Latest news with #UniversityofLimerick
Agriland
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Agriland
Telling the story of the potato through music, song, and dance
Renowned Irish musician and producer Tommy Hayes' latest project, 'The Garden Where The Praties Grow' is a cinematic story of the potato and its lasting impact on Irish culture told through traditional Irish music, song, and dance. The premiere of the film will take place on July 1 hosted by the Blas Summer School at the Irish World Academy, University of Limerick, launched by Professor Helen Phelan. Admission is by invitation and free to students and faculty. There will also be a screening in Glór, Ennis, Co. Clare on July 15. Admission is €8:00. Potatoes in Ireland The poignant Irish story of the potato is explored in this compelling documentary, which intertwines the cultural significance and history of 'praties' in Ireland. Through traditional Irish music, viewers journey through the struggles and resilience of a nation profoundly shaped by the tragic event of the potato famine. They discover how the potato, once a staple of daily life, became a symbol of both hardship and hope, resonating deeply within the Irish identity. Well known as one of the greatest bodhran players of all time, Tommy Hayes has been at the forefront of traditional Irish music for over 30 years. In a career that has exemplified diversity, he has performed and recorded with most of the great names in traditional music and beyond. Tommy has been a member of a number of ground-breaking groups during his career, including Stockton's Wing, Puck Fair with Brian Dunning and Mícheál Ó Domhnaill, Altan, Liam O Flynn and the Pipers Call Band, and the Eileen Ivers Band. He was the original percussionist for 'Riverdance' and has performed on more than 400 albums. In the world of film, Tommy has played on numerous film soundtracks, among them 'Titanic', 'The Devil's Own', 'Rob Roy', 'In the Name of the Father', and 'The Field'. He is also a music therapist. Under Tommy's guidance, 'The Garden Where the Praties Grow' features music, song, and dance that is deeply rooted in Irish folklore and tradition, preserving their legacy through an intimate and immersive recording process. Joining Tommy in the stellar line-up band are some of Ireland's finest musicians, including: Karan Casey, singer and pipes/flute; Mick O'Brien, harp and concertina; Michelle Mulcahy, singer and flute player; Colm O'Donnell and Carl Corcoran on keys/vocals; and Fergal Scahill, fiddle; Siobhan Butler, dance; and Pat Quinn on guitar and vocals. Interwoven throughout these performances are interviews with organic potato growers and experts in biodiversity and sustainability, offering a broader perspective on the cultural and historical impact of the potato on the Irish psyche. Tommy Hayes and Anthony Hughes on location Filmed and directed by Anthony Hughes, a cinematographer with a background in fine arts, photography, and sculpture, the documentary set out to be visually rich. Filmed over three days in the original building of the founders of the Irish Seed Savers, Co. Clare, Anthony's keen eye for composition and storytelling shapes the film's striking visual aesthetic, and captures the depth and emotion of the story. Combined with Anthony's artistic approach to filmmaking is Tommy's understanding of the cultural significance of the music.
RTÉ News
2 days ago
- RTÉ News
From UL to UCD, these college restaurants are open to the public
Semesters come and go, students transform from freshers to graduates, but appetites always linger. Did you know a number of universities around Ireland offer lunch and dinner to the paying public beyond the student body? From fine dining in a palatial mansion in Limerick to Sichuan specialities in UCD, even Trinity College flings open its doors to public diners every weekday with a classic and value-focused lunch menu. When we were in university over a decade ago, the extent of gourmet cuisine was chicken tenders and chips in the bar or a breakfast roll from the shop deli, but times have certainly changed. If you fancy delving into the culinary arts, here are six for starters… East Room at Plassey House, University of Limerick A fine dining restaurant that belies its university setting, Plassey House is a resplendent Georgian villa — known locally as "The White House" — overlooking the River Shannon, which sits at the heart of the University of Limerick campus just a couple of kilometres from Limerick city centre. This mansion has been part of UL's footprint since 1970, but dates back 200 years prior to the late 1700s, while The East Room opened to the public in 2017. The original idea was to root a dazzling fine dining destination in the university's pristine surroundings to help elevate Limerick's gastronomy, with its whimsical and enchanting settings including ornate statues and a grand dining room full of art from the likes of Jack B. Yeats and Paul Henry. The kitchen is led by Head Chef-Proprietor Derek Fitzpatrick, and the menu reflects the season with lots of Irish produce sprinkled with international flavours and inspiration. The lunch set menu costs €45 per person, while the dinner menu is €75 per person. Book a table via Elsewhere on North campus, over on the Clare side, a family-friendly Sunday roast is served weekly and open to the public at The Pavilion. Restaurant 1592, Trinity College Dublin It is estimated that over two million tourists visit Trinity College annually, but how many visitors to the hallowed halls of Ireland's oldest university know you can pre-book a table at the elegant 1592 Restaurant for lunch any weekday? Titled for the university's founding year under Queen Elizabeth I, the restaurant — now in its 25th year in operation — is open Monday to Friday weekly with service running between 12pm and 3pm (last orders 2pm) for students and non-students alike with a three-course lunch menu followed by tea or coffee a steal at €30 per person (before VAT is added or any optional service). Given the setting, the menu leans unapologetically classic with starters like Honey Dew Melon with Parma Ham or soup of the day, while mains might take the form of baked Hake with pea purée and tarragon sauce or roast pork belly with apple sauce and a five-spice jus. Finish on classic desserts like a lemon tartlet or crème brûlée. Located in the heart of the Trinity campus in Dublin city centre, adjacent to the Dining Hall and off the Front Square, the restaurant has been recently renovated for a more contemporary feel and décor while retaining original historical features and the unique collection of art. Bookings are taken via enquiry form. Academy, Ulster University, Belfast Academy is Ulster University's state-of-the-art educational hub, which comprises a culinary school, beverage school and a public-facing restaurant on York Street in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter. The space is facilitated by the students to get on-the-job service experience from paying customers whilst also recently being awarded a Green Key by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) for its sustainability and environment-focused practices. Lunch service takes place between 12.30pm and 2.30pm Monday to Friday weekly, where a three-course lunch sitting averages around. £25 per person. Expect starters like Confit duck leg or salmon tartar with horseradish and apple; mains of sea bass, fishcake and pok choi in a Thai curry cream or chicken supreme with celeriac, pickled wild mushroom and tenderstem broccoli before desserts such as pear and almond frangipane tart, crème Anglaise or rhubarb Eton mess. Dinner service runs from 7pm to 8:30pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and on select evenings during the college semester the Culinary Arts Management students create unique tasting menus for special dinners. The space is closed every weekend. Bookings are taken via ResDiary on the restaurant website. Confucius Institute Restaurant, University College Dublin Where can you find some of Dublin's most authentic Chinese food? In Belfield of all places where within the Confucius Institute on the campus of Dublin's largest university, UCD, you will find a canteen-style restaurant that's open to the public, not just the student body, serving everything from regional delicacies like hot pot and spicy clay pot dishes to healthier options of steamed fish and even their take on the ubiquitous spice bag. The restaurateurs behind Hakkahan in Stoneybatter, Nan Chinese near Stephen's Green, China Tang in Monkstown and the pair of Little Dumpling spots on either side of the Liffey in the city centre are also the team behind this unlikely, but very welcome, outpost. The great value menu changes daily, but expect Sichuan specialities like fuqii feipian (spicy offal), mapo tofu (tofu in a fermented bean and beef sauce), smashed cucumber in chilli and Kung Pao chicken alongside other Cantonese specialities like steamed scallops with ginger and Siu Yuk (red-braised pork belly). The kitchen runs from 12pm to 8pm, seven days a week, more casual canteen-style in the daytime, but post 5pm you can order whole dishes. Elsewhere, find a street food container selection at the Gather and Gather-run UCD Walkway with the likes of Chimac, Bombay Pantry and Burritos and Blues. UCD Village is also home to a new market-style, global-focused food hall — open to the public seven days a week from early breakfast to late dinner — with a range of street food and casual dining options. Expect mammy-style roasts at Blasta, smashburgers and wings at Mikeys, toasties at MELT Toastie Bar and Hong Kong-style barbecue at Bullet, which is another outlet from the same Hakkahan-Nan-China Tang team. Find two public-facing restaurants in the Grangegorman campus of TU Dublin, the Ballymaguire Foods restaurant and the Musgrave Marketplace restaurant, both in the Central Quad Building, while over in the Tallaght Campus, visitors will find the Scholars restaurant within the Main Building on the ground floor. Students from the courses in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management. These student-led training spaces are really classrooms in action under the guise of a restaurant, where the lecturers stress the primary objective is to facilitate student learning while offering the public the opportunity to pre-book a lunch or dinner service. Lunch tickets cost between €20 and €30 per person while dinner tickets run from €35 to €45 per person. Timings dovetail to term time so when semesters are not in session these are not run and bookings open annually to coincide with classes resuming from September onwards. Pop-Ups at DKIT In Louth at Dundalk Institute of Technology, the DkIT Culinary Arts, Event Management, and Hospitality Management students have run special weekend pop-ups in both March 2024 and 2025, most recently hosting seven-course tasting dinners and Bridgerton-inspired afternoon teas. One to watch for March 2026, keep an eye on their Instagram for more details.
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Kerry schoolgirls ready to kick off their Gaynor Cup campaign in Limerick
With just a couple of days until the first whistle sounds, on the grounds of the University of Limerick to kick off the 2025 Gaynor Cup, the excitement is certainly building as the Kerry girls begin their odyssey in the prestigious Schoolboys/girls Football Association of Ireland (SFAI) under-14 competition.
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Kerry soccer star Eabha Maguire says it is ‘a privilege' to captain her county in Gaynor Cup
From kicking a ball around her house with her family, to donning the green and gold in national competitions, Maguire's journey has been one of dedication, passion and continuous development. Now, as she prepares to lead Kerry in the University of Limerick, she is ready to inspire her teammates on and off the pitch. An attacking-minded midfielder with a sharp eye for goal and the ability to pick out that decisive pass, Maguire has never shied away from challenges. Remarkably, she was representing Park's under-13 side when she was just nine years old. 'I first began kicking a ball at home with my dad and little brother Oran. We are a sports mad family, there is always a ball being played in the house! I started playing soccer with St. Brendan's Park in the academy when I was seven. There was no girls team at that age so I played with the boys group up to under-11. 'At nine, I played with the Park Girls under-13 team and eventually we got an under-12 team together. Myself and club mate Eve McEvoy went on a recruitment drive and with girls from school and younger girls in the academy we formed the under-12 team.' A privilege is how Maguire described getting the chance to captain her team in this competition. A balance between competitiveness and camaraderie is a key part of the team's identity. Maguire and many of her teammates have represented Kerry with distinction across multiple age levels, collecting silverware at under-12 and under-13 level. While an under-14 title has so far eluded them, she hopes this could be the year that changes. She watched last year's Gaynor Cup campaign from the sidelines, but this year she captains the group as the next instalment is now just around the corner. 'I was selected for the Kerry Inter League under-12 team and we won the All Ireland final that year and the league. The following year we again won the All-Ireland under-13 final and the league and cup double at under-14 level with The Park. 'This year we got to the under-14 All-Ireland Cup final against Galway but were beaten. 'It feels good to be in the squad this year, and it's competitive, and it's fun as well like. I watched the Gaynor Cup last year. They didn't do very well, but we might. 'I love having fun with my friends and winning. I love learning new skills. I am looking forward to the Gaynor Cup in June and it's a privilege to captain this great bunch of girls from all over Kerry, we are not just teammates but friends. 'We're kind of all together as a team, we include everyone, and we're all friends with each other.'
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Wedding of the Week: Ukrainian and Irish traditions blended in humanist ceremony
Love overcame language barriers as guests congratulated Maryna Pidhorna and David Connolly after a humanist ceremony that blended Ukrainian and Irish traditions. The traditional 'rushnyk' [ritual cloth] from the bride's homeland featured as the couple exchanged vows in the Greenhills Hotel in Limerick city. Maryna, from Kyiv, and David, from Limerick, were wed by celebrant Billy Mag Fhloinn and held their reception in the same venue. Maryna Pidhorna and David Connolly. Pictures: Joe Diggins Photography 'It was absolutely fabulous, the unity of our cultures integrated within the ceremony was very special,' says the bride, a childcare assistant. Maryna and David, a carer, professional football coach and intermediary, first met on a night out in Tipperary town in February 2023. Maryna Pidhorna and David Connolly. Pictures: Joe Diggins Photography 'Things progressed to our dating regularly from there — cinema, a Ukrainian performance of 'Swan Lake' at the University of Limerick, dinner and dancing, travelling to beaches, wine and falling in love,' she says. David popped the question before the year's end. 'We got engaged on December 5, 2023, in the very first restaurant we dined out together, La Candela, in Tipperary town,' he says. Maryna Pidhorna and David Connolly. Pictures: Joe Diggins Photography Maryna had first visited Ireland as a Chernobyl child in the 1980s, staying in Co Cork. Fleeing war in Ukraine she returned to Blarney in 2022 with her sister and their young children, where she made many more friends, among them Kate Durrant and Val Kirby, before Maryna had to relocate to Limerick. Kate and Val were overjoyed when invitations to Maryna and David's wedding dropped through their letterboxes. Val Kirby and Kate Durrant with bride Maryna Pidhorna. 'As 'Chernobyl children', Maryna had been part of the Rest and Recuperation summer programme that brought Ukrainian children to Ireland to give them respite from the toxic fallout of the nuclear disaster,' says Kate. Three years ago, when Kate encountered Maryna, she saw a woman who swiftly 'put her own needs aside to offer her services in the local hospital as a translator, easing the burden on her fellow countrymen and women receiving treatment'. Maryna Pidhorna and David Connolly with Deanna, Zhenia and Tristan. Pictures: Joe Diggins Photography Maryna and her sister, she adds, 'enrolled their children in our local schools and clubs, helping out in any way they could', before housing constraints forced another move. 'It was a tough transition, not that they complained, but relocating their families to yet another school, and a new soccer club for Maryna's talented, and football-mad, teenage son, was another bump on their already rocky road,' says Kate. Maryna Pidhorna and Deanna Connolly. Pictures: Joe Diggins Photography 'We stayed in touch and were thrilled when she told us she had fallen in love, even more so when we received photographs of her new baby.' On her big day, the bride wore a glamorous Missacc gown and did her own makeup, with her hair styled by Limerick hairstylist Jess McGrath. The groom and his party bought their suits at Dave Mc's Menswear, Tipperary. David Connolly made his entrance with their sons Zhenia and Tristan. Pictures: Joe Diggins Photography For his entrance music, David chose the theme song of Ukrainian world boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk. 'David was accompanied by our two sons, Zhenia and Tristan,' says Maryna. Maryna Pidhorna and David Connolly. Pictures: Joe Diggins Photography 'My entrance music was the Ukrainian song Pal lal lal and I was accompanied by our daughter Deanna and my sister Larissa.' Maryna's mother, Galina, and David's dad, Andrew, were present, and the professional duo Niall and Louise, also relatives of the groom, provided the music. Maryna Pidhorna and David Connolly. Pictures: Joe Diggins Photography 'We had a fantastic mime performance by Mike and Richie with three female backup dancers that lit up the crowd,' says Maryna. Joe Diggins ( was behind the lens. Maryna Pidhorna and David Connolly. Pictures: Joe Diggins Photography The couple, who will live in Knocklong, Co Limerick, honeymooned in Portugal. If you would like your wedding featured in Weekend email
