Luke McManus Irish Director Makes a Doc of Dublin and Life on Its North Circular Road By Brad Balfour Having been to Dublin before, my image of the city is filtered through one idealized version or another. I’ve met buskers on Grafton Street and seen hipster haunts in Temple Bar. I’ve traipsed over to the … Continue reading
The Academic Getting Intellectual with The Academic by Kayla Marra From Mullingar, Ireland, The Academic are an indie-rock quartet. The band was formed in 2013 when brothers Matthew and Stephen Murtagh and Craig Fitzgerald and Dean Gavin met at school in Rochfortbridge, a small county in Westmeath, Ireland. Over the new two years, the group … Continue reading
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERAN (2022) Starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan, Pat Shortt, Jon Kenny, Bríd Ní Neachtain, Lasairfhíona, Gary Lydon, Aaron Monaghan, Sheila Flitton and David Pearse. Screenplay by Martin McDonagh. Directed by Martin McDonagh. Distributed by Searchlight Pictures. 114 minutes. Rated R. Screened at the 2022 Philadelphia Film Festival. A … Continue reading
Clarissa Riddles/Purcell Transformed by Irish Sean Nos Singing, Musician Redefines Her Style For All Her Audiences by Brad Balfour Sometimes, a musician comes across the computer screen which produces a profile not just because of the music but the backstory, too. That was certainly the case for singer/songwriter Clarissa Riddles (née Purcell) who not only … Continue reading
WILD MOUNTAIN THYME (2020) Starring Emily Blunt, Jamie Dornan, Christopher Walken, Jon Hamm, Jon Tenney, Danielle Ryan, Dearbhla Molloy, Lydia McGuinness, Abigail Coburn, Darragh O’Kane, Tommy O’Neill, Clare Barrett, Don Wycherley, Anna Weekes, Barry McGovern, Michael McCormack, Rosemary Muldoon and Paige Bestington. Screenplay by John Patrick Shanley. Directed by John Patrick Shanley. Distributed by Bleecker … Continue reading
James Frecheville Plays Hardened Fighter Feeney Getting Revenge in Black 47 by Brad Balfour In the Irish film Black 47, times are not good. Thanks to Draconian laws imposed on the Irish people by their genocidal British occupiers, the potato famine that had hit Ireland in the mid-1840s depleted the starving populace of their main … Continue reading
The Irish Repertory Theatre Thrives on a String of Hits as it Approaches Another Gala Year by Brad Balfour When Ciaran O’Reilly and Charlotte Moore founded the Irish Repertory Theatre, they opened in September 1988 with Sean O’Casey’s The Plough and the Stars. From that point on, it became a nexus for great play craft … Continue reading
Altan Irish Ensemble Makes for Thoroughly Modern Traditionalists by Brad Balfour When the Irish group Altan visited New York during St. Patrick’s week, it transformed the City Winery in lower Manhattan into a pastoral scene. It was rich with lilting melodies, harmonious voices and the engaging sonics of various traditional instruments such as violin, accordion, … Continue reading
Celtic Woman Quartet Brings Their Sounds for A Seasonal Celebration by Brad Balfour If any group has become synonymous with popular music from Ireland, it’s Celtic Woman. Though named in the singular, this quartet has been commanding stages internationally for nearly last two decades. Once again, they are coming to the tri-state area on the … Continue reading
A Great and Emotional Loss in The Death of Singer Dolores O’Riordan by Brad Balfour The late singer Dolores Mary Eileen O’Riordan was the kind of rock ‘n’ roll babe that we all were inspired by: one who was sensitive and yet powerful, compelling and compassionate, sexy but not frail. In the song “Zombie,” … Continue reading
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