Athy announces The Homecoming Arts Event 2024
On Tuesday June 18at Ballintubert House, the Rainbow Girls from California will play a once off concert, earlier that day they will give a songwriting masterclass to young local musicians
Athy announces The Homecoming Arts Event, a celebration of the Creative Place that is Athy. Almost two weeks of concerts, art exhibitions, photography, performances, public talks and amazing music. The music will be dominated by the much anticipated concert in Dreamland Ballroom by Johnny Marr.
On Tuesday June 18 at Ballintubert House, the Rainbow Girls from California will play a once off concert, earlier that day they will give a songwriting masterclass to young local musicians.
On Wednesday June 19, Athy Photography Society launch an exhibition of three international photographers with connections to Athy. This exhibition will take place at the Athy Community Library. The photographers are; the award winning John Minihan famed for his pictures of Lady Diana Spenser, Samuel Beckett and Andy Warhol just to mention a few. These pictures are part of the Kildare County Archives and include the Shadows of the Pale collection. There will be John Maher’s pictures of the Outer Hebrides which featured on the BBC’s One show. In a previous life John was a founder member of Manchester band The Buzzcocks. His mother and father had emigrated from here in the 1950s. Finally there will be pictures from New York based Athy native Ciarán Tully. Ciarán has found fame in the Big Apple with his imaginative, bold landscapes of the city’s most famous locations.
On Thursday date, the most amazing collection of female artists ever assembled in Athy will take place at The Community Arts Centre Athy. This unique show will feature some of Ireland’s most famous artists. This will include Elizabeth Cope, Eileen McDonagh, Ciara O Keeffe, Emily Rainsford, Ruth Carbery and Cathy Callan. The show is curated by Sinead Delaney and there will be music by Carmel Day. This important show is not to be missed.
Creative Places Athy welcomes the Summer Solstice on Friday 21 with a special performance on the steps of Athy library. This is an outdoor event from 9pm – 11pm. The event is a celebration of locally sourced mythology and folklore stories told through performance, music, spectacle and spoken word. The Solstice Gathering is a collaborative project featuring contributions from over ten communities.
On Saturday 22, Athy Community Library plays host to a public interview with Oscar winning Animator Seamus Malone. This unique event will begin 3pm and should prove most interesting. Seamus is the director of Shaun The Sheep. Seamus will talk about his many, many films from Flushed Away to Chicken Run from Ron’s Gone Wrong to Wallace and Gromit.
On Sunday morning of June 23, Songs From A Sacred Place, an amazing acoustic performance of music and poetry at the Mass Rock at Oaghaval Woods, Stradbally at 11am.
Sunday afternoon, its Teenage Kicks. The young people take over in a show produced by Carmel Day at 3pm in Athy Community Arts Centre. Town favourites like Hardchoice, IF, Vetocode with Katie Roycroft and Darragh Ennis all turn up to rock out.
All exhibitions continue into the second week.
On Tuesday 25, in Dreamland Ballroom, Johnny Marr plays in the Dance Hall where his parents met. Having sold 1000 tickets in 6 minutes, this is a much-anticipated event.
On the evening Thursday 27, there is another public interview in Athy Community Library with the TV screen writer Carol Walsh on the back of her recent success with Louise Lives Large, the much-celebrated children’s drama.
On Friday 28 at 8pm Creative Places Athy in association with Made of Athy will launch the map/guide and new website to the Music Plaque Trail of Athy. A new collection of music from the award-winning tenor Paul Linehan will be performed in the Community Arts Centre following the exhibition opening. There will also be an exclusive performance by the singer/songwriter Chris Swaine, who will share music from his new album.
The events come to an end on Saturday, June 29 at 3pm with the final public interview, this time with Athy’s Bill Hughes. The TV producer who has worked with all the greats. He will tell stories that he probably shouldn’t, which makes them well worth hearing.
For further information, please contact Carmel Day at 087 397 0782 [email protected]
These events are supported by Creative Places Athy, Kildare County Council Arts & Library Services, Athy LPT, Athy Photographic Society, Athy Community Arts Centre, Athy Town Promoters and many more.