TedFest 2022
March 3rd-6th, Aran Islands Hotel, Inis Mór aka Craggy Island, tedfest.org
What happened there, Ted? Craggy Island has been very quiet over the past couple of years, but annual festival celebrating our favourite telly priests is up and running again following the recent act of God that had us all retreating to our cloisters. Tedfest returns to its spiritual home in the Aran Islands with a full programme of Father Ted-related events, including the Lovely Girls Competition, Ted's Got Talent, The Priests' Dance-Off, Craggy Island's Fittest Family, and the Burka and Balaclava Ball. Fr Damo aka Joe Rooney will referee the annual Craggy Cup, while Eoin McLove aka Patrick McDonnell will compere a special Blind Date (no willy required). There'll be music, dancing, bottomless cups of tea and a seemingly limitless supply of craic. And for those who need to let off a little steam after being locked down, there's a brand new event, the Screeching Competition in a Very Dark Cave. But will we get another chance to kick Bishop Brennan up the arse? That would be an ecumenical matter.
Vijay Iyer Trio featuring Linda May Han Oh
March 1st, National ConcertHall, 8pm, €24.50, €34.50
The National Concert Hall's Perspective series for 2022 is going for a sense of adventure and exploration, and jazz artist Vijay Iyer fits the bill perfectly. The Grammy-nominated pianist is one of the most innovative pianists working in the genre, and his new album Uneasy addresses the personal and political upheavals of the 21st century using complex and inventive motifs and rhythms. His trio includes acclaimed bassist Linda May Han Oh, who performs on the album – expect the NCH stage to sparkle with electric, inventive interplay.
Privilege: The Musical
March 1st-5th, Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray, 8pm, €18/€16/€15, mermaidartscentre.ie
Billed as a genre-bending exploration of power and inequality, Louise White's new musical also promised to be glitzy glittery, genre-bending and totally glamorous, dahling. The cast is a fab foursome of Jade O'Connor, Venus Patel, Stephen Quinn and Ashley Xie, and the musical numbers are by Matt Regan, with cellist Lioba Petrie performing live. Together they'll explore the power relationships between people, through song, dance and sparkling wit. O'Connor has been on screen with such actors as Olivia Colman, while Quinn has an enviable reputation for exploring Irish queer identity via drag, burlesque and alternative cabaret.
Finding a Voice 2022
March 3rd-8th, Old St Mary's Church, Clonmel, Co Tipperary, findingavoice.ie
In the run-up to International Women's Day, the town of Clonmel, Co Tipperary will ring out with the musical voices of remarkable women and this fifth edition will see a welcome return to live, in-person performances, with a varied programme of female-driven work. The opening concert, Brightening, features flutist Lina Andonovska and singer Michelle O'Rourke performing the titular new work by acclaimed composer Linda Buckley (Mar 3rd, 7pm, from €12). Pianist and public speaker Samantha Ege makes her first Irish visit, performing sprituals and sonatas showcasing the diversity of women composers (Mar 4th, 1pm, from €8). Broadway Babes and West End Girls features the voice of Sinead O'Donovan, reviving great showtunes by women from such shows as Thoroughly Modern Millie, Legally Blonde and Waitress. And the incredible Pauline Scanlon will bring her band to perform songs from her new album, The Unquiet (Mar 6th, 4pm, €12).
Niamh Regan
March 4th, The Grand Social, Dublin, 7pm, €17
Acclaimed Galway singer-songwriter Niamh Regan will be launching her new EP, In The Meantime, with this special gig in the Grand Social. The songs on the EP were written during the first and second lockdown, and making the EP was "a little bit of magic for me and also felt like an escape", she says. Regan's debut album Hemet, released in the teeth of the pandemic, has garnered huge praise, and won her nominations for the RTÉ Folk Awards and the Choice Awards Album of the Year. For this show, Regan will be bringing her crew of excellent musicians, along with some special guests, and she'll be heading over to London for a show in The Green Note on Sunday (greennote.co.uk).
Ennis Book Club Festival
March 4th-6th, Ennis, Co Clare, ennisbookclubfestival.com
Book lovers will be descending on the Co Clare town of Ennis for this annual celebration of reading, and there'll be no shortage of books to fall in love with as the town bustles with various reading-related live events. Michael Harding will chat about his new collection A Cloud Where the Birds Rise with festival director Dani Gill (March 4th, Glór, 8.30pm, €15/€13). For fans of crime writing with a literary motive, towering authors John Banville and Kevin Power will join forces to talk about their respective novels April in Spain and White City (March 5th, Glór, 6pm €12/€10). Author Claire Keegan will discuss her short, haunting novel Small Things Like These with journalist and author Edel Coffey (March 5th, Glór, 8.30pm, €15/€13) and the Sunday Symposium will feature a panel of Fintan O'Toole, Declan O'Rourke, Sophie White and Derek Scally, with the theme "reflections of Ireland" (March 6th, Glór, 11.30am, €15/€13).
The David McWilliams Podcast
March 5th, 3Olympia Theatre, 7pm, from €31.50
Economist and Irish Times columnist David McWilliams hosts a live airing of his popular podcast, and here's a chance to tease out some of the financial, political and social issues that are exercising our minds at the moment. McWilliams's aim with his podcast is to strip away the complicated stuff and get down to the nitty gritty of economics, honing in on topics that directly affect us all, and bringing insights we all can relate to. "I've always thought what is complicated is rarely important and what's important is rarely complicated," he says. McWilliams will be joined by his longtime co-host and childhood pal John Davis for this live recording of the podcast, rescheduled from March 2020.
