Dublin’s Clarence Hotel which is ranked within the Top 50 hotels in Ireland and offers boutique luxury in the heart of Temple Bar. The hotel is only a short distance by taxi from the infamous St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Christchurch.
First Fortnight Mental Health Art & Culture Festival’s 14th edition runs from Saturday, January 4th to Saturday, January18th 2025; Let them be the light guiding you into a new year, and start the first story of 2025 with Frist Fortnight.
In another unique first, the First Fortnight Choral Commission is a departure for First Fortnight and tests a new collaborative way to produce work. This commission, inspired by the vision and aims of First Fortnight; to end the stigma associated with mental ill health, using community engagement as the catalyst and navigation tool for the composition will have its premiere performance during The Art Of Mental Health concert during the festival at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Palestinian native Amir Sabra explores themes of resilience and connectivity in Within This Party. Mary Coughlan and Paula Meehan steer a particularly special evening of music and poetry at Whelan’s Live, in celebration of Nollaig na mBan. In addition, First Fortnight are thrilled to welcome to Smock Alley’s Boys School’ stage, SHAME SHOW, the winner of First Fortnight award at this year’s Dublin Fringe Festival. Jenny MacDonald’s profound Tightrope Walker, and Peter Gowan returns to the festival with his new touring play; the explorative Declan’s Got Talent. First Fortnight also revisit the works of one of our most extraordinary poets in A Mindfulness Tour of Seamus Heaney
In partnerships, Limerick City Builds, The No Show is a must-see film inspired by working-class men known not to turn up. It explores; Who didn’t show up for them? Filmed over two years by Catherine O’Halloran and Grace Dyas, who worked with young men in Limerick City Build to devise a trauma-informed contemporary art film telling the origin story of trauma experienced by working-class families by going back six generations to the Famine.
They welcome back the much-loved Therapy Sessions, this year presented and curated once more by someone First Fortnight feel so lucky to call a fellow festival team member; poet Stephen James Smith. The line-up is always very special; and this year they are particularly excited to welcome the spectacular poet and World Slam Poetry Champion, Harry Baker.
Film art is also well represented and includes IFTA Award-winning feature documentary, The Days of Trees, which reunites director Alan Gilsenan and producer Tomás Hardiman. Bafta Award winning, Duncan Cowle’s Silent Men, Ross Kirwan’s Don’t Forget To Remember, First Fortnight’s Alliance Francaise partnered film for 2025, This Life of Mine (Ma Vie Ma Gueule) and Love Yourself Today; a film centred around singer songwriter Damien Dempsey but also turns the lens onto his fans. Au Revoir Tristesse, is a new commission by celebrated artists Joe Chester and Steve Wickham. The musical soundscape for this year’s festival is further enhanced with the involvement of Limerick’s enchanting Emma Langford, rising star Luke Clerkin and the glorious Megan O’Neill. Where’s Your Head At? An exhibition by photographer Emily Quinn is inspired by and created especially for this coming year’s festival. Thirty people, thirty different stories on ‘how I mind, my mind’; a love letter to our minds.
This coming year’s festival offers a 65+ strong programme of events and involves an estimated 150+ creatives and contributors. Together with having a significant presence in Dublin, the First Fortnight 2025 festival embraces story-telling and connectivity, and over its duration, they will bring you events across the provinces, with regional development partnerships in a growing number of locations also, which this year includes counties Donegal, Down, Kildare, Wexford, Cork, Kerry and Limerick.
To find out more information, please visit: Website | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter #FirstFortnight25 #TheArtOfMentalHealth
For your chance to win, simply fill in the form below. Good luck!
Terms & Conditions
1. The promotion is open to residents of Ireland aged 18 years or over except employees of the Promoter, their families, agents or anyone professionally connected with the promotion.
2. A valid entry consists of a correct answer entered in the form above, accompanied by the entrant’s name, email address and a phone number.
3. No applications from agents, third parties, organised groups or applications automatically generated by computer will be accepted. No incomplete, illegible, or corrupted entries will be accepted. No entries not in accordance with the entry instructions will be accepted.
4. The Promotion will run from 18/12/2024 to midnight on 06/01/2025 inclusive.
5. All entries must be received by the Promoter by no later than midnight on the Closing Date. All competition entries received after the Closing Date are automatically disqualified.
6. Promotion limited to one entry per person. No entrant will win more than one prize.
7. By submitting an entry to the Promoter, you are agreeing to be bound by these terms and conditions.
8. Responsibility will not be accepted for entries lost, damaged or delayed as a result of any network, computer hardware or software failure of any kind. Proof of sending is not proof of receipt. Entries will become the property of the Promoter.
9. The prize is two tickets to The Art Of Mental Health on Thursday, January 16th, 2025 and an overnight stay for two at The Clarence Hotel in Dublin with check in on Thursday, January 16th at 3 pm and check out on Friday, January 17th at 12 noon. There will be one winner.
10. All prizes will be subject to any additional terms and conditions of the supplier of the prize to the Promoter. This prize is as stated and cannot be split, the hotel stay must to be on the same date as the concert and cannot be refunded or redeemed for cash.
11. The Promoter shall not be liable for any loss, damage or consequential damage of any nature in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise caused by the acceptance of the terms and conditions or in connection with the prize.
12. In the event of unforeseen circumstances the Promoter reserves the right to substitute the prize for an alternative of equal or greater value.
13. The winners will be notified by email. The winner must claim before Wednesday, January 15th, 2025 . If the prize is unclaimed after this time, it will lapse and the Promoter reserves the right to offer the unclaimed prize to a substitute winner selected in accordance with the Promotion rules.
14. The promoters’ decision is final and binding in all matters and no correspondence will be entered into.
15. The winners’ details (name and county) will be made available on The Irish Times website.
16. The winner may be required to participate in unpaid publicity arising from this promotion.
17. The Promoter will only process your personal information as set out in https://www.irishtimes.com/policy-and-terms/privacy-policy and as set out in these terms and conditions.
18. Prizes are non-transferrable and cannot be exchanged for cash.
19. These terms and conditions shall be governed by Irish law and the Courts of the Republic of Ireland shall have exclusive jurisdiction.
20. Promoter and Data Controller: The Irish Times DAC, The Irish Times Building, P.O. Box 74, 24 - 28 Tara Street, Dublin 2.
21. The Promoter reserves the right to hold void, suspend, cancel or amend the Promotion where it becomes necessary to do so.
