. This year, the festival may have a different way of reaching out to Newry’s children and families, but the festival still promises to be as magical and as imaginative as ever before.
2021 marks a new beginning and Sticky Fingers’ team has been busy getting ready to bring back lots of your favourite events but is also promising something new!
Grainne Powell, CEO of Sticky Fingers Arts says: ‘’Although the IMAGINARIUM Arts & Story Centre must stay closed for a little longer, we are delighted to be back on the streets with a burst of creative energy and lots of imagination and colour to bring the 2021 Festival to all our families across Newry and beyond. It is a little later this year but we can still promise plenty to keep everyone busy.
"The festival will be delivered remotely with some surprise elements planned to pop up around the city so make sure to keep your eyes peeled as you never know who or what may be lurking around the corner or hiding under a bridge or along the canal."
Grainne adds "We are super excited to be presenting so many beautiful and original performances from Denmark, Spain, Scotland and England and we hope that it will not be long before we can welcome back theatre companies in person again. Most importantly we look forward to the day when we can welcome all our little visitors back to the IMAGINARIUM Arts & Story Centre to see all the new features, play spaces and stories we have created during the past year and to see what mischief our resident Troll has been up to during lockdown.
"So, for now sit back, put your feet up, enjoy and let Sticky Fingers; team take over entertaining the little ones from 17th to 21st March. We hope you enjoy the festival and remember to keep safe and well until we are all back together again.”
This year many of the shows and workshops will be available via live streaming or zoom allowing you to enjoy them in the safety of your own home. The festival offers a good mix of family shows and lots of interactive hands-on workshops. Festival 2021 will see the return of some of our favourite theatre companies but also features premieres of exciting shows from around the world. We are thrilled to welcome back La Baldufa Teatre from Spain with a beautiful show for the little ones: the fable of a Squirrel who arrives unexpectedly to live with a hedgehog.
Opening the festival this year is the fantastic Madam Bach Theatre from Denmark with the premiere of Home, a show about belonging and feeling at home!
Join Half-Moon Theatre in their fabulous performance of Paper Aeroplane, when you will be taking a flight with friends through the clouds, touching down in new mysterious places and making new discoveries. Lift off on a journey full of music, physically and zooming paper aeroplanes! This performance has closed captioning for d/Deaf and hard of hearing audiences and is also available with British Sign Language.
Spend an evening searching for clues as Sharp Teeth Theatre presents SHERLOCK in HOMES: grap your notepad and boil your kettle! Expect high wires and even stakes as you play Detective and attempt to unmask a murderer. A must for all the family!
A Festival favourite: LYNGO Theatre presents TOM THUMB, performed entirely on and under a kitchen table, this classic story is brought to life in a playful and fascinating show full of LYNGO’s magic with feathery spinning birds, a flying house and a portable forest. Come and join tiny Tom on his very big adventure.
Sticky Fingers Arts is supported by the Arts Council for Northern Ireland.
More details and booking online at WWW.STICKYFINGERSARTS.CO.UK
Contact info@stickyfingersarts.co.uk
Follow on Facebook at STICKYFINGERSARTSNEWRY
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This Sunday 5 September Warrenpoint will be the centre of an important event from the Second World War commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the Martyrdom of St Maximilian Kolbe in the German concentration camp of Auschwitz - Birkenau.
The event comes from the joint efforts of the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Belfast, the Polish Honorary Consulate and the Newry & Mourne Polish Community Group.
The Consul General of the RP in Belfast, Mr. Paweł Majewski, stated that these celebrations pay homage to the life and martyrdom of St. Maximilian Kolbe, ‘a man who’s sacrifice, and quiet dignity in death, inspired millions of faithful around the world’.
The commemorative celebrations which are by invitation only shall begin with Most Rev Eamon Martin, Archbishop Bishop of Armagh & Primate of all Ireland, celebrating holy mass in St. Peters Church Warrenpoint and joined by Fr Maximilian McKeown from the Conventual Franciscan order in Dublin, as well as other priests from the parish of Clonallon. This will be followed by the unveiling of a plaque, located in the peace garden, and dedicated to St. Maximilian, by Archbishop Martin and Fr Brendan Kearns PP.
Furthermore, the event shall proceed to the Whistledown Hotel, where Krzysztof Kunert, from EWTN Poland and an expert on the life of St Maximilian, will present a 20 minute film on the Saint along with a historical and academic talk. A photographic exhibition detailing the life and martyrdom of St. Maximillian will also be on display in the Hotel. This talk and exhibition has been described as the ‘most informative and engaging presentation of a Polish saint in Northern Ireland in recent memory’ (Paweł Majewski, Consul General of RP in Belfast)
EWTN will film various parts of the commemorative celebrations and conduct interviews with key contributors, for their EWTN NEWS program on SKY 588, VIRGIN 815, as well as other other media platforms.
St. Maximilian Kolbe was a Conventual Franciscan Priest who sacrificed himself in place of another prisoner. In reprisal to the escape of one prisoner, the Nazis tortured and starved to death 10 men – one of which, by his own choice, was St. Maximillian. His faith guided him and the fellow condemned, and sustained him until the end. The Nazi guards injected him with carbolic acid to hasten his death, with special cruelty to the last surviving man of the starvation chamber they wished to empty.
St. Maximilian was beatified as a confessor of faith by Pope Paul VI in 1971, and canonized as a Saint by Pope John Paul II on the 10th of October 1982 – who declared him a confessor and martyr of charity. Lastly, that man that St Maximilian’s sacrifice saved, Franciszek Gajowniczek, survived Auschwitz and was present at his beatification and canonization ceremonies.
The organisers wish to proclaim publicly that the life and death of St. Maximillian Kolbe , show that incredible acts of courage by the Polish Saint should be rightfully celebrated as testament to the Polish spirit and faith – which sustained Poland through a time of great tribulations and turmoil.
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European Heritage Open Days 2021 run from now until 12 September with a host of FREE physical and online events throughout the district. Check out some of the local ones below.
Newry Museum
This year, as Newry and Mourne Museum are still dealing with the pandemic, they will be doing things a little bit differently.
The Museum will be open on 11 September from 10am until 4.30pm, free of charge as always. When you visit, Museum staff will be on hand to guide you around the building and galleries using our special one-way system. We strongly encourage visitors to wear a mask.
On display will be the temporary exhibitions “War Declared: the local impact of World War II” and “The Reside Collection – Exploring Aspects of Local History”.
The Museum will be uploading a short virtual tour of Newry, looking at several of town’s iconic buildings and their history on their Facebook page NEWRYANDMOURNEARTSMUSEUM
They will be closed on 12 of September.
Derrymore House Bessbrook
Derrymore will open as free flow with 1 or 2 guides manning the room. The guide will answer visitors questions as well as give a small spiel about the Drawing Room/history of the house. Extensive grounds surrounding the house offering play park and…
11 Sept 2021 Open 14:00 - 17:00
Poyntzpass Local History Society Walking Tour
The Guided Walk will include some of Poyntzpass' most interesting historical sites, taking in the Newry - Portadown Canal, Poyntzpass Railway Station and some Hidden Gems along the way!
11 Sept 2021 to 12 Sept 2021 11:00 - 12:00
Chandlers House Rathfriland
Rathfriland and District Development Company is forming community-led affordable housing above a music-focused community space from a listed bank, formerly a candle-makers facing onto the mountaintop village square.
11 Sept 2021 Open 11:00 - 12:00
Warrenpoint Municipal Park
EHOD (European Heritage Open Days)
Located in the south eastern corner of Northern Ireland, on the shore of Carlingford Lough, Warrenpoint Municipal Park has served the local community for over 100 years.
10 Sept 2021 to 12 Sept 2021 Open 08:00 - 21:00
Ross Monument: Rostrevor
An obelisk erected in 1826 on a hill on the outskirts of Rostrevor to commemorate Major General Robert Ross's victory at Bladensburg during the American Second War of Independence of 1812-15. A guided walk/tour will be provided at 2.30 pm on 11 Sept 2021 to 12 Sept 2021 Open 09:00 - 17:00
To get involved in Northern Ireland’s annual celebration of local architecture, history and culture or to find out all the events on please go to DISCOVERNORTHERNIRELAND.COM
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Nan Rices Bar in Francis Street, Newry has long been a mecca for those who love a great trad session. The pandemic put paid to that for a year or so but now Ross McArdle and his team at Nan's are ready to embrace the live trad music scene once again.
From this month they are presenting 'The Courtyard Sessions' every Monday night with a great line up of local musicians and singers.
Taking place in their courtyard at the side of the bar you can be guaranteed a live gig every Monday from 8.30pm to 11pm.
Line-up
Monday 13 September: Martha Guiney, Aislinn Fegan, Dessy Downey and Ruairi Cunnane.
Monday 20 September: Justin Toner, Gus Bradley, Emmet Quinn and Ursula Byrne.
Monday 27 September: Aislinn Fegan, Martha Guiney, Alana Flynn and Paul Loughran.
Monday 4 October: Magee Family, Paddy Burns and Marion McGauley.
Monday 11 October: Ursula Byrne, Dean Warner, Kay Webster and Elaine Cunningham.
See NANRICESNEWRY for more
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Tá Comhairle Ceantair an Iúir, Mhúrn agus an Dúin i ndiaidh sraith nua de 10 bhfíseán Gaeilge le fotheidil a choimisiúnú dar teideal ‘Na Gaeil i gCéin’ mar chuid d’Oíche Chultúir 2021. Maoinithe ag Feidhmeannas Thuaisceart Éireann, tugann na físeáin spreagúla seo deis dúinn bualadh le Gaeil éagsúla a bhfuil cónaí orthu thar lear.
Tá na Gaeil ag dul ar imirce leis na cianta. Is nós coitianta é go fóill go dtéann daoine óga thar lear ag lorg oibre agus níos mó deiseanna fostaíochta. Tugann na fiseáin bhríomhara, eolasacha seo léargas dúinn ar shaol an diaspóra sa lá atá inniu ann, ó Nua Eabhrac, go Las Vegas, agus chomh fada ar shiúl leis an tSeapáin.
Dúirt Cathaoirleach na Comhairle, an Comhairleoir Cathy Mhasún, “Tá lúcháir orm go bhfuil na 10 bhfíseán spreagúil seo á seoladh mar chuid de cheiliúradh na Comhairle ar ‘Oíche Chultúir 2021’. Tá sé tábhachtach dúinn a bheith ag smaoineamh ar an Ghaeilge mar sheoid chultúrtha ar scála domhanda. Tá cuid mhór ball de phobal na Gaeilge ag obair i ngairmeacha éagsúla fud fad an domhain, tumtha i gcultúr na tíre ina bhfuil siad lonnaithe.”
Sruthfar an tsraith de 10 ngearr-fhíseán dar teideal “Na Gaeil i gCéin” ar ardáin mheán shóisialta de chuid na Comhairle ón Aoine 17 Meán Fómhair.
Sa chéad fhíseán buailimid le Seosamh Mac Seoin as Béal Feirste ó dhuchás. Labhraíonn an Feirsteach óg faoina shaol mar aisteoir agus mar mhainicín i Nua Eabhrac, agus tugann sé súil siar ar sheachtainí faisin atá déanta aige i Nua Eabhrac, Londain agus i bPáras.
I measc na n-aíonna eile a bheas le feiceáil le linn na sraithe beidh Pól Ó Finn, fear óg atá ag obair mar Chomhordaitheoir Idirnáisiúnta sa tSeapáin, castar Ciabhán Ó Murchú orainn, píolóta a bhfuil cónaí air sa Spáinn anois, tugann Brónagh Ní Chuilinn muid ar cuairt thart ar shráideanna Mhelbourne san Astráil, áit a bhfuil sí féin agus a pháirtí Kelvin ina gcónaí le breis agus dhá bhliain anuas.
Beidh an t-aisteoir, mainicín agus láithreoir teilifíse Gavin Ó Fearraigh ag insint dúinn faoin saol atá aige i Las Vegas Nevada, cluinimid ó Chonallach eile, Caoimhe Ní Chonchoille, atá anois ina cónaí i gCalifornia, áit a bhfuil a fear céile ar phostú taidhleoireachta, ag fanacht sna Stáit Aontaithe Mheiriceá, téimid chomh fada le Florida, áit a bhfuil cónaí ar Chonchúr de Faoite.
Ina dhiaidh sin, tugann an t-aistritheoir, ceoltóir agus scríbhneoir Seaghan Mac an tSionnaigh léargas dúinn ar an saol sa Bhruiséil, tugann Méabh Ní Chualáin timpeall Chathair Londain muid agus ar deireadh buailimid le Séamus Ó Fianghusa, saighdiúir Meiriceánach agus Gael go smior atá ag tógáil a iníon le Gaeilge.
Le tuilleadh eolais a fháil ar an togra seo seol ríomhphost le do thoil chuig gaeilge@nmandd.org nó téigh chuig WWW.NEWRYMOURNEDOWN.ORG
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This Friday night 17th September sees Gaeláras Mhic Ardghail pay tribute to Accordion maestro Jackie Hearst with a plaque being unveiled to mark his Monaghan Street residence followed by a night of music and reminiscence in the Railway Bar.
Last surviving members of Hearst band pay respects
Mix nostalgia, history and tradition with a good dollop of music and you can evoke the most misty eyed and heart-warming sensations known to mankind. When the two remaining members of the great Jackie Hearst International Ceili band staged their little reunion at Hearst grave side, tears of joy flowed in abundance. Jimmy Burns was fiddle player and Andy Tohill played double bass in that line up of great local musicians.
Ómos do Jackie Hearst
They came to pay their respects on the news that Jackie’s incredible musical achievements will be celebrated at a unique event on Friday 17thSeptember in the Railway Bar, Monaghan Street. Jackie achieved international recognition with the Jackie Hearst Céilí Band and was revered by musicians at home and abroad. The tribute is being organised by Gaeláras Mhic Ardhghail, as part of Oíche Chultúir/Culture Night,2021
Probably the best known céilí band in Ireland and Britain during the late 1950s and early 1960s, his International Céilí Band achieved the ultimate accolade by being chosen to perform the closing ceremony at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann held in Gorey in 1962. They were occasionally billed as Jackie Hearst and his All Star Céilí Band – “The Boys from the County Armagh”. At a time when radio was the premier source of entertainment in Ireland, they regularly featured on the Saturday night Walton Music programme as broadcast on Raidió Éireann. They played at venues and functions all across Ireland and drew in massive crowds in London and beyond.
Andy & Aveen Tohill
Having started his playing career with various local dance bands, Andy Tohill joined the Jackie Hearst International Ceili Band in 1958 on double bass and was also joined that year by Warrenpoint pianist, Aveen Kinney, whom he later married. They toured extensively with the band for the next four years, across both Ireland and England performing to capacity crowds in many high-profile venues, such as the Elephant and Castle and the iconic Galtymore in London alongside doing regular broadcasts for the BBC and Radio Eireann. The bands uniqueness was in no small part derived from the incredible talent of Jackie Hearst, the hugely accomplished accordion player. Andy and Aveen left the band in 1962 and as they entered a new period in their lives and continued their musical journeys through their respective careers, Aveen as music teacher in St Mark’s HS, Warrenpoint and Andy as an instrumental tutor with the SELB Music Service.
But amongst a younger generation of Irish traditional musicians and enthusiasts in the town, Jackie is hardly known. That will be put right on the night!
Gaeláras Mhic Ardghail is organising the ‘Ómos do Jackie’ event as part of the nationwide Oíche Chultúir/Culture Night. It has been a long-held objective of Gaeláras to honour Jackie and to commemorate his impact nationally and locally. We will be unveiling a plaque to mark his first residence in the town on Monaghan St., before heading into the Railway Bar where we will celebrate Jackie in story and in music.
The unveiling of the plaque is at 8.30 pm at Number 69 Monaghan Street, followed by the tribute at 9.00 pm in the Railway Bar a couple of doors away. Space is limited, so come early to avoid disappointment.”
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