Festival Preview

Wednesday 26 – Sunday 30 September
Welcome to a preview of the 3rd annual Ranelagh Arts Festival, which promises to be the best yet, with something for everyone in the community. Make a note of the festival dates and check the website from mid-August for updates on ticket availability and the full programme of events.

The flagship events of the 2007 festival include:

Celebrating Anthony Cronin: in conversation with Colm Tobin
Wednesday 26 September, Ranelagh Multi-denominational School at 8.00pm
Novelist, poet, biographer and chronicler of literary Dublin in the ’50s and ’60s, Anthony Cronin is the most protean of Irish men of letters and a resident of Ranelagh. Colm Tobin is the well-known Irish author of The Blackwater Lightship, South and The Master, which won the IMPAC literary award. The event will also feature a musical interlude by harpist Áine Ní Dhubhaill and singer Mary Stokes.

Abstract and Almost Art Exhibition
Thursday 27 – Sunday 30 September, Sandford Park School Hall
Abstract and Almost will feature paintings and sculptures taken from small, but unique, private collections. The exhibition includes Tony O’Malley, Sean Scully, John Noel Smith, Michael Warren, Cecil King, Brian Henderson and Colin Harrison. More than 30 artists will be included, with works collected from the early ’60s to the present day, in a variety of mediums.

Old time Céilí
Friday 28 September, Mount Pleasant Tennis Club at 9.00pm
Ciarán Tourish and the Ranelagh Céilí and Dance Band will be accompanied by some very special guests, for an evening of traditional music and old time céilí dancing.

Green Jambalaya: Rock ’n Roll Ball
Saturday 29 September, Mount Pleasant Tennis Club at 9.00pm
John Keogh, with his Rock ’n Roll Orchestra, featuring brass and rhythm sections and backing vocalists, will take the revellers on a musical voyage through the history of rock ’n roll, at the festival’s annual rock ball.

Vivaldi’s Gloria by the Cullenswood Singers
Also featuring: The Dublin Viols
Saturday 29 September, Sandford Parish Church at 8.00pm
The Cullenswood Singers is a local choir, formed in 1997 by Ranelagh musician Liobhán Boylan. The choir has performed in various venues, including St. Ann's Church in Dawson Street, the Fleadh Ceoil in Ballina, the Sligo Choral Festival and the Ranelagh Arts Festivals 2005 and 2006.

THE DUBLIN VIOLS (Andrew Robinson, Director, Jenny Robinson, Laoise O’Brien, Lucy Robinson, Anne Robinson, Honor O Brolchain) was formed in 1980 as an offshoot of The Consort of St Sepulchre, which specialised in Medieval and Renaissance music. Both groups performed all over Ireland and Europe and recorded for BBC and RTE radio and television. The Consort of St. Sepulchre also recorded for EMI and The Dublin Viols with Dead Can Dance.

Highlights of the festival include:

Oirialla agus Éire
Wednesday 26 September, Scoil Bhride, Ranelagh at 8.00pm
Amhráin Ghaeilge Oirialla ó Phádraigín Ní Uallacháin, amhráin Bhéarla Chuige Uladh ó Len Graham, ceol traidisiúnta ó Chaoimhín Ó Raghallaigh (fidil) agus Mick O’Brien (píob).
Oriel and Ireland
Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin, author of the major study of Oriel songs in Irish, A Hidden Ireland, brings this tradition to life again. Len Graham sings Ulster songs in English and duets with Pádraigín. Mick O’Brien (uilleann pipes) and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh (fiddle), also play tunes.

Rock in the Park and Battle of the Bands
Saturday 29 September, Ranelagh Gardens at 1.30pm
Local teenage bands will compete on an open-air stage, for top prizes in the Battle of the Bands. This will be the biggest event of its kind on the southside of Dublin, providing a fantastic platform for local teenage talent. The event will also feature rockabilly kingpins The Mosquitos.

Cinemobile
Saturday 29 September, Sandford Park School car-park
Once again, the festival brings the silver screen to Ranelagh, with movies for all age-groups.

Open Day
Sunday 30 September, Ranelagh Gardens at 2.00pm
The Open Day will begin with a parade from Scoil Bhride to Ranelagh Gardens, by children from four National Schools, headed by The Mad Hatters. The event will also feature Conor Lambert’s Puppet Show, Capuara, the Independent Theatre Workshop, the Dance Theatre of Ireland, children's traditional games, clowns, face painters and much, much more. This is a day not to be missed.

The Dillon Garden — A world-class Ranelagh treasure
Sunday 30 September, Dillon Garden, Sandford Road from 2-6pm
Once again, Helen will open her world-famous garden and house as part of the festival. Within a walled rectangular garden, typical of Dublin’s Georgian townhouses, Helen Dillon has spent the last 35 years creating one of the most beautiful town gardens in Ireland. A not-to-be missed experience!

Bockety: Pub Theatre
Bockety will be performed in several local pubs, on all five days of the festival
This one-man show is based on the novel Bockety, by Desmond Ellis, which was launched at the Ranleagh Arts Festival 2006. It is the story of a boy who grew up in Dublin in the 1940s and ’50s in Ranelagh. The boy romps through the first 13 years of his childhood like a bockety bicycle that won’t quite go where it’s steered.

Other festival events include:

- Historical walks and talks
- A photographic exhibition: Ranelagh Then and Now
- An evening of theatre, featuring the Ranelagh Players
- Chinese Karaoke
- Poetry Speakeasy
- The Festival Fringe will feature the Fanzini Brothers, a photographic installation on the Triangle, a group show of local artists and much, much more.

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Call 085 743 7212 or email info@ranelagharts.org for further information and booking. The programme of events are subject to change.

It you want to get involved or having something to offer at this year's event,
please call or email at the details above.