December Listings

The December listings are now available on the website and as usual there is lots to do over the coming month. The Carnegie Arts Centre in Kenmare has recently opened its doors and they have organised a wide variety of events beginning with a Group Show exhibition which runs from the 5th December – 30th January and features artists such as Pauline Bewick, Christine Bowen, Gearóid O’Shea, Joe Thoma and Claudio Viscardi.

Pauline Bewick is also one of 13 artists who generously donated a piece of artwork to the Setsoto Design in Lesotho who then recreated the artwork into woven tapestries. The tapestries will be auctioned in the “Woven Art Auction” in Tech Amergin, Waterville on 13th December at 7.00pm. The money raised goes towards Setsoto Design a community-based business established in 1956 in Teyateyaneng (usually known as TY) in Lesotho, where 72 women are employed as spinners, dyers and weavers.

Ballet Ireland will be in Tralee on the 13th December performing Swan Lake, Sharon Shannon and Mundy will be playing on New Year’s Eve at the INEC in Killarney and the annual Wren Festival takes place on the 26th December in Dingle. Other holiday events include the Kerry Choral Union Christmas concert on the 14th December, craft fairs in Tralee, Listowel and Killarney and of course what is Christmas without a Panto or two. There is plenty to choose from this December.

In addition to the listing for Kerry you will also find information on events from the University Concert Hall in Limerick, the Everyman Palace Theatre in Cork and the Cork City Limits Comedy Club. Enjoy...

Knocknagoshel Halloween Festival

Here are some photos we took of the bonfire. A very dark night. Guess who forgot to bring her tripod! But the unplanned effect does give the photos an eerie feel.

Knocknagoshel Halloween Festival

The Knocknagoshel Halloween Festival took place this weekend. It was my first time at the festival and I have to say I was very impressed. The popularity of the Ghost Trail & Haunted Maze was incredible! We arrived at 6.00pm and the queue was very very long, nearly out the village. However, the headless horseman, the ghostly rider and the other devilish ghouls kept the crowds entertained until the huge sculptures were set on fire.

Obviously, with the horrible weather we have had lately, it did take them a bit of time to get the bonfires going. I was over-ruled with regards to the haunted maze because the queue was just too long. So I didn’t get a chance to see what it was like. So if anyone has any comment about it let us know.

The one thing that did impress me was the organisation. I thought it was very good and the one way system was a dream. Will definitely visit again!

Busy weekend in Kerry

The International Chamber Music Festival, the Dingle Food & Wine Festival and the Annual Threshing Festival in Blennerville all took place last weekend. On Saturday we headed over to Miltown for the lunchtime performance at the food markets. Having never been to the Miltown food markets I was pleasantly surprised to find them indoors in an old church. I got the distinct impression this was also a new experience for the musicians. I suspect they never had to move out of the way while playing to let a shopper pass by. As one musician said “one day the Royal Albert Hall the next Miltown food markets!” Listening to beautiful classical musical with the lovely aroma of warm soup and bread wafting in the air was a nice way to spend an hour on a Saturday.

Interestingly enough while shopping in Ballyseedy Home and Living Centre later that day I picked up a flyer advertising “Sunday Classics.” On the first Sunday of every month between 2pm and 5pm classical artists including pianists, string quartets to ensembles will be performing at Ballyseedy. Another nice way to spend an afternoon - cappuccino and live classical music!

On Sunday we headed over to Dingle for the Food & Wine festival. There was plenty of food to savour at both sets of food markets and the demonstration hall was jam-packed. Unfortunately, being a vegetarian the choice for me at these events is fairly limited but the rest of my group enjoyed it immensely.

Tag Rugby - Banna Beach

Last Saturday, I headed out to Banna to watch the finals of the Sony Ericsson beach tag rugby competition.

Could the organisers have asked for a better location or a better day, do these people have a direct line to the weather god, because if so I want to be friends!! No less than 35 teams took to the beach on Saturday in glorious sunshine and the atmosphere was fun and good-spirited, not even the surfers and the lone kitesurfer were put out by the invasion of be-tagged rugby players onto their domain. The locals walking and running the beach also took time out to watch and cheer. There was always a sense of rivalry about and this spilled over into a very competitive tug of war – it looked like great craic.

Indeed, standing on the beach with the heat of the sun on my face and a light breeze off the sea, watching people playing rugby, surfing, kitesurfing, walking, running, sitting, knocking sliotars back and forth and flying stunt kites, it just reminded me how great this country is when the sun is shining – ah if only we could roof it!

The latest edition of the find magazine - out now!

The latest edition of the find magazine is now available. The magazine once again includes information and program guides on the many harvest festivals taking place in the county, as well as articles on the Listowel Races, the Sheen Falls Lodge sommelier and the International Chamber Music Festival.

This edition also includes a voucher for the harmony wellness suites and leisure club at the Manor West Hotel, Tralee as well as two fantastic competitions for you to enter. You could win a 2 night break at the luxurious Radisson hotel in Limerick or a €600 voucher for Louis Mulcahy handmade pottery. Details of both these competitions can be found on the website and in our magazine.

So check out your local supermarket, petrol station or newsagent for your free copy of the find magazine today!

Tuesday night at the Roses!

I went to Tralee on Tuesday night to have a look at what was going on. Well, they definitely brought the crowds back on to the streets of the town centre. Jessie Buckley drew a crowd. The kids loved her and they waved their National Lottery flags in appreciation. Even though, I think at times they got more excited seeing themselves on the big screen behind her. Despite that she did keep the crowd entertained with show tunes.

We wandered down to see Abba Delicious. What can I say? There are many people who will give out about Abba and their annoying songs but it cannot be denied that when the intro to Waterloo or Mama Mia begins everyone starts singing! They performed all the ususal Abba numbers. I couldn't stay to the end I was the designated driver and listening to more than 7 Abba songs stone cold sober was too much. But they were a good laugh and the atmosphere created by the music on the street, the markets and children's entertainment definitely made my festival experience a lot more entertaining.

The Rose of Tralee - 22nd to 26th August

The Rose of Tralee festival begins this week. I picked up their event guide the other day and it appears they are bringing back the street entertainment giving people especially families a reason to go into the town. With 5 stages located around the town, live bands, street performers, busking competitions, food markets and children’s entertainment this festival should prove to be a good one.

Festival Weekend in Kerry

The bank holiday weekend was indeed a weekend for festivals, the Lyreacrompane Dan Paddy Andy festival, the Sean McCarthy festival and the Cahersiveen Celtic Festival of Music and the Arts to name a few. Unfortunately for the find team we couldn’t make any festivals in Kerry this weekend. But chatting to a few locals this morning the Dan Paddy Andy festival was a great success and for the majority of the weekend the weather held. The children had a great time on Saturday and everyone enjoyed the many hours of music and dancing. If anybody did attend any festival this weekend let us know how it went. Any comments good or bad would be much appreciated!

Sneem Family Festival

We were on the road again this weekend, this time we headed to Sneem to watch the first National Wife Carrying competition. A good crowd had gathered to see this event which was very entertaining. The gentlemen had to carry their ladies/wives on their back. The lady had to be minimum weight of 49 kilos and any lady that wasn’t had to carry sand. Each couple had to navigate an obstacle course which included the dreaded water pool (quite a few of them ended up face down in said pool). The more cautious competitors tip toed their way through the water much to the disappointment of the crowd. It’s amazing how much a nice dunk in the water was enjoyed by all spectators! Anyway all the couples prevailed and made it to the finish line. The winning couple John O'Shea and Aoife Desmond from Caherdaniel, Co. Kerry won an all expenses paid trip to Finland to represent Ireland in the World Championship in 2009.

The other big attraction of the day was the crate climbing competition. The objective was to stack as many crates as possible before it keeled over. One of the competitors managed 19 crates but just before we went to get something to eat another guy stacked a whopping 26 crates he was nearly as high as the crane. The crowd encouraged him on when he placed each crate into position and oohed and the aahed as the crates wobbled and then laughed and cheered as they tumbled to the ground. A very good idea for an activity at a festival and most definitely a crowd pleaser. In the adult competition the winner was Eoin Kelly with 25 crates and in the childrens and overall winner was Marc O'Sullivan with 26 crates!

The Munster Fleadh Cheoil

Took a trip over to the Munster Fleadh yesterday. For the first time in a long time the weather was dry and the sun came out - now and again. It was my first proper relaxing summer’s day. I went to see my niece dancing in the under 12 set dancing competition. Unfortunately, her set didn’t win but I wish the Ballydonoghue set all the best in the All Ireland. Once I did my bit of supporting I headed into the town. There was a good crowd and nice buzz about. The entertainment had started on the main stage in the square and a crowd had gathered. We just sat, had a few beers and listened to the great music. I have to say I was very impressed with the organisation of the Fleadh and in particular the traffic management in the town. There was plenty of parking attendants and when we eventually left Kenmare the traffic was moving quite freely despite the crowd. Thumbs up to the organisers! Let’s hope the Fleadh will return to Kenmare next year!

Killarney Summerfest

The Summerfest is currently on in Killarney so a group of us headed over to have a look at what was going on. We came across a very good street entertainment group called Toot Sweet. The acrobatics were amazing. They are extremely talented and highly entertaining. They encouraged the crowd to get involve and even pulled one man into the act to help out. My niece (aged 9) loved it. Lets hope we see them in Tralee for the Rose of Tralee Festival.

We went back to Killarney last night to see the Outdoor Traditional Art show (8-10pm). We got there about 9.10pm and caught the end of the Spraoí Chiarraí performance which was very good. The music was excellent. When they finished we thought another group would perform as part of the show but no. Maybe due to the weather they decided to cut it short but I have to say it wasn’t raining that badly. So, a bit disappointed. However, if you like traditional Irish music and storytelling I would definitely recommend Spraoí Chiarraí. They are apparently doing a number of concerts around Killarney this summer.