Press release
Star line-up for Other Voices show in Blasket Centre, Dún Chaoin
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Published on
Last updated on
The Blasket Centre / Ionad an Bhlascaoid provides the backdrop this week for the latest performance in a partnership between Other Voices and the Office of Public Works (OPW).
The visitor centre in Dunquin, close to Other Voices’ spiritual home of Dingle in West Kerry, is managed by the OPW and follows Desmond Castle, Castletown House and Cahir Castle in providing the stage for Other Voices’ latest series, ANAM: Songs for Hearts and Minds.
On the bill for the Kerry concert on Thursday evening at 8pm are Ye Vagabonds, Sam Amidon, Cormac Begley, Gerry O'Beirne, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh & Billy Mag Fhloinn.
Join MayKay from 8pm as we celebrate Ireland’s folk revival and honour local traditions with some unforgettable live sets captured in the Blasket Centre - Ionad an Bhlascaoid, in Dunquin, West Kerry.
With stunning views of the wild Atlantic coast and islands at the halfway point of the Slea Head Drive, the Blasket Centre is a fascinating heritage and cultural centre / museum, honouring the unique community who lived on the remote Blasket Islands until their evacuation in 1953.
The Blasket Centre re-opened last year after a major refurbishment. Fáilte Ireland, the Office of Public Works and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, have together invested €2.9 million into the Centre.
The project included a total transformation of the Centre’s exhibitions to deliver an authentic, and imaginative re-telling of the story of the Blasket islands, their rich heritage and their literature, which is of national and international significance. This episode of ANAM will be beamed across the world via the YouTube and Facebook platforms of Other Voices and the OPW.
OPW Head of Heritage Services and Capital Projects Delivery Rosemary Collier said:
“The OPW is proud to look after Ireland’s rich national heritage portfolio and we want to share that with as wide an audience as possible. We want people to experience our built heritage in new and exciting ways. The Blaskets and West Kerry is synonymous with arts, culture and has an extraordinary literary and musical heritage. Other Voices at the Blaskets Centre is an exciting expression of both our inherited cultural traditions and the contemporary creative voices from the region today.”
ANAM: Songs for Hearts and Minds is made possible with the generous support of the OPW and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
Philip King from Other Voices said:
“It’s a real delight to partner with the OPW and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to bring live music from a diversity of Ireland's most wonderful artists into these magnificent buildings and these beautiful rooms, and to make them audible and visible the world over. The sound and the feeling of what it is to be Irish right now is manifest in the songs and tunes of these creative artists, who are informed and enriched by the traditions of past times…traditions born and nurtured in halls and galleries over decades and centuries.”
The performance at the Blasket Centre will once again showcase intimate performances – this time in a beautiful contemporary setting, to national and international audiences.
The series is streaming globally each Thursday in May at 8pm via YouTube and Facebook. Full details and streaming schedule available at othervoices.ie.
Missed out on any of the Anam performances? Watch them back now on YouTube.
Please contact the Press Office at pressoffice@opw.ie if you have further queries or would like to request an interview with a spokesperson.
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The full Livestream Schedule of concerts:
8pm Thursday 4 May | Castletown House, Kildare
Featuring Anna Mieke & Ezra Williams
8pm Thursday 11 May | Desmond Castle, Limerick
Featuring Nell Mescal, God Knows & Kingfishr
8pm Thursday 18 May | Cahir Castle, Tipperary
Featuring Lisa Hannigan, Gemma Hayes & Paul Noonan
8pm Thursday 25 May | Blasket Centre - Ionad an Bhlascaoid
Ye Vagabonds, Sam Amidon, Cormac Begley, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh,
Billy Mag Fhloinn & Gerry O'Beirne
For those of you who have missed any of the previous performances they can be viewed for a limited amount of time at the following links: