Emer O'Kelly on The Cave: Superficial caricatures fail to gather either sympathy or curiosity as to their fate
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Kevin Barry is loaded with awards. Anyone who has read or heard his prolific output can understand why. The man has a unique voice, bringing fantasy into real life in a manner that transcends the mundane and makes his surrealistic approach a mockery of what we accept as normality.
So what has happened with The Cave?
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Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Irish Independent
Puppeteer Raymond Keane: ‘Summer ain't summer without the Galway International Arts Festival. If I'm not in it, I'm at it'
BOOK: The Heart in Winter In preparation for The Abbey Theatre's recent production of The Cave by Kevin Barry, I read his novel The Heart in Winter. It's hard to describe the effect if left on me, but it felt like I was reading Sebastian Barry in a sweat lodge. I am a massive fan of Liz Nugent's Strange Sally Diamond, so I wait in high anticipation for her The Truth About Ruby Cooper, scheduled to be released March 12, 2026. My son, Mel, recently gave me a copy of Chess by Stefan Zweig. He tells me it will blow my mind. Bring it on. TV: Leathered John Downes's documentary Leathered is not for the faint-hearted, but an absolute must-watch for men of my age and background. What kind of sick minds employed and promoted brutality as a method of imparting knowledge to little boys, a system that either broke us or turned us into brutes or, maybe worst of all, both. Federico Fellini's La Strada is my all-time favourite film. Its trinity of characters; The Brut, The Fool and Clown Angel, continue to inspire me. And Nationwide for continuing to find the extraordinary in the ordinary. MUSIC: Martha Wainwright I'm more than slightly obsessed with Martha Wainwright and caught her recent show at The Button Factory. Anybody that writes a song with the words 'Bloody Mother F**king Asshole' gets my vote. Sofia Isella is blowing my socks off these days. On the radio, I can't go without a daily dose of the brilliant Sarah McInerney. FESTIVAL: GIAF Summer ain't summer without Galway International Arts Festival. If I'm not in it, I'm at it. But look out Galway, because Lorraine Maye's Cork Midsummer Festival is chomping at your heels with its edginess. And I can't go home without giving a shout out to my home county Waterford's Spraoi, making its growing indelible mark on the Irish cultural landscape.
Irish Examiner
14-07-2025
- Irish Examiner
Gigs, drama, art, dance... 10 highlights of Galway Arts Festival
1 Theatre Druid, Riders to the Sea & MacBeth: The Mick Lally Theatre, Druid Lane July 10 - 26 Druid theatre company presents a double bill of JM Synge's Riders to the Sea and William Shakespeare's MacBeth. Both are directed by Druid founder Garry Hynes, feature actress Marie Mullen, and are staged in the theatre named for the late Mick Lally. It is 50 years since the three established Druid as the first Irish professional theatre company outside Dublin, a landmark anniversary that is also celebrated in an exhibition of photographs by Joe O'Shaughnessy, at the Kenny Gallery on Tuam Road, covering the broad sweep of the ensemble's achievements. 2 Kevin Barry, The Cave: Town Hall Theatre, Courthouse Square July 22 - 26 Kevin Barry is best known as the author of a series of inventive novels, including the International Dublin Literary Award-winning City of Bohane. Barry's adaptation of his short story collection, There Are Little Kingdoms, was produced to great acclaim by Meridian in Cork in 2008, and it seems extraordinary that it has taken so long to present his work on the stage once more. The Cave stars Aaron Monaghan and Tommy Tiernan as Bopper and Archie McRae, a pair of petty criminal brothers holed up in the mountains in Co Sligo, with Judith Roddy as their garda sister Helen. 3 Oh…: Galway Atlantaquaria, Salthill July 8 – 26 Mikel Murfi Mikel Murfi's unforgettable one-man theatre productions have included I Hear You and Rejoice and The Man in the Woman's Shoes. Murfi trained at L'École Internationale de Théatre Jacques Lecoq in Paris, where the emphasis is on physical performance. Never one to shirk a challenge, he presents his new show - a reflection on new journeys, partings and the possibility of moving on - in the main tank of Galway Atlantaquaria. 4 Mogwai: Heineken Big Top July 24 Mogwai's eleventh album in 30 years, The Bad Fire, landed in January. The Scottish noise merchants' song titles are even better than Morrissey's – Fanzine Made of Flesh, Pale Vegan Hip Pain and If You Find This World Bad, You Should See Some of the Others are just some of the beauties on The Bad Fire – and their politics are far more palatable. Most of their oeuvre is instrumental, but possessed of a grandeur that belies their origins in the indie scene in 1990s Glasgow. 5 Mary Coughlan: Heineken Big Top July 23 Since her first album, Tired and Emotional, in 1985, the Galway-born chanteuse Mary Coughlan has interpreted everything from smoky blues to jazz and trad, Jacques Brel and Leonard Cohen to Jimmy McCarthy and Johnny Mulhern. Her sometimes tumultuous life has been grist to the mill for the tabloids, but at 69, she remains a formidable and much-loved talent. Coughlan's 40th Anniversary Greatest Hits Show features her full band, along with a string and brass section. 6 David Mach, Burning Down the House: Festival Gallery, William St July 14 – 27 David Mach's Cheetah 1 The Scottish sculptor and installation artist David Mach presents his fourth major project at Galway Arts Festival, after Precious Light in 2012, Rock'n'Roll in 2018 and The Oligarch's Nightmare in 2023. Mach, a Turner Prize nominee in 1988, is known for his large-scale public art projects, such as Brick Train, assembled from 185,000 bricks, at Darlington, Co Durham. Burning Down the House is one of several exhibitions at GIAF that address climate change. Mach will give a talk at the gallery at 11am Tuesday July 15. 7 Eman Mohammed, What Lies Beneath the Rubble: Studio 2, O'Donoghue Centre July 14 – 27 Eman Mohammed Eman Mohammed was born in Tabouk, a small village in Saudi Arabia, in 1983 and educated in Gaza City, Palestine. She began her career in photojournalism at 19, and quickly cemented her reputation as the first woman war photojournalist in Gaza. Her work has appeared in the Guardian, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, and her memoir The Cracks in My Lens was published in 2022. Her photo essay, Layan's Steps, published in the Atavist Magazine in July 2024, helped reveal that Gaza is home to the world's largest concentration of child amputees, victims of Israeli attacks on the territory. 8 Aoife Dunne, Good Grief: Róisín Dubh, Dominick St July 24 & 25 Language teacher Aoife Dunne had amassed more than 100,000 followers for her humorous videos on Instagram before it ever occurred to her that she might be a comedian. And even then, it was only because she was invited to perform at the legendary Dead Rabbit club in New York. The Galway native is not shy about tackling contemporary issues such as toxic masculinity, and posted a memorable rebuke to Conor McGregor on social media after his appearance at the White House on Patrick's Day. Good Grief is billed as 'a unique blend of stand-up, storytelling and spoken word,' and deals with the death of Dunne's mother, the loss of her job and relationship during the Covid pandemic, and her efforts to rebuild her life thereafter. 9 Resistance to Trump: Bailey Allen Hall, University of Galway July 26 Journalist Fintan O'Toole interviews Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, the Democratic Party politician who has represented Washington's 7th Congressional District, encompassing most of Seattle, since 2017. Born in Chennai, India, Jayapal emigrated to the US in 1982, aged 16, to attend college at Georgetown University. She is the first Indian-American woman to serve in the US House of Representatives. A vocal critic of Donald Trump's presidency, she has condemned his budget reconciliation bill of July 2025 as 'one big, beautiful betrayal.' 10 Planete Vapeur, Microcosmos: Les Insectes Fantasiques: Eyre Square 9.30pm Friday July 18 / 6pm and 9.30pm Saturday July 19 Planète Vapeur's Microcosmos French street theatre specialists Planete Vapeur present Microcosmos, featuring a twelve-metre grasshopper, a spinning spider and a swarm of mysterious stilt-walkers, musicians and acrobats. The hour-long spectacle begins at Eyre Square before proceeding to Lower Fairhill Road via Shop Street and Bridge Street. What could be more magical on a summer's evening in the City of the Tribes?
The Irish Sun
09-07-2025
- The Irish Sun
Moment ageless rocker locks eyes with woman at secret Irish gig & lovestruck fans scream ‘this is the start of a romcom'
IRISH fans have been left swooning after a clip of ageless pop star locking eyes with a fan during an intimate Dublin gig emerged. Indie rockers 2 Frontman Marcus Mumford has left fans swooning 2 Mumford locked eyes with one lucky fan during the gig The pub was immediately packed to the brim with fans singing their hearts out with the band in an unforgettable moment. One lucky In the short video, the British star was belting out the end of their hit song The Cave, when he looked straight over at Marcus gave a cheeky smile to the camera before turning around to guitarist Ben Lovett and shaking his head. READ MORE IN MUMFORD & SONS The musicians were in disbelief as the crowd boomed out the chorus of the song in a loud unison. Marcus turned back to look at the woman's camera again and gave another smirk before ending the tune and raising his guitar in the air. Kinga captioned her video: "No better crowd than an Irish crowd." But it wasn't the incredible crowd moment that caught fans' attention - it was silver-fox Marcus. Most read in Celebrity Swooning fans all flocked to the comment section to gush over the handsome rock star. Yan wrote: "If Marcus Mumford looked at me like that, I'd die on the spot!" Mumford & Sons play secret gig in Dublin Tanya said: "Holy Jesus that eye contact." Alba remarked: "This is the start of a rom com!" Molly exclaimed: "Has he always been this hot?!!" While Kate joked: "I would be asking what we are after that eye contact." HE'S TAKEN! And Lauren added: "I have nothing appropriate to say about that young gentleman." Marcus has been married to his wife and Oscar-nominated actress The lovebirds have a bond that goes back to their childhood as they first met at a Christian youth camp as pre-teens and stayed in touch as pen pals. The couple welcomed their first child, Evelyn Grace, in 2015, while their son Wilfred was born in 2017. So, sorry ladies, he is off the market!
