This year, government initiative Creative Ireland is highlighting some of the best projects, events, and initiatives that are bringing culture and the arts to the forefront in every Irish county and Co. Cavan is no different.
A haven for culture and creativity, the county boasts a collaborative and community-minded approach to the development of the arts that has produced such notable figures as 18th-century poet Cathal Buí Mac Giolla Ghunna ("Yellow Cathal McElgunn") and, more recently, celebrity chef and author Neven Maguire.
The passion and energy of its community will this year build upon Cavan’s rich cultural legacy to creatively encourage and engage citizens of all ages, creeds, and backgrounds.
Here are some of the best events and long-term initiatives you should know about in Co. Cavan:
Remembering the Brave
Francis Ledwidge
The Lessus Choir, with the Dublin Choir Foundation and Paul Flynn will perform a concert in memory of the poet Francis Ledwidge and will include Orlando di Lasso’s Missa de Profunctis, a selection of Irish choral pieces including world premieres by Paul Flynn and poetry from Noel Monahan. July 30 at The Cathedral of St Patrick and St Felim.
AlanJames Burns project at Pollnagollum Cave Boho Waterfall
Entirely hollow aside from the dark / AlanJames Burns from Little Wolf Media on Vimeo.
Visual Artist AlanJames Burns has announced an exciting tour "Entirely hollow aside from the dark" this summer across the island of Ireland. Using the cave as a physical metaphor for the brain, the cavern personifies the mind of a person questioning their reality, wherein an audible inner dialogue and choreographed sounds echo the character’s thoughts, memories, and consciousness. In the darkness, this psycho-acoustic work unfolds and a symphony of sounds shifts around the cave. The piece will appear at Pollnagollum Cave Boho Waterfall in Co. Cavan on September 29, 2017.
Under the Shadow of Murmod Hill
A short film will be developed looking at what it means to be from or living in Virginia (in Cavan, not the US state) and its hinterland in 2017. This will take the form of stories, memories, and poems recorded from characters from different age groups living in the area. The film will be directed by Alan Bradley.
Scéalta Dár d’Talún
Jackie O'Neill illustration
In ‘Scéalta Dár d’Talún’, (‘stories of our land’) local textile artist Jackie O'Neill will work in partnership with woodworker Joe Doherty, and singer/songwriter Lisa O’Neill to give new expression to the narrative of the landscape around Ballyhaise Agricultural College. August 19.
"Voices of the Troubles"
"Voices of the Troubles" is an initiative by Cavan County Council, implemented through Peace IV funding, that aims to record the experiences of people in Cavan and Fermanagh whose lives were affected by 30 years of conflict in Northern Ireland.
Participants from Catholic and Protestant backgrounds will be interviewed and the impact on family life, educational prospects, influences, and lifestyles are among the main themes that will be explored in recorded audio interviews. The finished product will be a digitized copy of the audio material, with a copy housed at Cavan County Museum and in Cavan County Library.
Heritage Week
Cavan Burren Park
Heritage Week is a week-long program of events intended to inspire the citizens of Cavan to appreciate and explore the built, natural and cultural heritage of the county. August 19-27.
Workshop on Word farming
A series of workshops, aimed at Transition Year (sophomore yr high school) students, will be held examining the use of Anglo Saxon, Hiberno-English, Greek, Latin, Irish and Ulster Scots vocabulary used in the everyday language we speak. The workshop will create an original chorus, with a grand performance at the end, illustrating the power of language.
The project will take place in Johnston Central Library, Cavan Town, in October 2017.
Culture Night
Eddie Lenihan
Cavan Library Service will host ‘Ireland’s greatest living storyteller,’ Eddie Lenihan, a living legend to all who remember his ‘Ten Minute Tales’ broadcast on RTE. Begins September 22.
Ancient and Wild
Cavan County Council Arts and Heritage office and the Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark have invited twelve artists to engage with the landscape, geology, and sociopolitical history of County Cavan and in particular the area of the Geopark.
In the inaugural year of the Creative Ireland Programme, it was decided to work with artists as a creative cohort to consider this distinctive landscape. Work arising from the project will be exhibited in Cavan in December 2017.
Fenian Movement exhibition
The 1867 Fenian Rebellion. Photo: YouIrish.com
2017 marks the 150th anniversary of the Fenian Rising of 1867. The Fenians had organizers in Ireland, the United States, and Canada, and though the rebellion was unsuccessful, they proclaimed the Irish Republic almost fifty years before the proclamation of the Irish Republic during Easter 1916. Begins November 2017.
Check out Co. Cavan’s full culture and creativity plans here.
Is there an upcoming event in Co. Cavan you think people should know about? Tell us in the comment section.
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