Poetry & All That Jazz 2024 Filíocht & Snagcheol & After Hours Craic

Poetry & All That Jazz 2024
Filíocht & Snagcheol & After Hours Craic

We’re bringing Saturday to a close with a treat for all poetry and jazz fans with readings by poets Leontia Flynn and Laoighseach Ní Choistealbha, with music by jazz legends Nigel Mooney and his trio featuring Honor Heffernan.

Nigel Mooney’s organ trio features Scott Flanigan (regular Van Morrison sideman) on organ and Dominic Mullan (Mary Coughlan) on drums. For this concert they will be joined by their old friend, jazz chanteuse Honor Heffernan.

Oíche mhór cheiliúrtha d’fhilíocht agus ceol

• Venue: The Little Theatre, Old School, Skerries Community Centre
• Date and time: Saturday / Dé Sathairn 14/09/2024, 7 to 9 pm
• Bilingual. Live music.
• Tickets €20 / €15 on Eventbrite (fees apply).
  There will be some tickets available on the day, come early!
• Join us for Craic agus Ceol afterwards, until 11 pm. Light refreshments served.

This event is part of our BIG POETRY DAY OUT | Lá Mór Filíochta!
The festival events for the BIG POETRY DAY OUT / Lá Mór Filíochta are timed so that you can come to Skerries by train or bus, spend the day enjoying the Fingal Poetry Festival events all over town and leave after the last event of a fun and refreshing day, enveloped in sea air, poetry, music and art…

The last train from Skerries leaves at 10.29 pm (subject to timetable changes coming in late August), and there is a bus to Dublin at 11.27 pm from Strand Street.

Leontia Flynn

Leontia Flynn’s fifth collection of poetry, Taking Liberties, was published in 2023.

Her previous collections with Jonathan Cape have won the Forward prize for best First Collection, the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, the Lawrence O’Shaughnessy award for Irish poetry, the Irish Times Poetry Prize, and twice been shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot prize twice.

She has been described as ‘a poet who is not only one of the best writers of her generation but who seems, more and more, to be the voice of that generation’ (John McAuliffe, Irish Times), and her work as ‘a triumph of poetic innovation’ (Dawn Miranda Sherratt-Bado, Dublin Review of Books).

She was made a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2022 and is a Professor at the Seamus Heaney Centre, Queen’s University, Belfast.

Laoighseach Ní Choistealbha

Rugadh Laoighseach Ní Choistealbha in 1994. Tógadh í i gceantar an Lagáin in oirthear Dhún na nGall agus fuair sí a hoideachas in Scoil Naomh Phádraig, Muirleach, agus sa Royal and Prior Comprehensive School i Ráth Bhoth. Is sa mheánscoil a chuir sí suim sa Ghaeilge den chéad uair, áit ar scríobh a múinteoir ‘Laoighseach Ní Choistealbha’ mar aistriúchán ar ‘Lucy Costello’ ar a cóipleabhar ranga.

Tá cónaí uirthi i nGaillimh ó 2012. Tháinig sí ó dheas chun céim sna Dána (Gaeilge, Scríbhneoireacht Chruthaitheach, agus Stair) a dhéanamh, agus níor fhág sí an chontae fós. Chaith sí deich mbliana sa chathair, ag bogadh timpeall na háite, agus tá sí ag cur fúithi i gCárna Chonamara anois.

Tá MA sa Nua-Ghaeilge aici, agus faoi láthair tá sí ag obair ar a taighde PhD. Díríonn a cuid taighde ar fhilíocht chomhaimseartha na Gaeilge agus teoiricí na hÉicichritice, agus súil aici é a chríochnú in 2025. Tá suim speisialta aici in obair an fhile Biddy Jenkinson.

Tá dánta foilsithe aici i bhfoilseacháin éagsúla thar na blianta (Éigse Éireann, An Capall Dorcha, Comhar, Aneas, srl.)

________________

Laoighseach Ní Choistealbha was born in 1994 and raised in the Lagan area of East Donegal. She now lives in the Conamara Gaeltacht. Her poems have been published in various journals over the years (Poetry Ireland, An Capall Dorcha, Comhar, Aneas, HOWL, etc.). Solas Geimhridh agus Dánta Eile (Barzaz, 2023) is her first collection.

Nigel Mooney

Nigel Mooney is widely regarded as Ireland’s leading jazz singer and guitarist. A charismatic figure on the Dublin jazz and blues scenes since the early 1980’s, his Gripewater Blues Band spearheaded the blues movement in Ireland and drew many fans of both jazz and the blues.

His first album, “All My Love’s In Vain” (Rubyworks) was released in 2005 to critical acclaim and quickly became one of Ireland’s highest selling albums by a jazz artist. The single, Beautiful Day, charted on the Irish Hit Parade.

The follow-up album, “The Bohemian Mooney”, released in 2013, was The Irish Times Jazz Album of the Year and featured guest appearances by Georgie Fame and Louis Stewart.

You can find a selection of his music on his website, NigelMooney.com.

Honor Heffernan

Honor Heffernan is an internationally acclaimed jazz/blues singer who has been performing as both a singer and actress for over 30 years. She has released three solo albums- ‘Chasing the Moon’, ‘Fire and Ice’ and ‘The Other Side’ and one duo album entitled “Two heads are better than one” with guitarist Hugh Buckley.

Singer/Actress Honor Heffernan began her career in 1971. Over the years she’s sung pop, folk, rock, blues and jazz, but has concentrated on jazz since the 80s. As an actress she is best known for her roles in Neil Jordan’s ‘Angel’ and the RTE soap opera ‘Fair City’.

Her jazz career took off in the early 80s when she began singing regularly in Dublin with the jazz pianist Jim Doherty and collaborated with Noel Kelehan. She has released three solo albums- ‘Chasing the Moon’, ‘Fire and Ice’ and ‘The Other Side’. Her second album ‘Chasing The Moon’ [1991] was recorded with Kelehan and featured Peter Ainscough, Richie Buckley, Mike Nolan and Martin Curry. Since then, she has sung with top Irish musicians such as Noel Kelehan, Stephen Keogh, Richie Buckley, Dave Fleming, John Wadham, Mike Nielsen and Louis Stewart. In October 2005 she released ‘Fire and Ice’ with Barry Green (piano), Jeremy Brown (bass) and Stephen Keogh (drums) which was very well received.

She became a regular attraction at the annual Guinness Cork Jazz Festival. She worked in Norway with the Knut Mikalsen Trio and the Sandvika Big Band conducted by trombonist/ arranger Rob McConnell. She also sang with the BBC Big Band, recording two concerts for radio with them.

Get a taste of her music here.

End Saturday with poetry by Leontia Flynn and Laoighseach Ní Choistealbha, plus jazz by Nigel Mooney’s trio and Honor Heffernan.