Want something to do this summer? Look no further. We've rounded up the main events of the next three months, from arts festivals and summer schools to rock concerts and blues
Arts Festivals & Summer Schools
May
Bealtaine Laois Festival of Literature
May 14-18, Portlaoise, Co Laois
0502-64180, www.laois.ie
The first festival of the summer kicks off in Laois. The two new volumes of the Field Day Anthology Of Irish Writing have sparked much debate, and part of the Laois festival will be a special event called "A Feast Of Food, Stories And Music In The Kitchen". Actress and storyteller Nuala Hayes will be performing extracts from the volumes, on women's writing and traditions, with music by Ellen Cranitch, while listeners tuck into a hot supper. Other events include readings by poets Paul Durcan, Ann Egan and Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, with music by vocalist
John Spillane and Galway trad band Dordán.
Inishbofin Community Arts Festival
May 15-18, Inishbofin, Co Galway
095-45861
Among visitors to this gorgeous island for its festival are Eleanor Shanley and Kíla, Macnas, which gives percussion and puppet-making workshops for children, poets Sean Brophy and Adrian Kenny, and Michael Gibbons, who leads an archaeological walk. There will also be an island art trail, showings of Clare Langan's haunting video installation Forty Below and a photography exhibition of the Bofin islanders by John Carlos.
Iniscealtra Festival of Arts
May 23-June 3, Mountshannon, Co Clare
061-927290, www.mountshannon.com/ artsfestival.htm
Among this year's highlights are a performance of Music Of Ghosts, by Arts Council artist-in-residence Josephine Marsh, a trad concert with Brendan Begley, Paul McGrattan, Paul O'Shaughnessy, Noel O'Grady and Gavin Ralston, a performance by concertina player Mary MacNamara, songs from Sean Tyrell and poems by Mary O'Malley, singing sessions and art and writing workshops.
Listowel Writers' Week
May 28-June 1, Listowel, Co Kerry
068-21074, www.writersweek.ie
Among the writers at Listowel this year are Colum McCann, Howard Jacobson, Blake Morrison, Paul Bailey and Cees Nooteboom. The Seamus Wilmot memorial lecture will be given by the writer and historian Michael Burleigh, of Cardiff University, and the writers' forum is on issues that face the modern writer, with panellists Julie Parsons, Mary Russell, Patrick Chapman, Jarleth Gregory and Christine Dwyer Hickey. John Lonergan, governor of Mountjoy Prison, gives the Tim Danagher memorial lecture. "The sports desk is the toyshop of the newspaper business" will be discussed by Tony Ward, Eugene McGee, Martin Breheny, Mick Galwey, and P. J. Cunningham. Among the writing-workshop facilitators are short-story writer Molly McCloskey, playwright Jimmy Murphy, novelist Rose Doyle and poet Tony Curtis.
Murphy's Cat Laughs Comedy Festival
May 29-June 2, Kilkenny
056-63837, www.murphyscatlaughs.com
Make sure your ribs are in good order before you head off to Kilkenny to make them ache. Among the comics making their festival debuts this year are Orny Adams, David Feldman, Noel Fielding, Jim Gaffigan, Nina Conti, David Cross and Karl Spain. Other participants include Eddie Bannon, Kathleen Madigan, Des Bishop, Lewis Black, Barry Murphy, Tommy Tiernan, Ed Byrne, Deirdre O'Kane and Dara
O'Briain.
Goldsmith Summer School
May 30-June 1, Ballymahon, Co Longford
087-9236983
Alan Dukes opens this year's school, the theme of which is Oliver Goldsmith: the deserted village. Poet Vona Groarke, who grew up nearby, gives the keynote lecture, Postcards from the Deserted Village: Its People, Its Places And Its Readers. Also speaking will be Chris Wheatley from the Catholic University of America, Washington DC, and poet and critic Anthony Cronin. Poetry readings will be given by Conor O'Callaghan and Anne Tully.
June
Dublin Writers Festival 2003
June 12-15, Dublin, 01-6759816, www.dublinwritersfestival.com
Now firmly established, the Dublin Writers Festival packs a tremendous amount into its four days. There are a lot of visiting poets this year: Britons James Fenton and Wendy Cope, Australian Peter Porter, Norwegian Knut Odergard, Catalan Alex Susanna, Basque Miren Agur Meabe, Welshman Robert Minhinnick, American Carolyn Forche, Scot Liz McSkeane, Syrian Maram Al-Massri and Maisoon Sarq from the United Arab Emirates. Reading together are crime writers Michael Dibdin, Erin Hart and Dominique Manotti. Also reading are novelists Andrew O'Hagan and Zadie Smith, both recently nominated as two of Granta's best young British novelists; the remarkable Scottish writer Alasdair Gray; French novelist Marie Darrieussecq; Australian novelist David Foster; and
British novelist and essayist Julian
Barnes.
Éigse Carlow Arts Festival
June 13-22, Carlow
0503-40491, www.eigsecarlow.com
This is the 25th anniversary of Éigse, which includes dance for the first time, with Dublin companies Catapult and Rex Levitates and Wexford-based Myriad Dance. The opening lecture will be given by English artist John Wonnacott. Other visual artists include Chen Yifei from China and Magdalena Abakanowicz from Poland. There will be a concert by classical guitarist Redmond O'Toole, readings by poets Wendy Cope and Paul Durcan, a talk by artist Anne Madden and a poetry workshop with Michael Coady.
Diversions Temple Bar Outdoors
June-August, Dublin
01-6772255, www.templebar.ie
There's not much for free these days in the line of festivals, so it's cheering to see Temple Bar return with another programme of gratis events. Enjoy another season of Saturday night movies in the square, with a mix of classic thrillers and comedies, including Rear Window, Hannah And Her Sisters and The Odd Couple. There will also be a family programme, visual arts, jazz and street theatre.
Bloomsday Festival
June 11-16, Dublin
01-8788547, www.jamesjoyce.ie
Like Christmas, Bloomsday will forever be with us. And like Christmas, there's now a big build-up to the day itself, on June 16. There are walking tours of areas described in Ulysses, an exhibition of photographs of Joyce's Trieste by Megan O'Beirne, a Ulysses bus tour, performers in period costume on the Liffey boardwalk, a tour of Glasnevin cemetery and a big Bloomsday breakfast.
Woodford Bourne Cork Midsummer Festival
June 17-28, Cork
021-4550946, www.corkfestival.ie
Corcadorca, which gave us Disco Pigs, will introduce a site-specific piece for the festival. Boomerang Youth Theatre will be working alongside a professional cast on an outdoor performance of Animal Farm. The premiere of Beats And Pieces, by Cork writer Raymond Scannell takes place while Freddie White, Jerry Fish, Kíla and others play at the Everyman. Among the writers at the Crawford and Triskel are poets Roz Cowman, Thomas McCarthy, Patrick Cotter and novelists Conal Creedon and Gaye Shortland.
Blas Summer School of Irish Traditional Music and Dance
June 23-July 4, University of Limerick
061-202917, www.ul.ie/~iwmc/Blas
Open to all music students, from beginners to advanced players. Distinguished tutors include fiddler Martin Hayes, pianists Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin and Geraldine Cotter, singer Karan Casey, flautists Garry Shannon and Mick McCabe and dancers Catherine Foley, Colin Dunne and Róisín Ní Mhainnín. There's also a series of concerts by the tutors, both lunchtime (students only) and evenings (open to all).
McGlinchey Summer School
June 26-29, Clonmany, Inishowen,
Co Donegal, 077-78826, www.clonmany.com/mcglinchey
John Hume opens this year's school, the theme of which is Changed Times: The Transformation of Life and Landscape. An intriguing series of talks on Ireland's social and economic history will include Des Doherty of the ESB on rural electrification in Inishowen in the 1950s, Ian Lee of RTÉ on broadcasting and social change and Austin O'Sullivan of Teagasc on agricultural progress, as well as talks on fishing, wildlife, the Donegal shirt industry and the Lough Swilly railway.
Killarney SummerFest
June 26-July 6, Killarney, Co Kerry
064-71560, www.killarneysummerfest.com
Like Kerry, this is a festival with something for everyone. Now in its second year,its highlights include concerts by David Gray, Counting Crows, Jerry Fish, The Cranberries, Fun Lovin' Criminals and members of the Imperials gospel quartet. Classical music events include the Faroe Islands Choir, on its first Irish visit, and performances by violinist Eleanor O'Connor, 2003 Young Musician of the Year, and South Korean pianist Young-Choon Park. There will also be international street theatre, with performers from Denmark,
Canada, New Zealand and the
Netherlands.
Erris Literary Festival
June 27-29, Geesala, Erris, Co Mayo
097-83568
As Wicklow's long-running summer school on J. M. Synge is not on this year, this new (and unrelated) festival may fill the gap. Part of the focus will be Synge's relationship with the Erris peninsula; he stayed in Geesala and Belmullet - where Jack B. Yeats was a house guest - and Mayo place names feature in The Playboy Of The Western World. The opening lecture is by Gerard Barrett of Cambridge University. Other talks will look at life in Erris and on nearby islands at the time of Synge's visits. There will also be talks on Paul Henry and Jack B. Yeats.
Byrne Perry Summer School
June 27-29, Gorey, Co Wexford
053-59769, www.byrneperry.ie
The theme of this history-focused school for 2003 is Culture in Revival: The Irish Experience. Speakers include novelist John McGahern and academics P.J. Mathews of St Patrick's, Nicholas Allen of DIT and Declan Kiberd of UCD. Other events include a reading by actor Stephen Rea of Robert Emmet: The Republic Of Letters and a discussion on contemporary Irish culture with panellists Declan Kiberd, historian Margaret McCurtain and Eileen
Battersby, Irish Times Literary Correspondent.
Cathal Buí Summer School
June 27-30, Belcoo, Co Fermanagh, and Blacklion, Co Cavan, 00-44-773-2325299
www.cathalbui.com
The theme of this year's festival is Science and Art: The Cultures of Ireland. Among the lectures are Why Science Is Always A Cultural Activity, by Iwan Morus of Queen's University Belfast, and H2O In Art, Religion And Science, by T.A. MacDhorcaidh. Other events include a dawn nature watch with poetry readings and music over a fire with breakfast, painting workshops and a bilingual creative-writing workshop with Pádraic MacCana. Also running are two intriguing events for children and adults: world-champion Irish dancers from Scoil Rince Dalriada present an interpretation of molecular movement and Belfast pianist Simon Mawhinney performs The Periodic Table.
Bard Summer School
June 29-July 4, Clare Island, Co Mayo
01-4904879, www.bard.ie
Stunning Clare Island is the venue for exploring the struggle between good and evil through the medium of Irish mythology, with a focus on the Battles of Moytura. Five days of stories, lectures, poetry, songs and feasting. Speakers include folklorist Dáithí Ó hOgáin of UCD, writers John O'Donoghue and John Moriarty and poet Mary O'Malley.
July
International Humbert Summer School
July 1-6, Co Mayo
087-2418461, www.humbertschool.com
The apposite topic of this year's school, which focuses on political and foreign-policy debate, is War and Peace. Speakers will include Nobel laureate John Hume, John O'Donoghue, former minister for justice, equality and law reform, Conor Brady, former editor of The Irish Times, broadcasters Sean O'Rourke and Tim Pat Coogan, MP Alex Salmond, High Court Judge Vivian Lavan, former UN ambassador Noel Dorr and Paul Gillespie, Irish Times Foreign Policy Editor. Themes under discussion will include the impact of the war in Iraq, particularly on EU-US relations, the UN and the Middle East.
Willie Clancy Summer School
July 5-13, Miltown Malbay, Co Clare
065-7084148
The summer school that has become a byword for traditional music. Students and fans converge on Miltown to learn whistle, fiddle, flute and accordion from visiting tutors or to listen to the many impromptu sessions held anywhere from the town's bars to its kitchens to its streets.
In the Footsteps of Cuchulainn
July 5-10, Roscommon-Louth
021-4866670, www.thetain.com
Here's a weird and wonderful new festival. It will recreate the Táin experience. An army of about 100 participants will assemble at the fortress of Cruachan and retrace the route of the Táin Bo Cuailgne, from Tulsk to Ardee via Lough Crew, the Cooley and Knockbridge. Transport will be by Shanks's pony and bus. Each night, there will be feasting, songs and storytelling. Period costume will be required, as participants will be re-enacting Táin highlights for the curious spectators bound to gather.
Earagail Arts Festival
July 7-20, Co Donegal
074-9129186, www.donegalculture.com
The full programme for this year's festival, throughout north and west Donegal, is yet to be announced, but confirmed highlights include the Saigon Water Puppets, a beautiful and traditional art form from Vietnam, and the Belgian Circus Ronaldo, featuring acrobatics, juggling and puppetry.
Galway Film Fleadh
July 8-13, Galway
091-751655, www.galwayfilmfleadh.com
A highlight of this festival has been the best of new Irish shorts: documentary, drama and animation. This year, Irish writer and director Shimmy Marcus will bring his feature debut, Headrush, to Galway. International showings include a season of German and Korean films, notably Wolfgang Becker's Good Bye, Lenin! and Lee Chang-Dong's Oasis.
Tory Island Summer School
July 14-19 & July 28-August 2, Tory Island
087-2987407, mrodgers@o2.ie
This is a new summer school on Ireland's most remote island, nine miles from the Donegal mainland. Long famous for its school of primitive art, Tory is holding two complementary summer schools for the first time. The first covers accordion, percussion, singing and Irish dancing. The second focuses on the island's culture and heritage, with Irish classes, bird-watching and lectures on its school of art, social history, archaeology and place names.
Galway Arts Festival
July 15-27, Galway
091-509700, www.galwayartsfestival.ie
Galway's festival crosses all art forms again this year. On the programme are a massive Macnas production of the Mysteries and an exhibition of photographs of Bavarian artist Nils Udo's temporary artworks, using natural materials in Connemara, as well as three Irish
theatre premieres, a big visual-arts programme and participation from Australia, the US, Canada, Germany, France and Britain.
Gerard Manley Hopkins Summer School
July 19-25, Monasterevin, Co Kildare
045-433613, www.gerardmanleyhopkins.org
Hopkins and Transcendence is this year's theme. Participants include Eliana Cazaubon Hermann (Argentina), Ionna Karatzaferi (Greece), Jiri Votruba (Czech Republic), Bragi Olafsson (Iceland), Melita Cataldi (Italy), Hikaru Kitabayashi (Japan) and Elisabet Tolaretixipi (Spain). Alongside the lectures will be concerts, poetry and translation workshops, a Japanese tie-dying exhibition and poetry readings.
Joe Mooney Summer School
July 19-26, Drumshanbo, Co Leitrim
078-41213
A summer school of traditional music, song and dance, with workshops in flute, tin whistle, set dancing, sean-nós and hand dancing. Among the talks are Traditional Music and Song of Cavan and Leitrim by accordionist Martin Donoghue and The Life of Composer and Flute Player Josie McDermott by Michael Tubridy.
Patrick MacGill Summer School
July 20-25, Glenties, Co Donegal
075-51188, www.macgillsummerschool.com
The theme this year is building a more civilised society in Ireland. Among the speakers are Michael McDowell, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Maureen Gaffney, chairwoman of the National Economic and Social Forum, David Begg, general-secretary of ICTU, and John Monahan, social policy director of the Society of St Vincent de Paul. Topics for discussion include coping responsibly with prosperity and affluence, the role of education in a civilised society and how the political system can contribute more and better.
John Hewitt International Summer School
July 21-26, Armagh
048-92652254, www.johnhewitt.org
The Hewitt has moved from its home in the Antrim Glens to Armagh city. The theme is The Sure Acre: Tradition and Uncertainty in Ireland. Among the speakers will be Pat Rabbitte TD, poet and critic Tom Paulin, Trócaire director Tom Arnold, writer Fred Johnston and novelist and translator Breandán Ó Doibhlin. Readings will be by novelists Nuala O'Faolain, Deirdre Madden, Tara West and Mary Murphy and by poet Katie Donovan.
Yeats International Summer School
July 27-August 8, Sligo
071-42693, www.yeats-sligo.com
The poet Michael Longley opens this year's school, one of the longest-established in Ireland, which has helped make Sligo synonymous with Yeats. Lecturers this year include Helen Vendler of Harvard, Ann Saddlemyer of the University of Toronto, Maurice Harmon of UCD, Mitsuko Ohno of Aichi Shokutoku University, Japan, and former Irish Times art critic Brian Fallon. Theatre director Sam McCready gives a drama workshop, and Eavan Boland will hold a two-day poetry workshop. She will also give a reading, as will Michael Longley, John F. Deane, and Ciaran Carson.
August
Kilkenny Arts Festival
August 8-17, Kilkenny
056-7752175, www.kilkennyarts.ie
Confirmed highlights for Kilkenny include classical music from the Alex Wilson Quintet, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and Anton Sorokow. There will be theatre from Lithuania, from the Small Theatre of Vilnius, and a first Irish showing by Armenian visual artist Sergei Parajanov, including screenings of two of his films. Also this year is a young people's programme, with theatre productions from Spain, Belgium and France.
Parnell Summer School
August 17-22, Co Wicklow
01-2852113, www.parnellsociety.com
The theme this year is Reflections on Romantic Nationalism. The keynote speaker is Tom Nairn, whose recent book After Britain: New Labour And The Return Of Scotland attracted much attention.
Other speakers include Declan Kiberd, Iseult Honohan and Donal McCartney of UCD, Lyn Innes of the University of Kent, Patrick Geoghegan of TCD and Maureen Murphy of Hofstra University, New York. Among the topics being discussed are the United Irishmen and the anti-slavery movement, theorising nationalism, filming Irish history and Robert Emmet in Irish culture.
Merriman Summer School
August 17-24, Ennistymon, Co Clare
098-27758, www.merriman.ie
The Merriman is an old stalwart. This year, between refresher Irish classes, it will be looking at oral history in Ireland, anthropological writing on Clare, journalism in English and Irish, Irish place names and folklore and folksongs of Clare. Among the speakers will be Cathal Goan, director of television at RTÉ, writer and cartographer Tim Robinson, writer and publisher Micheál Ó Conghaile, journalist Susan McKay and folklore scholar Patricia
Lysaght.
Desmond Greaves Summer School
August 22-25, Dublin
The late Raymond Crotty, sociologist and economist, is the focus of two discussions this year, by Lars Mjoset of the University of Oslo and Joe Lee of the Glucksman Institute, New York University, chaired by Cormac Ó Gráda of UCD and Peadar Kirby of DCU. Ruan O'Donnell of the University of Limerick speaks on Robert Emmet in a European perspective, chaired by
historian Brian Cleary. There will also be discussion on the Left and Europe, with a panel including Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD, Green Party councillor Deirdre de Burca and Dermot Connolly of the Socialist
Party.
Pop & Rock
May
Westlife
May 19-21 & June 17-25, Odyssey Arena, Belfast; June 27 & 28, Lansdowne Road, Dublin,1890-925100, www.ticketmaster.ie
Many of the boy band's Belfast shows are sold out, but there are still a few tickets left (at £27.50). The first Dublin show is also sold out, with tickets for the second available for 44.50. Under-16s must be accompanied by a parent or over-18 guardian.
Paul McCartney
May 27, RDS Arena, Dublin
1890-925100, www.ticketmaster.ie
If anybody is worth paying more than €100 to see - the dearest seats cost €105, a price set by the promoter - it can only be, at a stretch, a former Beatle. This will be McCartney's first show in Ireland since The Beatles played their only Irish gig, back in 1963. This two-hour, 36-song show features songs and tunes from the three areas of McCartney's career - The Beatles, Wings and as a solo performer.
Gig of the year? It had better be at this price.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
May 31, RDS Arena, Dublin
1890-925100, www.ticketmaster.ie
Always powerful live, Springsteen's E Street Band have rightly been described as the world's best backing band. The duelling guitars of Miami Steve (from The Sopranos!) and Nils Lofgren underpin
some fantastic musicianship. Expect to hear most of The Rising, his latest album, as well as select cuts from a robust
back catalogue. The show is sold
out.
June
Bon Jovi
June 20, Lansdowne Road, Dublin
1890-925100, www.ticketmaster.ie
The New Jersey rockers are still a huge live draw here, consistently playing to sell-out crowds whenever they perform, making Ireland one of their favourite places to play. The show is sold out.
David Gray
June 21, Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney
1890-925100, www.ticketmaster.ie
With his White Ladder now the biggest- selling original album of all time in Ireland, David Gray can practically walk on water in this country. Expect tens of thousands to make the journey to Co Kerry for this one, with mass singalongs the order of the day. Tickets cost €39.50-.
Eminem
June 26 & 27, Punchestown Racecourse, Co Kildare, 1890-925100 www.ticketmaster.ie
The bleached Antichrist arrives for his first Irish performances, oa bit of a wave thanks to the success of the film 8 Mile and its soundtrack. The moralists
seem to have got off Eminem's case
of late - this is the man George W. Bush once called the biggest threat to
American children since polio. There's big excitement that Eminem is bringing 50 Cent, his protégé and rap man of the moment, to perform at the gigs also. They could break a world record for the most tracksuits worn in one place. Tickets cost €52.50
Lisdoonvarna Festival
June 28, Co Clare
1890-925100, www.ticketmaster.ie
Lisdoonvarna - back after a 20-year break and being staged on the original festival site - used to be Ireland's attempt at Glastonbury, and people of a certain age still get misty-eyed at the thought of it.
It's only a one-day festival this time round, with Christy Moore, a veteran of the
original events, headlining. Also on
the almost-all-local bill are The Frames, Mundy, Damien Dempsey and Josh
Ritter. The organisers of the original festival used to bill it as the grandson
of Woodstock. Be sure to put some
flowers in your hair. Tickets cost €59.50.
July
Shania Twain
July 5, Nowlan Park, Kilkenny
1890-925100, www.ticketmaster.ie
Now the most popular "country" music artist since Garth Brooks, Shania
Twain has melded AOR and country-pop - and become a commercial juggernaut
in the process. The first artist to
bridge the gap between country music and MTV, they say. Tickets cost
€59.50-€65.
Witnness
July 12-13, Punchestown Racecourse,
Co Kildare, 0818-719300, www.witnness.com
The Witnness festival has become a big hitter on the European outdoor festival circuit, thanks to the sheer quality of its acts. This year's headliners, Coldplay, will be making their only Irish appearance this year. Beefing up the bill are the Manic Street Preachers, Billy Corgan's new band, Zwan, the fabulous new British act The Streets, Supergrass, Underworld and, from the US, The Flaming Lips and The Polyphonic Spree. A one-day ticket costs €59.50, a two-day €109.50. If you're booking from Northern Ireland, call 0870-2434455. The promoters suggest you bring clothing for hot, cold, wet and dry weather.
R.E.M.
July 16-17, Marlay Park, Dublin
1890-925100, www.ticketmaster.ie
Because of the huge demand for the first show, the band had to add another night for their first Irish shows since they played Lansdowne Road in 1999. The band haven't been troubling the top reaches of the charts for a while, but they still have plenty of great albums to dip into. Tickets cost €52.50
August
Robbie Williams
August 9, Phoenix Park, Dublin
1890-925100, www.ticketmaster.ie
Going where even U2 feared to tread, the former dancer from Take That is staging a hugely ambitious, 120,000-ticket concert. When the tickets went on sale, in November, 90,000 were snapped up in the first 24 hours, breaking all known Irish box-office records. There are still a few left, at €59.50, but you'd want to
hurry.
Metallica & Linkin Park
August 20, RDS Arena, Dublin
1890-925100, www.ticketmaster.ie
The big metal day out. Both bands have huge Irish fan bases. Once one of the world's biggest bands, Metallica have had their share of problems of late - there have been personnel changes and the band threatened to sue fans for downloading their songs for free from the Napster website, a move that lost them much support. But they're still a formidable live proposition. Linkin Park are the newish kids on the block, their latest album topping the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. Black dress essential. Tickets cost €59.50-€63.
Slane 2003
August 23, Co Meath
1890-925100, www.ticketmaster.ie
A very strong and unusually cohesive line-up sees the Red Hot Chili Peppers headline this year's bash by the Boyne. On a career high with their album By The Way, they are supported by the Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, P. J. Harvey and Feeder, among others. No moshing or crowd-surfing, says the promoters. No moshing to the Foo Fighters? We'll see about that. The show is sold out.
September
Rolling Stones
September 9 & 11, Point, Dublin
1890-925100, www.ticketmaster.ie
The Stones, part of rock's aristocracy, are on a massive world tour to back up the Forty Licks greatest-hits album, released last year. The depth and quality of their material are marvels in themselves. Still a great live band, they're favouring older material over newer stuff on this global jaunt, thankfully. The shows are sold out.
Classical, Jazz
& Blues
June
Music in Great Irish Houses
June 5-14, Cos Dublin, Wicklow & Offaly
01-2782506, www.musicirishhouses.com
Gorgeous music in gorgeous places is what this festival is all about. This year's theme, chosen by artistic director Hugh Tinney, is Ireland, Youth and Passion, so there'll be plenty of fireworks as some of the country's finest young musicians join distinguished visitors from abroad in a series of delectable programmes. Beethoven at Kilruddery, Haydn at Birr Castle, Handel at Castletown House . . .
West Clare Jazz School
June 21-27, Kilbaha, Co Clare
065-9058229
Laid-back and late-night music it may be, but there's jazz from morning to night at West Clare Jazz School, with masterclasses from 10am to 12.30pm and from 2.30pm to 4.30pm each day. Tutors are Louis Stewart and Heiner Franz, guitar; Myles Drennan, piano; Stephen Keogh, drums; Michael Coady, double bass; Kevin Dean, trumpet; Dorothy Murphy, voice, and Brendan Doyle, saxophone. Jazz being jazz, expect plenty of late-night action as well, in the hostelries around congenial Kilbaha.
West Cork Chamber Music Festival
June 28-July 6, Bantry, Co Cork
027-52788, www.westcorkmusic.ie
If festivals were football, this one would be the equivalent of . . . what? Real Madrid, maybe? The volume of music on offer is jaw-dropping, with masterclasses at 10am daily, coffee concerts at noon and more masterclasses after lunch - and then the day really gets going, with concerts at 4.30pm, 8pm and 10.30pm. Add a spectacular location, top-drawer guest artists, a literary festival and a series of recitals by young musicians and you begin to get the picture. Seriously classy programming is what gives the Bantry House festival its edge, however. This year it focuses on composers Górecki and Schnittke, with the latter's widow, Irina, playing four of his works, two of them written for her. As for the rest, don't get me started: Penderecki, Bartók, Mozart, Ligeti, Smetana, Beethoven, Shostakovich and Schumann - and that's just to start with.
July
Anna Livia Fringe Festival
July 6-13, Dublin
www.operaannalivia.com
The main Anna Livia festival having fallen victim to funding cuts this year, it's good to see the fringe festival carrying the banner, with recitals at Bank of Ireland Arts Centre and a series of three one-act operas at the National Concert Hall. The latter offer a rare opportunity, too, for Irish opera fans to catch William Walton's light-hearted "extravaganza" The Bear, Vaughan Williams's evocative, elegiac Riders To The Sea and Wolf-Ferrari's light-as-a-feather two-hander Susanna's Secret.
Killaloe Music Festival
July 23-27, Co Clare
061-202620, www.icorch.com
Harmonic treats in idyllic surroundings are promised when the Irish Chamber Orchestra takes to St Flannan's Cathedral under the baton of Nicholas McGegan for its annual festival. Highlights include a brace of late-evening candlelight concerts, which feature the Clare Quartet playing Mozart, and a piano sonata from the winner of the Brennan Prize at this year's AXA Dublin International Piano Competition, currently in progress at the RDS. A trad night features Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill, and, to top it all, mezzo-soprano Ann Murray teams up with the orchestra for the closing concert for a programme of Handel, Wagner and a piece commissioned from Deirdre Gribbin.
August
International Bluegrass Festival 2003
August 21-24, Dunmore East,
Co Waterford, 051-383133, bluegrass@ eircom.net, www.waterford-dunmore.com
Fantastic fiddlers don't just come dressed in classical garb, as regular visitors to this finger-pickin' festival know only too well. Anarchic acts to look forward to include the Hickory Project, which sees US mandolin champion Anthony Hannigan and Florida fiddler Sue Cunningham team up with a fistful of first-rate musicians and vocalists, and White Lightning, purveyors of progressive bluegrass from Liverpool.
Compiled by Rosita Boland, Brian Boyd and Arminta Wallace
