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Irish Post
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Post
Writer Cónal Creedon named ‘hero storyteller' at Irish festival which only happens every seven years
WRITER Cónal Creedon is among a group of Irish icons who were named cultural 'heroes' at a Cork festival which is only held every seven years. The novelist, playwright and filmmaker, who hails from Cork, was honoured as one of the 'laoch reacaire' or 'hero storytellers', at Féile na Laoch 2025, which translates as the 'festival of heroes'. Every seven years, Féile na Laoch is hosted in Cúil Aodha, in the Múscraí Gaeltacht in county Cork. Cónal Creedon, newly named Laoch Reacaire, gives a reading at Féile na Laoch 2025 This year's event, which ran from July 31 to August 3, saw Creedon's London-based niece also in attendance. 'It's a soulful engagement and a homecoming for me,' Creedon told the Irish Post. 'My father's people come from these hills and so it has special personal significance that my six-year-old grandniece Edith Blake was here from London, such a wonderful opportunity to connect with her Irish heritage,' he added. Cónal Creedon pictured (l-r) with his niece Roisin McAvinney, grandniece Edith Blake, Fiona O'Toole and niece Asha Kearney O'Toole holding Murphy the dog 'Total immersion in Irish language, culture, the arts – the soul of Ireland is laid bare at Féile na Laoch.' Inspired by the creative legacy of the iconic Irish composer Sean O'Riada, the event honours the cultural contribution of artists across seven creative disciplines – namely literature, music, dance, art, performance, poetry and song. The Cork festival only takes place every seven years Other artists celebrated this month included Liam Ó Maonlaí of the Hot House Flowers, Altan's Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, singer Celine Byrne, sculptor John Behan, artist Maria Simonds-Gooding, musician Martin Hayes, actor Stephen Rae and the poet Annemarie Ní Churreáin. The event is formally opened with a dusk to dawn performance combining music, dance, story and poetry, which is known as An Aeríocht, It begins at 6.30pm with a parade of fire after which live performances continue until sunrise the following morning. 'It's such a personal honour to be appointed one of the Laoch 2025, connecting directly with the life-blood, pulse and soul of such a very special place,' Creedon said. 'The parade of the Laochs was a very special experience - marching with the elements of fire and water, and arriving en masse, on foot, led by a piper created such a profound sense of passion and pageantry.' See More: Cork, Cónal Creedon, Festival, Féile Na Laoch, Laoch Reacaire
Irish Examiner
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Denis Lehane: To the book readers of Macroom Mart
Charles Dickens was a great man for book readings. He did them all over the world. He read in New York. He read in Portland, Maine. He even did a book reading right here in Cork, choosing the Opera House as his port of call. Afterwards, it is said Dickens went on to kiss the Blarney Stone, which probably wasn't necessary, seeing as how his mouth was operating perfectly well before arriving in Cork. Anyhow, in an effort to emulate Dickens, I did a book reading myself last Friday night. And in a bid to further step up to the heights of one of the greatest writers of all time, I even bent down to kiss the stone step into the auld byre for luck just before I left... after a quick wipe of the sleeve of course. I chose Macroom cattle mart in which to perform, for I felt the mart would be the right place for a man of my talents. Any place well accustomed to the bawling of a bullock would have no bother dealing with the bellowing of auld Lehane. And better again, joining me in the main ring at the mart last Friday night, was none other than Cork's very own answer to Dickens, namely the novelist Cónal Creedon. A man well versed in the practice of book readings. Cónal Creedon could perform a first-rate book reading on the surface of the moon, and it wouldn't knock a shake out of him. And on the night he did just that, delivering delightful stories on city life and of his beloved Beara, to a hushed and enthralled Macroom mart audience. And as for myself, yerra like a bullock with his head caught in a mart gate, I roared out something half coherent. I regaled the gathering with tales of cows with long horns and bullocks with airs and notions. Needless to say, the night was brilliant. T'was the Dickens of a fine occasion. And this was a relief to me, for I had been sick with worry leading up to the big night. "And why were you worried?" you might cry. "Sure, what could go wrong with a book reading at a cattle mart?" Well, my greatest fear was obviously fan mania. I was afraid crazed fans, hysterical types, might be driven wild on seeing us in the flesh and might attempt to climb over the rails of the mart ring, in an effort to get closer to their heroes in literature. Yerra, a sort of Beatlemania thing, that can spring up from nowhere and surround fellows like us. Well, luckily for all involved, the mart was well geared up for such an eventuality. On the night, that mart had a few well able drovers on standby, ready to pounce if things got a bit hairy for the celebrated writers in the ring. The sticks might be outlawed, but I dare say one could still be found if push came to shove. The isolation pens were also ready, to pen unruly types. Thankfully, the crowd behaved themselves impeccably. And the mart drovers were never called into action. Having the correct paperwork too had me jittery before the gig. To get into a mart ring, in normal circumstances, requires an amount of paperwork and neither Cónal nor I had ear tags, cards or export licences. All we had were our few books and a desire to talk the legs off the table. Well, luckily again, such red tape was brushed aside, for we had able people doing our bidding for us, so to speak. Jerh and his staff at Macroom Mart could not be more accommodating, leaving us to do little more than concern ourselves with thoughts of how we sounded. So last Friday night, we spun some great tales in a place where great tales are spun every week. It was the perfect location. And as sure as a hungry calf will respond to the rattle of a bucket, we will return to the mart sometime in the future. A night at the opera might be a delight for some, but in my book, there is nothing to beat a bit of craic at the mart.
Irish Times
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Theatre for One: Made in Cork review – One actor, one audience member and a life unravelling
Theatre for One: Made in Cork Emmet Place, Cork ★★★★☆ An assistant in a red jumpsuit ushers me into a black container on the plaza in front of Cork Opera House . I step into a tiny space about the size of a toilet cubicle and styled like a peep-show booth: inbuilt seat, red plush walls, stage lights. The door shuts behind me. Then a panel slides open to reveal a woman in tears. She begins to berate me for dumping her. I have been a total cad – that much is clear – and I begin to feel genuinely sorry. This is It's Not You, a short play by Cónal Creedon , performed with striking emotional realism by Áine Ní Laoghaire as part of Theatre for One: Made in Cork. Conceived by the theatremaker Christine Jones, the format is simple but powerful: six five-minute plays, each written for a one-audience-member-at-a-time booth, performed in succession throughout the day (and free to watch: you just join the queue). READ MORE This 2025 edition, presented by Landmark Productions and Octopus Theatricals in association with Cork Midsummer Festival and Cork Opera House, features new work by six writers with strong Cork ties: Creedon, Katie Holly, John McCarthy, Michael John McCarthy, Gina Moxley and Louise O'Neill. Directed by Julie Kelleher and Eoghan Carrick, the experience is confronting – and that's its strength. The extreme proximity of the performer, the unwavering eye contact and the impossibility of leaving demand emotional engagement. These are characters unravelling, opening the mess of their private lives to you; it's theatre as confessional. Theatre for One: Made in Cork – Tommy Harris in Amibition, by Katie Holly. Photograph: Jed Niezgoda Theatre for One: Made in Cork – George Hanover in The Wedding, by Louise O'Neill. Photograph: Jed Niezgoda In Katie Holly's Ambition, a depressed magician (Tommy Harris) fumbles through tricks during a job interview for a corporate party. It's clear how much he needs this gig. Even his rabbit, he suspects, looks at him with contempt, just as his girlfriend did – before she dumped him. In Louise O'Neill 's The Wedding, George Hanover plays a mother in a changing room, navigating layers of guilt and love as she searches for a dress to wear to her daughter's big day. Theatre for One is powerfully transporting; lightning-quick and raw. It leaves an emotional after-image that lingers as you step out of the booth and back into the plaza, back into the real world. Theatre for One: Made in Cork runs daily, except for Monday, June 16th, until Sunday, June 22nd, as part of Cork Midsummer Festival
