Music on the Mall launched at MacDonagh Junction in Kilkenny

A live music event took place at MacDonagh Junction last Friday to mark the launch of their brand new initiative 'Music on the Mall'.

As part of the project the shopping centre plays songs created and performed by local artists from Kilkenny’s music scene over the mall airwaves every Friday and Saturday afternoon.

Minister of State, Malcolm Noonan opened the event complimenting the centre for its ongoing
trojan work in protecting the heritage of the buildings of the centre and stated that the work around
preserving the history of the Kilkenny Famine experience is often quoted in national discussions.

Keep Kilkenny Beautiful to give away 250 apple trees

He went on to praise the wealth of local musical talent that has always been in abundance in Kilkenny,
he himself being a very talented musician in his own right has been a supporter of the local music
scene form many years.

Mayor Cllr David Fitzgerald was also in attendance to show his support for the initiative.

The event saw six artists performing live on stage including Jack O’Flaherty, Darragh O’Connor of Fenix, Eoin Mulvihall of Hawk Jupiter, Elise of Elise Music, Davey Furey and Gala Hatton of Fans of Adventure. The entire evening of music was expertly MC’d by another huge supporter of
local talent, KCLR’s Martin Bridgeman.

John Keane from KCLR commented, ‘the event was so well put together and it shows what can be
done and also the superb talent out there. This is important for venue owners to see the breath of
local talent available for live gigs in the region.”

Jack O’Flaherty, musician, singer, songwriter said “ both I, and the other artists I spoke with, felt the
launch event was a great success and makes a huge difference to local artists looking to share their
work with a broader audience.”

Elise shared: “Thank you MacDonagh Junction. It was so well run and put together! A great launch
for an absolutely fantastic project, well done on all the hard work! It was so appreciated.”

Event organiser for MacDonagh Junction Dominique Dumez said:

“The initiative marks the birth of a brand-new mall playlist which consists of original music, all by local artists from Carlow and Kilkenny and selected by MacDonagh Junction and KCLR. It will assist the public in becoming familiar with the artists and their music and may lead to more gigs and live events down the road.”

Centre manager, Marion Acreman said “the event and the ongoing initiative was created with heart
and soul and we had so much positivity from all that were in attendance. The music was exceptional
and so enjoyable. It is great to be back to creating days like these, which underpin our pride in the
centre and our city.”