Award Winning Director Returns to Sligo for Premiere

Added: 23/08/10 : 12:37:09

Sligo film writer and director, Conor McDermottroe is returning to his hometown for the release of “Swansong: Story of Occi Byrne”. From the well respected McDermottroe family with its rich tradition in acting and the Arts, Conor is returning to his hometown of Sligo to participate in the annual Warriors Run, but more significantly, he’s back for the release of his own film “Swansong: Story of Occi Byrne” which is being released on September 10.

Written and directed by McDermottroe, the film was also made in Sligo. At the centre of the film, which is set in 1970s Sligo, is the misanthropic character of Austin ‘Occi’ Byrne- a misfit that was drawn from Conor’s own memory and experiences.

“There were quite a few kids back then in Sligo who didn’t have a father figure and were ostracised or treated differently or unfairly” recounted McDermottroe about the inspiration for his character. “So this Sligo character was always in the back of my head and I wondered how I could write him. That was the beginning of the character Austin ‘Occi’ Byrne” he said.

According to McDermottroe, the film is a “rough, tough story on the exterior but on the inside it glows with sentimentality, redemption and a feel good factor”.

It’s likely to be particularly sentimental for natives of County Sligo, who will feel an immediate connection as they recognise many of the film scene locations. The town scenes were shot in Tubbercurry (Teach Laighne) with a significant portion of the film based at Banada Abbey.

Viewers can also expect to see the rolling sand dunes at Strandhill, Dooley Park and Lough Gill, Mullaghmore, Inish Murray island and other areas around the North West including Ballymote (mart), Rosses Point and Manorhamilton.

And like its variety of on-set locations, the film is being screened in a variety of towns around the county in a very novel manner. “Swansong: Story of Occi Byrne” is being distributed by Cinema North West in their unique mobile cinema. The intimate 100-seater cinema has all the comforts of a traditional cinema with all the fun of being moveable. And it’s making its way to a town near your readers in the coming weeks.

It will be lights, camera, action for the people of Tubbercurry on Friday, September 10 for the first of the North West screenings. The Sligo town premiere is being hosted on Monday, September 13 in Quay Street car park, with additional screenings in Ballymote, Manorhamilton, Carrick-on-Shannon and Arigna.

From its beginnings in the North West of Ireland, the film has been nationally and internationally recognised. “Story of Occi Byrne” won Best Drama at the Galway Film Fleadh and in the coming weeks it is being featured in Montreal at the World Film Festival and in LA at the Los Angeles Irish Film Festival.

The renowned Light House cinema in Smithfield, Dublin –which is committed to
championing films of quality from original, creative film makers— is also showcasing the feature film in tandem with the North West release.

Readers can find more information about experiencing “Swansong: Story of Occi Byrne” by logging on to www.cinemanorthwest.com/swansong or pop into The Sony Centre, Johnston Court shopping centre, Sligo where a clip of the film is being played from August 27.

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What is Culture? What is Sligo?

Added: 08/09/10 : 12:54:43

You are invited to create your own unique Culture Night Postcard in words and/or images. Bring it along to Tobergal Lane Café between 6pm and 10pm on Friday 24th September and be part of the Culture Night Postcard Exhibition.

Up to 20 cities, towns, counties and islands across Ireland are to engage in a blitz of cultural activities on Friday September 24th to mark Culture Night 2010 – the national website www.culturenight.ie outlines the huge national programme.  Culture Night is a national initiative co-ordinated by Temple Bar Cultural Trust and supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture & Sport in partnership with the local authority arts offices and their partners.   The second annual Culture Night Sligo will again be co-ordinated by Sligo County Council Arts Service, the Culture Night committee and the participating cultural organisations and individuals to celebrate a creative, diverse and vibrant Sligo - and it will all be FREE!

Culture Night Sligo will transform Sligo city into a cultural wonderland from 6pm to 10pm on Friday 24th September.  Enjoy storytelling, music, theatre, backstage tours, exhibitions, art installations, films, projections, light graffiti and architecture in theatres, galleries, libraries, artist studios, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, buses, shopping centres and the streets of Sligo.

This year, Sligo will introduce a number of unique initiatives including the Culture Night Postcard Exhibition.  In the lead up to Friday 24th September, we want everyone big enough to hold a pen or paintbrush to create their own postcard about Sligo or about culture or both!  Tobergal Lane Café will give over their walls on the night where a massive exhibition will unfold as everyone brings in their own creation.  It doesn’t have to be a prizewinning piece of work, but the collective pieces will create a storyboard at the end of the night…what will the story be?

Culture Night Sligo 2010 / Friday 24th September, 6pm – 10pm

Free late night culture for all ages and all the family

What will you see?

Pick up a brochure or contact Sligo Arts Service (071) 911 1823 or culturenightsligo@gmail.com

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“Fusion” by Janet Pierce at The Hamilton

Added: 26/08/10 : 11:25:11

The Hamilton Gallery, formerly known as The Cat & The Moon Gallery, is delighted to host an exhibition of paintings and tapestry works by Janet Pierce, opening on Thursday September 2nd at 8pm. Writer Dermot Healy will perform the opening ceremony. The exhibition runs until October 2nd. The Gallery opening hours are 10am to 5pm Mon to Sat.

Janet Pierce is a member of Aosdana and regularly exhibits in Ireland, India and the U.S.

Pierce admits “a deep connection with landscape”. This influence, coupled with an intuitive gra for Indian music, appears to inform her art practice to the present day. A significant visit to the lower Himalyas in 2006 occasioned a profound shift of perception and imagery in art practice.

Return visits to India over the following four years inspired the creation of intense, abstract works on paper, incorporating gold and silver leaf from Old Delhi, together with a series of tapestry works interwoven with gold and silver thread. Irish and Indian sensibilities fuse in the realization of this intensely meditative aesthetic journey. “To me”, the artist observes, “(the works) are as much Indian as Irish”.

Hamilton Gallery, 4 Castle Street, Sligo.

Tel: 071 914 3686 Fax: 071 91 40365 email info@martinahamilton.ie

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