Thursday, March 26th marks two weeks since the announcement that normal life was suspended, in an attempt to ward off the horrific consequences of the Coronavirus pandemic that have been witnessed in northern Italy. Since then, the restrictions have become tighter – now only essential businesses are allowed to remain open (although there is debate over what constitutes an ‘essential business’). Thankfully the supermarket and chemist shop are categorised thus – I do like a face to face encounter. Continue reading From a distance – The Coronavirus Diaries – day 14. The walks.
Category Archives: Ireland
From a distance – Day 8: The Coronavirus Diaries and a trip to the theatre
Thursday was the day that I had planned to travel to Latvia and Lithuania for the first time. With the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic running amok, my plans were altered last week as soon as Ryanair announced that it would not be charging passengers to rebook flights for later in the year. Here’s hoping that by August this incredibly weird, semi-lockdown experience might have passed. Continue reading From a distance – Day 8: The Coronavirus Diaries and a trip to the theatre
Dublin decoded – a guided tour about love
Some months ago I was invited on a guided tour of Dublin being organised by a group called ‘Dublin Decoded’. I didn’t investigate the event too much. As the people who invited me have impeccable taste, and I’m weak for guided tours, I suspected I would be in safe hands. Well yesterday was the date of the event. I glanced at the ticket. It was called ‘Dublin’s Great Lovers and Romantics: A walking tour of art and of history’, which seemed appropriate given that Valentine’s Day had occurred a couple of days earlier. Despite my devil-may-care-Texas-playboy demeanour, I would be able to enjoy such an excursion. Further details revealed that the two hour walking tour would be split into halves. The first hour would be inside the National Gallery of Ireland (the congregation point). The second hour would be in the streets outside. Continue reading Dublin decoded – a guided tour about love
Brand Limerick – Atlantic edge, European embrace
People who regularly read my musings will know that I have limited patience for marketing and PR guff. For example I make a point to avoid any food establishment that styles itself as an ‘eatery’. Adding an ‘-ery’ to the end of a verb does not a noun make. Likewise a food venue advertising ‘street food’ should – by definition – cook and serve the food outdoors. My little OCD heart demands this. When I saw that a new deli was proclaiming itself part of the ‘rotisserie revolution’ my blood boiled as I pictured the cocaine addled PR hack in some advertising agency coming up with this ‘concept’.
Which brings me to today’s launch of ‘Brand Limerick’ – a €1 million campaign by Limerick City and County Council is to promote the city’s reputation on an international scale. The PR firm M&C Saatchi will be overseeing the campaign with input from the students of the Limerick School for Art and Design. This company has previously done branding campaigns for New Zealand, Abu Dhabi, Malaysia, Georgia and others. Continue reading Brand Limerick – Atlantic edge, European embrace
‘Come out you Black and Tans…’
Update: 6.00pm on Tuesday 07.01 – commemoration cancelled as predicted.
Readers from outside Ireland are probably unaware of the political controversy currently engulfing Ireland. It is quite the tale, so buckle up and concentrate… Continue reading ‘Come out you Black and Tans…’
14 Henrietta Street, Dublin
When I receive visitors from out of town, I like to take them to a museum or a gallery. Ideally I’d visit Kilmainham Gaol, but this tends to get booked months in advance due to the limited capacity and widespread popularity of the guided tour. When I checked availability for Kilmainham this weekend all tours were fully booked. I had an idea. I would check availability for a guided tour of the 14 Henrietta Street Museum. There was space on the tour so we selected the 2pm Saturday slot. Continue reading 14 Henrietta Street, Dublin
Dara Murphy – another Fine Gael hog with his snout in the trough.
I have written before about the Fine Gael Minister for Housing, Eoghan Murphy who has overseen the explosion of the homelessness crisis into a national catastrophe (read about him HERE). I’ve also written about the culture of greed and entitlement by elected Fine Gael politician Maria Bailey who upon receipt of legal advice by Minister for Culture Josepha Madigan, tried to fraudulently claim insurance from a hotel when she drunkenly fell off a swing while holding two bottles of booze in her hands (read about her HERE).
Now it is time to focus our attention on an even worse example of corruption in the Fine Gael party – an individual from the Cork North-Central constituency called Dara Murphy, who has spent the last several years with his snout in the trough of taxpayers’ money with the knowledge and approval of his party and its leader Leo Varadkar. He is the human manifestation of a pig from George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’. Continue reading Dara Murphy – another Fine Gael hog with his snout in the trough.
Theatrical: ‘Faultline’
‘Faultline’ is a new site-specific, immersive co-production between ANU and the Gate Theatre. Set in a Georgian building at number 11 Parnell Square East, the audience of twelve is divided into two groups and placed among the performers in a re-imagined gay bar; in the headquarters of the Irish Gay Rights movement in the early 1980s – which was in reality located in a few rooms in a similar building on the other side of the square; and in a cottage (a men’s public lavatory which was how many gay men hooked up with each other in those criminal days.) Continue reading Theatrical: ‘Faultline’
Theatrical: ‘The Alternative’
Playing as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival ‘The Alternative’ is the new production by the Fishamble company. ‘The Alternative’ was the winner of the ‘A play for Ireland’ initiative by Fishamble – this was a two year artist development project for playwrights across the country. From 370 ideas and a short list of six, this play by Michael Patrick and Oisin Kearney has been selected as the chosen Play for Ireland. Continue reading Theatrical: ‘The Alternative’
Theatrical: ‘The Roaring Banshees’
Yesterday afternoon I finished work early and headed over to the Convention Centre close to my house. This weekend is the World Con 2019 (World Science Fiction Convention). I know the director of the opening ceremony and I had written a short piece based on a collaborative idea about Halloween. It was to be performed by Firedoor Theatre as part of the ceremony. Set on the night of Samhain (Halloween) a Druid, Banshee and Morrigan – the Irish queen of war – are in an underworld bar having a drink after a night of mayhem. The Viking Brodir – slayer of Brian Boru – enters, accompanied by a failed actor from the over-world. Shenanigans ensue.
As I was heading to the theatre later, I went to watch the dress rehearsal. It was the largest theatre ever for something I have participated in. The capacity is about 2000 people. The actors were miked up and in costume and did a couple of run-throughs which seemed to go smoothly. The gigantic live screen at the back of the stage was wildly intimidating. I wished them luck and exited the theatre, to promptly get lost in a maze of red carpeted corridor. It was as if I was in ‘The Shining’. Keeping a keen eye open for ‘RED RUM’ on the walls, I entered a lift and ended up in the cavernous kitchens in the bowels of the building. A kindly kitchen porter showed me the exit, and I emerged into the day light, with eyes blinking. Continue reading Theatrical: ‘The Roaring Banshees’
midnightmurphy 