Liverpool Irish Festival hits full swing

‘Adam and Paul’ and Lenny too - Thursday 17th of October, 6.30pm,  FACT

A rare showing in the UK of director Lenny Abramson’s (Garage, What Richard Did) brilliant, first feature length film, the stunning Adam and Paul (2004). There will be an after show discussion with the man himself, Lenny Abrahamson, taking a break from finishing off his fourth feature, Frank, a comedy about a young wannabe musician starring Michael Fassbender and Domhnall Gleeson.

THE IRISH REVOLUTIONARY  -  Cinema is an art form particularly suited to the exploration and representation of revolutionary and revolutionaries. This short series presented and introduced by Dr Gerry Smyth, Reader in Cultural History at Liverpool John Moores University, offers three compelling examples culled from modern Irish history. Picturehouse at FACT, Tickets £7:

Anne Devlin - Pat Murphy (1984), Tuesday 15th October, 6.30pm

Murphy’s second feature after her challenging debut Maeve (1981) is based on the life of the housekeeper of Robert Emmet, leader of the failed Irish Rising of 1803.

Michael Collins  - Neil Jordan (1996), Wednesday 16th October, 6.30pm

The possibility of a film about one of Ireland’s most mythologised revolutionary figures had been kicking around Hollywood for a number of years before Jordan got the green light to write and direct it.

Hunger - Steve McQueen (2008),Friday 18th October, 6.30pm

McQueen’s extraordinary debut won the prestigious Caméra d’Or for first-time film-makers at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008, as well as numerous other awards around the world.

TALKS

At Sixes and Sevens - Book launch by internationally acclaimed Northern Irish artist, Rita Duffy - Organised by The Institute of IrishStudies, University of Liverpool, Wednesday 16 October, 6.00pm, The Victoria Gallery & Museum

The Great Dublin Lockout of 1913 - An afternoon of talks and discussion presented in association with the North West TUC, Sunday  20th October, 1pm  The Bluecoat,  £5. Speakers will include:  Padraig Yeates, Irish Times industry and employment correspondent; author, Francy Devine, author of Organising History: A Centenary of SIPTU; 1909-2009  -  ‘The Irish Transport and General Worker’s Union and the Lockout’. Lynn Collins, Regional Secretary, NW TUC, - ‘Women and the Lockout’,Ron Noon, Liverpool historian, ‘Fred Bower, Larkin andIreland’, Jimmy Kelly, Unite Regional Secretary for Irish Region.

Writing on the Wall in association with LIF present - Language, Resistance and Revival: From Prison to Community: Feargal Mac Ionnrachtaigh and Phil Scraton.Author of Language, Resistance and Revival, Dr Feargal Mac Ionnrachtaigh reflects on his ground-breaking research with Republican former prisoners analysing the Irish language as the medium of resistance to their incarceration in Long Kesh and inspiring its wider revival within Nationalist communities. Introduced by Professor Phil Scraton, Queen’s University Belfast. Thursday 17th October, 7pm , The Sandon Room, The Bluecoat, Tickets £4/£2

COMEDY

Pat Shortt - Tuesday October 15th 8pm , Unity Theatre,  £13, £10.50 conc. Irish Comedy legend Pat Shortt’s new one man show charts the life of Dixie Walsh (Jumbo Breakfast Roll, Where did my money go) a solo lounge musician. The show is a tribute night to Dixie where all his peers and friends  (the audience) come to celebrate his career. During the night Dixie reminisces about the path his career has taken and the struggles he has had to get to the top.

WALKS

Liverpool Irish Heritage Coach Tour: Larkin’s Liverpool. Sunday 20th October, 10am, Meet at The Bluecoat, Tickets £10 - This tour will visit the birthplace of Jim Larkin, places in Liverpool associated with him, sites associated with the Liverpool General Strike of 1911, and the Clarence Dock Gates. 

PERFORMANCES

Radical Liverpool  and Liverpool Irish Festival present:Jim and Delia - Wednesday 16th October, 8pm - The Casa, Free - Songs , stories and humour of yesterday and today. A journey back to the Liverpool of James, Delia and Peter Larkin, in the anniversary year of the Dublin Lockout. Music by, Our Morals. Reckless Elbow.  Stories , Greg Quiery

Two Parts of Flann O’Brien - A two part performance dedicated to the life and times of Irelands great novelist, playwright and satirist. Saturday 19th October, 6pm/ Sunday 20th October, 1.30pm - The Fly in the Loaf

Sean O’Casey’s ‘Red Roses for Me’ and ‘The Star Turns Red’ - 14th and 15th October, 7.30pm, The Lantern Theatre, Tickets, £4; £2 (cons).This year sees the centenary of Dublin’s Great Lockout, but no production of either of Sean O’Casey’s dramas of Irish labour unrest, Red Roses for Me or The Star Turns Red, is scheduled for production in Britain or Ireland. Each reading will be directed by Victor Merriman, Professor of  Performing Arts, Edge Hill University, and will feature full casts. The reading of The Star Turns Red, on the 14th October , will be preceded by the launch of James Moran's new book, The Theatre of Sean O'Casey and Red Roses for Me, which will feature live music, will be read on 15th, October, at 7.30 pm.

MUSIC
Andy Irvine:  Wednesday 16th and Thursday 17th  October 2013 - Rodewald Suite, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Tickets £12 adv, £10 adv when bought as part of Your Festival Package . £15 door.  Ireland’s influential music and pop culture magazine Hot Press said ‘Andy Irvine is Woody Guthrie's representative on Earth’.

‘Coming Together Through Music’ - A concert of music and dance presented by the young people of Ards (Co.Down) Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann:  Saturday 19th October, 2pm, St Luke’s Church, fee. This talented group of  over twenty musicians and dancers are the special guests of the Festival and the young people of St Michael’s Irish Centre.

Damien Dempsey + Support, Wednesday 16 Oct, The Kazimier, £15 - We are proud that a performance by Damien Dempsey has become one of the cornerstones of the Festival, whether as part of the Irish Sea Sessions, solo, or with his group.

Dervish Tuesday 15th October 2013, The Atkinson,Southport , Tickets £14 adv, £16 door - County Sligo’s finest export, Dervish are one of the premier line-ups in Irish traditional music. Fronted as ever by singer Cathy Jordan,

Gala Young Peoples Concert - Sunday 20th October 2pm, Sefton Park Palm house, free - The Young Peoples Concert is becoming a tradition on the last day of the annual Festival .

The Irish Sea Sessions 2013, Friday 18th October - Liverpool Philharmonic Hall -Tickets £19.50. £20.50, £22.50, £28.50 - This year’s new-look new line-up includes: Declan O'Rourke, Robert Vincent, Pauline Scanlon, Alan Burke, Bernard O'Neill, Gino Lupari, Dave Munnelly, Neil Campbell, Terry Clarke-Coyne, Eamon Coyne, Mick Coyne, Sean Regan and Emily Portman.

Mellowtone in association with LIF present: ODi + supports, Tuesday 15th October Leaf -  Tickets £5 (£4 as part of Festival multi-buy), ODi is an Irishsinger, songwriter and musician who manages to blend elements of Joan Armatrading’s pathos, Beth Orton’s eye for the quirky and deep with a touch of Dido’s bed-sit romance to produce her own unique, captivating sound.

The Festival Club - The Festival Club will run from 10.30pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights during Liverpool Irish Festival 2013, at The Zanzibar Club, Seel Street. It is hosted by Alan O’Hare (Thursdays), and Ian Prowse (Fridays and Saturdays.)  -  Festival Club Pass -Priority admission to the Festival Club is to Festival Pass-Holders (issued free of charge to people who apply at the same time as buying tickets for at least one festival concert in each of three category groups).

Sean Keane, Saturday 19th October - St Michael’s Irish Centre, Tickets £12 - Sean Keane from County Galway has been described as the 'greatest musical find of the 90s' (The London Independent). Traditional Irish, folk and even country and blues songs all lend themselves to his unique style and unforgettable voice. Sean embarked on his solo career in 1993, and six solo albums later continues to delight audiences all over the world with his live performances and recorded work.

Sean Taylor with Danny Thompson + Dave O’Grady, Saturday 19th October 2013 The Zanzibar - Tickets £6 adv, £5 adv - Sean Taylor has grown to be one of the hottest new names in the European blues/acoustic scene. Danny Thompson is the doyen of UK base players having played with musicians as diverse as Ginger Baker, Toumani Diabate, John Mclaughlin, namesake Richard, Kate Bush, Rod Stewart, Nick Drake and in particular the late great John Martyn.

Traditional Music Session - Saturday 19th October, 10.30pm, St Michael’s Irish Centre, Free

Vocal Workshop with Pauline Scanlon - Saturday 19th October, 2pm, The Rodewald Suite , Liverpool Philharmonic , Tickets £20 -Pauline Scanlon is the featured artist of this year’s Festival, appearing on the opening  weekend  with Eilis Kennedy in Lumiere and then later in theFestival at the Irish Sea Sessions. Pauline is much more than ‘just’ a Folk or Traditional singer her gorgeous voice suits all styles of singing, join her for an intensive afternoon workshop and learn styling’s old and new.