Public libraries seek new role for digital era

More than 200 participants from 27 countries met to think about the future of public libraries in Europe. They regard the librarian as a guide in the internet world and no longer as a book collector. The European Congress on e-inclusion (ECEI10) - “Delivering digital Europe in public libraries" - organised by the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU, took place in Brussels on 20-21 September. The conference was organised within the framework of the European Year of Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion and with specific reference to the new ‘Digital Agenda for Europe’ policy which sets out to respond to the challenges and opportunities brought about by an increasingly digital age including the social, cultural and economic benefits they bring. The event looked at a range of areas including the opportunities public libraries have to bridge the digital divide, the role they can play to increase accessibility of services and information as well as their role in supporting digital literacy programmes. Among the conclusions reached were that the core added value of the public library and librarian in the future will be in a role as a guide who makes users familiar with the internet and with the access to new skills it offers. Delegates also argued in favour of libraries entering into external knowledge and skills partnerships.
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Seamus Heaney Centre Poetry Prize

Cheshire-born poet Sian Hughes has been announced as the inaugural winner of the Seamus Heaney Centre Poetry Prize for Best First Collection. Speaking about her collection of poetry, The Missing, published by Salt, Hughes says “It's hard to believe that writing down these very small texts and trying to make them as clear and honest as I can could somehow turn me into a real poet”. The judges Ciaran Carson, Michael Longley and Sinead Morrissey “singled out her work for particular praise from a competitive shortlist of new British and Irish poets”. Rosemary Kelly, chairman of the Arts Council, commented: “Sian Hughes is a worthy first winner of the prize and we are looking forward to seeing more from her in the future”. Hughes was announced as the winner at a reception, hosted by the Arts Council, to mark the opening of the British and Irish Contemporary Poetry Conference, which will take place at Queen’s University from September 15-17. The conference, now in its second session, is being hosted by the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen’s University Belfast for the first time, drawing together poets and academics from across the UK and Ireland. It will feature poetry readings from renowned poets such as Christopher Ricks, Michael Schmidt, Christopher Reid, Peter McDonald, Carol Rumens and Gerald Dawe. Anyone who is interested can contact Gerry Hellawell at Queen’s University on 028 9097 1070 or email g.hellawell@qub.ac.uk. More info…

Annabel Lyon's top 10 books on the Ancient World

Award winning Canadian writer Annabel Lyon has chosen her top 10 books concerning the ancient world that she says “subvert, surprise, challenge and please”. The books that make her list are An Imaginary Life by David Malouf (1978), Dragonflies by Grant Buday (2008), Fire From Heaven by Mary Renault (1969), I, Claudius by Robert Graves (1934), The Moon in the Cloud by Rosemary Harris (1968), Plato’s Symposium (385-380BC), Aeschylus’s Oresteia, translated by Ted Hughes (1998), If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho, translated by Anne Carson (2002), The Gathering Night by Margaret Elphinstone (2009) and The Centaur by John Updike (1963). More info…

collins.harper.lane at The Courthouse Gallery, Ennistymon

collins.harper.lane at The Courthouse Gallery, Ennistymon
16th October – 11th November. Official opening Saturday 16th October at 5pm by New York artist Doris Staal.

The upcoming exhibition ‘collins.harper.lane’ will be launched at the Courthouse Gallery, Ennistymon on Saturday 16th of October at 5 pm by Doris Staal. Artists John Collins, Charles Harper and John Lane will present a selection of brand new works with the show running until November 11th 2010. Travelling from America’s east coast to officially open proceedings is New York artist Doris Staal who has spent almost every summer sketching and painting along Ireland’s western coastline and is honoured to return in this official capacity to open the show. Doris Staal is a lecturer at the National Academy & School of Fine Arts, New York City, and her work is included in the print collection of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, amongst others.

John Collins is a Limerick artist whose works are instantly recognisable as his composition continues to be dominated chiefly in red and white settings. Primarily, a self taught artist, he also studied art at LSAD and his works are part of private collections in Ireland, England, France and the United States. Charles Harper is retired Head of Fine Art at LSAD and while lecturing at the Limerick campus was a founding member of Aosdana. He was the initiating dynamism behind ev+a, Limerick‘s annual international arts exhibition, and is a council member of the Royal Hibernian academy and a member of Limerick Printmakers. John Lane is a local artist, born and raised in Ennis Co Clare. After studying art in Limerick and Sligo John ended up homeless for a short spell, coming out of this stronger and more positive.

The Courthouse Gallery, Ennistymon, opening hours are:
Tuesday – Saturday from 12 – 5pm (June – Oct) and from 12 – 4pm (Nov – May) and the Gallery can also be contacted on 065 707 1630 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              065 707 1630      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or simply email: ennistymoncourthousegallery@gmail.com

Noel Hill & Tony Linnane - Dr Gilberts, Lady Gordon's & Farrell O'Gara

Clare musicians Noel Hill & Tony Linnane playing Dr Gilberts, Lady Gordon's and Farrell O'Gara. Posted on Youtube on the 3r March 2009 by k4hx1. More info...

Bushplant Live at Solfest 2009

Clare trad rock band Bushplant play the Drystone Stage at Solfest 2009 in Cumbria, UK. Bushplant host Bushfest, a celebration of 20 years together as a band, on Saturday 25th September at Johnno's, Doora. Video posted on Youtube on the 3rd of September 2009 by GerryDoyle1102. More info...

Medieval Irish Chancery Project - new Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters, c.1244–1509

The September issue of the Newsletter of the Irish Genealogical Research Society outlines the Irish Chancery Project. This project, which is funded by the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences, seeks to reconstruct the records of the medieval Irish chancery, which were destroyed by the explosion and fire at the Four Courts in 1922. In the absence of the original rolls of chancery, the project team is drawing on copies, antiquarian transcripts and calendars ranging in date from the 14th to the 19th centuries and surviving in repositories in Ireland, England and North America. The result will be a new Calendar of Irish Chancery Letters, c.1244–1509 (known as CIRCLE), which will be published on the web. The publication of CIRCLE in June 2011 will do much to revitalize late medieval Irish studies by providing both specialist researchers and the general public with ready access to an unparalleled source of information for the first time. The project’s ancillary publications seek to set the medieval Irish experience of colonialism in a wider comparative framework. To mark the launch of CIRCLE, a major international conference will be held at Trinity College, Dublin (16–18 June 2011) on the theme of ‘Empires and Bureaucracy in European History’.

Phoenix Sister Cities International Competition For Artists with Disabilities 2010

Competition Fact Sheet:
Eligibility: Persons 19 years of age and older with a disability residing in the State of Arizona or one of Phoenix’s nine sister cities: Calgary, Canada; Catania, Italy; Chengdu, China; Ennis, Ireland; Grenoble, France; Hermosillo, Mexico; Himeji, Japan; Ramat-Gan, Israel; and Taipei, Taiwan.
Type of Art: Two dimensional watercolors, pastels, pen and ink, charcoal, photography, mixed media, and computer-generated art.
Size: No larger than 24”x30” (60cm x 75cm, including matting).
Theme: One World,One Place,One Home
Entry Fee: $15 per entrant residing in Arizona; no fee for contestants residing in Phoenix Sister Cities.
Judging: A panel of judges will evaluate entries on the basis of theme interpretation, composition and originality.
Due Date: October 1, 2010. Although the official October 1, 2010 deadline for submitting entries is looming, art work that is received by Friday, October 29, 2010 will be accepted.
Prizes: $500 first place; $300 second place and $150 third place as well as plaques. A certificate of participation to all entrants.
Packing and Shipping: Art should be well-protected for shipment and shipped so that it reaches Phoenix by the contest due date. Please send art to: AICCD 4545 N. 36th St. Suite 125A Phoenix, AZ 85018
Awards Event: Friday evening November 5, 2010 in Phoenix.
Contact Person: Mary Jane Trunzo at mjtrunzo@mindspring.com
Click here for more info and application form…

Bobby Gardiner and Johnny McDonagh, 1982

Bobby Gardiner, Clare, melodeon, & Johnny McDonagh, Galway, bodhrán, playing the jig The Humours of Glendart and the reel The Swallow's Tail on RTE's SBB Ina Shuí programme on the 15th February 1982. Posted on Youtube on the 7th of February 2009 by k4hx1.

Ennis Musical Society recruiting for Oliver!

Ennis Musical Society is recruiting for cast and chorus for the March 2011 production of Oliver! with an Open Night for adults on Wednesday 22nd September at the Old Ground Hotel. Auditions will also take place for adult cast at 8pm on Thursday 7th October at the Holy Family School Hall, with auditions for boys and girls aged 8 plus on Sunday 10th October at the Holy Family School Hall between 2.30pm and 5.30pm. More info from Jonathan 0862116108 and www.ennismusicalsociety.com