Something For The Weekend: Iarla Ó Lionáird's cultural picks

Vocalist and producer Iarla O Lionáird is a singer in the traditional sean-nós style, celebrated for his work with Afro Celt Sound System the Irish-American supergroup The Gloaming - he has also recorded several solo albums for Real World Records.

Iarla is one of the contributors to a new TG4 documentary, Dennis Cahill - Litir ó do Chara on his fellow Gloaming band-member, the late guitarist Dennis Cahill.

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FILM

It might nor surprise people that Colm Bairéad's debut feature An Cailín Ciúin was a favourite of mine this year. Such a moving, poignant and beautifully poised piece of work. The stillness of Catherine Clinch’s performance was unforgettable as was the graceful and sophisticated masterclass performance of Carrie Crowley. I held on to my emotions as long as I could, until I could not. Beautiful to see drama express itself in the pure language of film.

I missed it when it came out but recently I got to see Captain Fantastic starring Viggo Mortensen. No it’s not another silly CGI splurge (though the title might suggest otherwise), rather a deeply insightful critique of modern life, and not just in the USA. One of the most satisfying films I have seen in a long time.

MUSIC

These are some of the favourite records I’ve enjoyed in the last year. Theyr’e all pretty laid back which is typical of what I like to listen to. These recordings are inventive and beautiful to experience. Some are complicated, some deceptively simple but they are all gems...

Collected Pieces 2015-2020, Mary Lattimore

Crépuscule I & II, Noriko Tujiko

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Burrenscapes, Oscar Mascarenas

I Trawl the Megahertz, Prefab Sprout/Paddy McAloon

Notes With Attachments, Pino Palladino & Blake Mills

Vulture Prince, Arooj Aftab

BOOK

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell - O’Farrell writes beautifully, the mystery and paucity of information surrounding the wife and family of William Shakespeare provides the background to this novel. Every sentence is so carefully and skillfully crafted that reading it was akin to listening to music. And it clenches the heart at points so profoundly as to shock and knock you. It was heartbreaking. I didn’t want it to finish. I am now midway into her latest novel, The Marriage Portrait.

THEATRE

Not living near a big city I rarely go to the theatre, to my shame. Last summer I did see Rough Magic and Kilkenny Arts Festival’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with my kids in Castle Park at night. It was spellbinding. The last play I saw in Dublin was David Ireland’s Cypress Avenue at the Peacock. I’d go anywhere to see Stephen Rea – a master at work.

J.K Simonds' and Sissy Spacek’s series, Night Sky on Amazon, now sadly cancelled, was a beautiful sci-fi drama. Superbly acted, and with a feature film look and script - this series was beautiful.

ART

A recent exhibition I attended was at the National Design & Craft Gallery in Kilkenny. I am always fascinated by other art forms, the magic of how the physical and imagined coalesce into something beautiful. This exhibition is stunning in its quality and diversity. Works that stood out for me were by Liselott Olofsson, Deirdre McLoughlin, Grainne Watts, and Mark Campden. It runs until May.

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PODCAST

I find that I am listening three podcasts in particular most often. The first being: Broken Record with Rick Rubin- it affords the chance to hear some of my musical heroes speak to someone they trust implicitly and the resulting conversations are almost always interesting to me. Another podcast I find myself listening to often is The Ezra Klein Show. No other podcast provides the same quality of insight and discussion on topics of interest to me in the contemporary world. A long drive can be a rewarding educational experience. And my third choice would have to be listening to interviews conducted by the wonderful David Remnick of the New Yorker Radio Hour podcast. Excellent.

TECH

I am an over user of the Flipboard news aggregating app. You can choose your magazines and online reading content and tailor it to your personal interests. I use my iPad mini for this purpose and its great.

THE NEXT BIG THING...

Dennis Cahill - Litir ó do Chara, TG4, Sunday March 5th at 9.30pm.

Something For The Weekend: Iarla Ó Lionáird's cultural picks

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