Latest news with #Fionnuala
Irish Independent
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
‘Lots of colour, great atmosphere': Sunshine returns to Bord Bia Bloom as thousands turn out for second day
While the opening day had been hit by rain, 'real Bloom weather' as some called it, returned yesterday and brought with it a smell of sunscreen in the air. It was the first day of Bloom for Aisling Newe, from Co Galway, who praised the 'vibes' and the exhibits on display. 'I'm loving the show gardens – judging them as if I know, like an expert here. But they're really good, to see what they could do with such small spaces. It's really inspiring.' She found the Bee Happy wildlife garden – which won a silver medal and was the winning garden on RTÉ One's Super Garden – the most inspiring. Ms Newe said she came to the festival for a 'bit of inspiration for the future'. 'I don't have green fingers, but I like to think I have. I love a lot of indoor plants, so I am interested in plants… I'd love a really nice garden like this.' Fionnuala and Emmet Savage from Dublin, who were wandering through the gardens with two big bags of plants, most definitely do have green fingers. 'I can't believe the amount of vendors since I was here first, which was probably about six or seven years ago,' Mr Savage said. 'Feels like it's about 10 times larger than the first time we were here, between food and natural producers, and then, of course, plants. 'I enjoyed walking through the model gardens, but I just enjoy walking through the place and absorbing the summer atmosphere.' His wife, Fionnuala, who was looking for gardening inspiration, said: 'It's elevated again this year. More space, bigger, and everything is just fabulous. Very impressive.' ADVERTISEMENT The best show garden for Anita Deane and Margaret Deane Carolan was Nature's Symphony: Celebrating Organic Growth, which pays homage to the Bloom patron, President Michael D Higgins. 'The Michael D Higgins garden is fabulous, you can smell seaweed,' Ms Deane Carolan said. 'Lots of colour, great atmosphere.' Always the biggest attraction of the festival, the 21 show gardens were all designed with sustainability in mind and incorporating environmental measures. Many visitors admiring them were chatting with their designers and asking for gardening advice. The Repak Most Sorted Garden won the overall large garden category award and was very popular with the public, and designer James Purdy said winning the gold feels like a 'recognition for your hard work'. 'It's not normal to put wine bottles, crushed cans and old brick in a garden and make it look beautiful. So I'm glad I've got it over the line well,' he said. In his garden, he wanted to 'look for the beauty in recycled, refined and reused materials'. Another winner was The European Commission's Renewed Blooms Garden, designed by David Negus from Suffolk, England, who won the overall medium garden category award. It is his first time at Bloom, and he said it felt 'surreal' to win the award for his garden, which features a discarded railway track. 'When you're self-employed, like I am, it's actually really nice, because I haven't got anyone telling me if I'm doing well. It's just me, my own brain,' he said. 'So it's really nice to do an event like this and say: 'Oh, I kind of know what I'm doing'. It kind of reaffirms that.' Designer Alan Rudden, who created The Pot Gallery Garden, won the overall small garden category award – his ninth gold medal in 10 years of attending the festival. The Rainbow Brick Balcony Garden, designed by Gary Kirwan as a tribute to Lego, and the How To Train Your Dragon Garden, designed by Tunde Perry and Barry Kavanagh, were especially popular among the visitors. Benny Magennis, from Co Monaghan, designed The Early Bird Catches the Worm garden, sponsored by the Marie Keating Foundation, and won a silver-gilt award. 'Bloom is a great day out. It's very inspiring for people. They're asking for advice all the time. That's all part of it,' Mr Magennis said.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Fionnuala Halligan Appointed Red Sea Film Festival Director of International Programs
Film critic Fionnuala Halligan has been appointed director of international programs at Saudi Arabia's Red Sea Film Festival. Fionnuala, who has long been chief critic for the U.K.'s Screen International, where she also served as executive editor, started her career in media as film critic for the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, where she was based for 12 years. She more recently worked as a programmer for the Macao International Film Festival for five years (2016 – 2021) alongside her work at Screen. Fionnula is a member of the London Film Critics' Circle, BAFTA and the European Film Academy, and a top-rated critic on Rotten Tomatoes. More from Variety 'Ida' and 'Corpus Christi' Stars Unite for 'The Time That Never Came' as Dystopian Melodrama Debuts First Look, Locks a Private View as Co-Producer (EXCLUSIVE) MPX Launches Sales on Michael Shannon Darts Comedy 'Bulls' in Cannes (EXCLUSIVE) Viola Davis' Ashé Ventures Boards Maria Farinha Filmes' Biopic of Trailblazing Black Gymnast Daiane dos Santos (EXCLUSIVE) Fionnuala will replace critic Kaleem Aftab who stepped down as the Red Sea fest's director of international programming in March following a four-year stint. She will be working alongside Red Sea's director of Arab programs and film classics Antoine Khalife to shape and curate the Jeddah-based fest's line-up. 'Finn has been a collaborator and supporter of ours from the beginning, and she has both impeccable taste and a deep appreciation for cinema from across the world – particularly in Asia, a region we've increasingly championed as an organisation as our remit broadens,' said Shivani Pandya-Malhotra, Managing Director of the Red Sea Film Foundation in a statement. 'We are so thrilled to have her joining us to head up our international offering, which has been a cornerstone of our festival and continues to gain prestige and stature on the global circuit with each edition.' Commented Halligan: 'It's a privilege to be joining the Red Sea Film Foundation in this new role. As I complete my tenure at Screen, I look forward to fully taking on the role after the Cannes Film Festival and working closely with the team to further shape and expand the festival's international programming.' The upcoming fifth edition of the Red Sea Film Festival will run Dec. 4-13 in Jeddah, on the Red Sea's eastern of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
RTÉ News
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Fionnuala Jay on finding her vintage wedding dress for €300
Over the Easter weekend, TV presenter, podcaster and sustainable fashion influencer Fionnuala Jones shared photographs from her recent wedding to long-term partner, Cian Roche. The Cork woman will have a family and friend-filled ceremony in her home county in the coming weeks, but the legalities were completed in Dublin's city hall, followed by a celebratory drink in Grogans. The sustainably-minded influencer is known for sharing eco-friendly tips with her 67k Instagram following, encouraging fans to shop their wardrobes and revamp what they already have as much as possible. Holding herself to account, even when it came to her wedding day, she sourced a vintage 1980s gown online for just €300 - without ever trying it on. Sitting on a bus from Brisbane to Sydney following a week of solo travel in Australia, the podcaster used the time difference to her advantage by scrolling through the latest drops from international vintage accounts on Instagram, including Mill Street Vintage. "The issue with vintage is that it runs small," she explains, recounting the story to her 34k TikTok followers. "It's so hard to find a traditional size 12, we'll say. The dress goes up and, lo and behold, it is my size. It's actually a little too big based on the measurements, and it's €300." Originally, Jones planned on altering the dress to become shorter, removing the statement frill, but with the help of professionals at AL Bridal Couture in Dundrum, she managed to cinch the gown into fit her to perfection - frill and all. Seamstress Audra managed to work around the delicate silk crepe material, fully encrusted with shimmery beads, rhinestones and pearls, to complete Jones's dream wedding dress, even creating a veil to match. The incredible dress was paired with second-hand shoes from Depop, wedding rings from Dublin's Delphi Antiques, and flowers that were picked up from The Garden in Powerscourt that morning by the groom. Determined to enjoy the day as much as possible, the beauty guru says she stuck with her tried and tested artists as much as possible. When it came to her incredible pearl nail art - a design she had saved since 2017 - she popped down to Grace at Nail Art Club in Kildare the day before the ceremony. Hair stylist Ciara Burke delivered soft curls, while Fionnuala banked on make-up artist Oksana Schelling to bring bridal glam ("we did no trial because I knew she would slay on the day"). With another wedding ceremony around the corner, Fionnuala hopes to celebrate her nuptials in a way that doesn't lead to excessive waste, particularly when it comes to her hen party. "My hens are on strict instruction that the hen needs to be at least semi-sustainable," she told RTÉ Lifestyle. "I feel they [hen parties] can create such waste, so I'm trying to get people to keep that in mind when they're planning.
