The Manchester Irish Festival: 4th - 19th March 2006
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Saturday 18th March
Manchester Irish Festival Message Board
Michael Davitt Exhibition
Sculpture Hall Manchester Town Hall
10th – 19th March 2006
An exhibition of memorabilia and books once owned by Davitt, including a
gold medal from Celtic Park and a clock and candelabra presented to him by
Leo Tolstoy. With various other items of family memorabilia.
A Traditional Irish Music Concert with Becky Taylor
M19 Bar
Stockport Road, Levenshulme
0161 225 8359
7.30pm-late
Free (free advance tickets available from M19 Bar)
This special traditional Irish concert will feature the
renown Irish pipes player Becky Taylor accompanied by guitarist Dave Kosky.
Special guests include the award winning fiddle player Emma Sweeney and singer
songwriter Adam Kelly.
Sponsored by WKD Iron Brew
Susan McCann – The Nightingale Tour
English Martyrs Parish Centre
Alexandra Rd South, Whalley Range
0161 226 1107
8pm
Come join Irelands First Lady Susan McCann on her Nightingale Tour
Kieran Cunningham
Union Inn
Stockport Road, Levenshulme, 0161 224 1271
8pm-late Admission: Free
Fresh from his appearances in the nations TV Soaps, local
actor & singer Kieran Cunningham provides an evening of Soapstar - superstar’ with
his unique blend of Irish classics paying homage to everyone from the Chieftains
to the Saw Doctors.
Sponsored by Guinness
Easy Feeling
Whalley Hotel
Whalley Range
Taking the Mick
O’Shea’s Irish Bar
9pm
£2 on the door
Manchester newest rock band, featuring the amazing vocals
of Gavin ‘O’Jones and keyboard player Roger ‘Mc’Hughes,
playing all the favourites from
The Commitments and a whole lot more
Charity Race Night
in Aid of Dr Barnados
Hennigan’s Sports Bar
Stockport Road, Levenshulme, 0161 257 2702
Starts 8.00pm til Late
Fancy a night out at the races? Enjoy a flutter for charity
in the warm cosy atmosphere of Hennigans Sports Bar.
Sponsored by Guinness
Whistle in the Dark
by Tom Murphy
Royal Exchange Theatre
Box Office 0161 833 9833 www.royalexchange.co.uk
England, the early 1960s, somewhere in Coventry; into the home of Michael Carney and his English wife come his brawling family of brothers and their father, the fire-breathing Dada. Michael came to England for a better life but as the Carney brothers gear up to confront a rival gang for control of the area, Michael is forced to take a stand as age old resentments and tensions begin to explode. Written when he was 25, A Whistle in the Dark launched Tom Murphy onto the stage in London and Dublin to a storm of shock, controversy and applause. Now regarded as a classic of Irish drama it remains a devastating portrait of the pull of tribalism and violence in men and the desperate need to stand against it. The show features Gary Whelan as Dada, with Patrick O’Kane as Michael.
The
Flags
by Bridget O’Connor
The Studio, Royal Exchange Theatre
Box Office 0161 833 9833 www.royalexchange.co.uk
JJ and Howie are lifeguards on the second worst beach in Ireland. They dream of Banna Strand, the perfect beach with ‘tits and ass as far as the eye can see’. The jobs at Banna are unexpectedly vacant, presenting and opportunity for the lads. But somking, losing the lifeguard manual, and the dead birds on the beach mean their chances are slim. Until a young woman comes to the beach with surprising intentions and Aonter is offered up to JJ as a way out. Bridget O’ Connor’s comedy about ambition, dreams and the taste of Pot Noodles answers the question: what is the real reason for The Flags. With Francis Magee and Kieran Cunningham
Festival Party Disco with Tom Dee
The Pack Horse
Stockport Road, Levenshulme.
0161 224 4355
8pm-1am
Free
Tom Dee hosts this special Irish Festival club night with
Prizes and Give-aways.
Sponsored by Budweiser
Country Couple
Dunicans Bar
(The Great Western), Moss Side
0161 226 2724
8pm
Betty McGuirk
Talbot Catholic Club
Eldon Place, Eccles
0161 789 1021
8pm
Eamon McCann on Tour
St Kentigerns
£8 Admission
Eamon McCann hails from Creggan near Omagh in Co. Tyrone.
Influenced by his father, who played in a ceili band, Eamon began to sing
and play guitar at an early age.
He would entertain visitors in his home by singing when he was just five
years. Eamon recalls music sessions in his home three or four nights every
week. He made his first solo appearance on stage at the age of twelve. He
bought his first guitar with the money he received for winning a local talent
contest and when he was sixteen he started playing all around Tyrone with
his two younger brothers. After some persuasion from close friends Eamon
made his first recording in 1990, a demo album entitled "I Give You
Music" and he has given us music ever since. His next album followed
shortly after entitled "Gold In The Mountain" gave Eamon his big
break. When hearing his demo album Harmac Music, a top label, decided to
sign him for the "Gold In The Mountain" album. Eamon's authentic
country tones soon created a lot of attention throughout Ireland and the
U.K. and soon the top label, Ritz, signed Eamon for a four year contract
in which he recorded four singles and three albums. Eamon later moved to
Tulip Records, where he has recorder his last three albums and his most successful "Clear
Cut Country", "My Country" and "Turn To Me". Eamon
McCann is now one of the top country attractions throughout Ireland and the
UK where he tours regularly and in at present making a big impact in Scotland
where he has recently received the prestige award in the Nashville Country
Music Club as 2002 International Band Of The Year. He has also played country
festivals all over Europe and Australia. His lively dance program, which
includes country, Irish and popular sixties-seventies music along with a
very musically talented band makes for a great night's entertainment.
Eamon McCann has to date, recorded twenty-three of his self-composed songs,
which gives him the title as Ireland's No.1 Country Singer/Songwriter, and
rightly so !