Bullying in Ireland

Published: 4th December, 2012 - http://thecity.ie/2012/12/04/bullying-in-ireland/

Bullying is a very topical issue in Ireland, especially following the recent Children's Referendum. Do the people of Dublin feel the issue of bullying is being tackled properly in this country?


We hear from people on the streets about how we can best tackle the issue of bullying as well as discussing the role parents and schools need to play if we are to stamp it out for good.

Little Museum Gives Dubliners A Taste Of The Rare 'Aul Times

Published: 9th November, 2012 - http://thecity.ie/2012/11/09/little-museum-gives-dubliners-taste-of-the-rare-aul-times/

Some of the items on display in The Little Museum

Where else in the capital city can you be in the same room as objects such as Nelson's Pillar, War of Independence Documents and a 'I've Been To Switzer's Santa' badge? The Little Museum of Dublin, of course. Just over a year old, this new museum – housed inside a beautiful Georgian building on St Stephens Green – brings the rare 'aul times to life.


Spread over just two rooms, the Little Museum's tall walls are packed floor to ceiling with artefacts telling stories of Dublin in the last century. Displayed chronologically, the artefacts are an eclectic mix of specialist and general interest objects: from original documents, photos and publications to furniture, food stuff and quirky domestic items.


Some objects give you a glimpse of domestic Dublin – harking back to a time of Gold Flake cigarettes, elephant rides at Dublin Zoo and when Aer Lingus offered a return ''Rolls Royce powered'' service across the pond for just £12. While other memorabilia – recalling famous visitors to the capital, such as Pope John Paul II to John F Kennedy – appears alongside belongings of legendary Dubliner James Joyce and politician and former President Eamonn De Valera.


There are also political artefacts – like Bertie Ahern's first election poster, and a dated Green Party poster from the 80s which claims ''Others promise the moon, we only guarantee the earth''. The Little Museum of Dublin even has a couple of items from our not so distant past – a membership card from Renards Nightclub or a Ryanair 'business class'  sticker will raise a few smirks.


Meanwhile, downstairs there is a rotating exhibition space – which currently houses an excellent display on the life of Dubliner Bram Stoker. One gripe visitors may have when visiting the museum is there is scarce contextual information provided on the collection. Additionally, space constraints mean that some artefacts are placed very high up on the building’s tall walls, making them difficult to see up close without a ladder or a stiff neck.


Fortunately, tours are run regularly by the staff and are included in the admission price. Experiencing the museum through a tour is definitely preferable; as discovering the story behind the objects on display can really bring the collection to life. Visiting this place won’t break the bank either – tickets are surprisingly affordable. On the door tickets are priced at €5, where concessions are available for students and senior citizens. Additionally, children under 10 and jobseekers can visit free.


As an added bonus – if you visit the museum on a Wednesday between 1pm and 6pm – admission to the museum is free to all, courtesy of Johnston Mooney and O'Brien. At just two rooms – the Little Museum of Dublin certainly deserves its title, but regardless of its small size, this eccentric and unique mix of Irish memories is well worth a visit.

After all, great nostalgia comes in small doses.


All Pictures courtesy of the Little Museum of Dublin
http://www.littlemuseum.ie/

Bram Stoker Festival: Spraoi theatre group recreates Stoker's Dublin

Published: 30th October, 2012 - http://thecity.ie/2012/10/30/the-bram-stoker-festival-spraoi-theatre-group-recreates-stokers-dublin/


Dubliners were in for a treat this past weekend as the first Bram Stoker festival took place in the city. The festival provided, mostly, free, but, ticketed events celebrating the life and writings of one of our most beloved and well-known authors, Bram Stoker. The Spraoi theatre group recreated Stoker's world as seen in his most well-known book, Dracula. Dublin Castle was transformed for the night and filled with terrifying looking creatures of the night and Stoker himself warned the crowd of the dangers of the world we had just stepped into from atop his wooden podium.


This event took place on Sunday, 28th October, 2012

Keywest - The Button Factory, Dublin

Published: 2nd December, 2012 - http://www.meg.ie/keywest-at-the-button-factory/

Keywest

From busking on the streets of Dublin and Galway to headlining a sold-out show at The Button Factory last night, Irish/UK band, Keywest are moving up.


The Dublin-based quintet, led by singer, Andrew Kavanagh, first began their foray in music by busking on the streets of Galway (and later, Dublin) until one day their golden ticket approached them in the form of Grammy nominated engineer, Mark Needham. In true fairy-tale style, the band set out across the pond in 2011 to record their album, The Message (it peaked at #15 in the Irish charts). Since then, they've played numerous gigs around Ireland and recently went back to their roots busking on Grafton Street to promote their Button Factory gig.


This promotion busk seemed to have proven very successful with the show selling-out. The largely female-led crowd relished in the band's crowd interaction with lead singer, Kav, take up-close videos of himself and the band with various cameras being waved from the audience.


Keywest are pop music, a la The Script, there's no denying it and there's no denying there's an audience for it. At one point they transitioned into a group drumming instrumental, showing the crowd further reaches of their musical abilities. The band have chosen to remain 'independent' artists in Ireland, but, are currently in negotiations in the UK and US. The only way is up for these five young musicians.

Heathers - The Academy, Dublin

Published: 30th September 2012 - http://www.meg.ie/heathers-at-the-academy/

29 September 2012

Having just released their second album, Kingdom, in early September,Heathers duo, Louise and Ellie MacNamara, embarked on a 7-date tour (their first tour dates in well-over a year) around Ireland to promote it. The girls only recently signed a global deal with Universal Music Publishing UK, so, the year ahead is certainly set to be a big one for this Dublin-based duo.


Last night they played a packed-out venue in The Academy, Dublin with great support from 4-piece band Raglans and dance music duo, Last Days Of 1984. Unsurprisingly enough, their set mostly consisted of their new album material including, a few personal favourites, Waiter, Find A Way, and Listen Don’t Speak. The new material is most definitely a step above their first album (they worked with White Lies producer, Max Dingle) and sees the girls experiment away from guitar based songs and focus more on an electronic, matured sound. Happily their vocal harmonies remain as flawless and brilliant as ever. Heathers are one of a handful of bands who manage to sound exactly as they do on their album tracks as they do in a live concert setting.


It would be a terrible injustice not to mention their terrific cover of Lana Del Rey’s Summertime Sadness which had the crowd singing along in no time. They also managed to slip in some old favourites from debut album Here Not There: Reading In The Dark, Slices Of Palama and, of course, fan favourite and the Discover Ireland soundtrack, Remember When.


The Heathers continue their tour of Ireland with a gig in Cyprus Avenue, Cork on 04 October 2012.

The Maine - The Academy 2, Dublin

11th January, 2012


Arizona-based band The Maine brought their catchy form of pop rock to the Academy 2 on Wednesday night. It was their second outing in Dublin having played in the Academy main room just last March when they were joined by Never Shout Never. The band, which formed back in 2007, have just released their third album Pioneer and are currently on a promotional tour around the UK and Ireland.

Having really only ever listened to their 2010 album, Black & White, I was pleasantly surprised to see that their set-list not only consisted of material from the new album but that it also featured a mixture of songs from all three albums.

It's safe to say that the band have a legion of fans who will no doubt buy a ticket any time the quintet announce a date in Dublin. I can also confirm that this legion of fans were out in full in the Academy 2 last night jumping around and mimicking lead singer, John O' Callaghan's every movement. The band created a great atmosphere, which was definitely helped by the small space of the Academy 2.

Any fans who arrived late to the concert were in for a treat as the band decided to play an 'extra-long' due to the fact that they had 'a lot of extra-time left'. The band's interaction with the crowd was fantastic and lead singer, John O', even managed to charm one of the crowd into hosting an after-party.

Favourites from the night were without a doubt the band's rendition of Inside Of You (which the band performed at a much slower tempo than the album version), Into Your Arms and I Must Be Dreaming which featured some wonderful of 'oohs' and 'ahs' from the crowd. Overall, I was very impressed with the band's stage presence and I left the gig knowing that I'd find myself downloading the band's new album as soon as I got home.

A few photos to go with the last post...

Ellie Goulding - Tripod, Dublin

Published: 3rd December, 2010 - http://www.meg.ie/ellie-goulding-review/

Ellie Goulding has the world at her feet. A 2010 Brit-award winner, she recently returned from the USA after being asked to perform at the prestigious Roxy theatre in LA and the Hiro ballroom in New York. It was the first time Ellie had ever performed in the US and both shows were packed to the brim with fans and curious music lovers alike.

Ellie's gig in Tripod on Tuesday this week was not, in fact, her first time playing in Ireland. As a matter of fact she had just played to a sold out show in Belfast the previous week, an intimate hotel gig in the Radisson Galway the previous night, a sold-out concert in The Academy last March and supported the mighty Passion Pit in the Olympia the night before her own gig in the Academy. Not bad for a 24 year old from a small town in Hereford whose own mother suggested she should not follow the path of music.

Irish newcomer Niamh Danger, musically known as The Danger Is, opened the show with an electric set buzzing with energy and most certainly did what support acts are supposed to do and warmed the crowd up to a temperature just right for Ms. Goulding's stage arrival.

Opening the show with Under The Sheets Goulding emerged from the back of the stage demonstrating her musical versatility by performing a pounding, and ridiculously catchy, drum solo which left me, and I'm sure many others, wishing they could play the drums too… It's evident from the second she steps on stage that drumming is a real passion for Ellie and the crowd couldn't get enough of it, especially the drum solo at the end of Salt Skin which was met by squeals and shouts of delight.

Ellie's stage presence is certainly something that could, and should, put many veteran performers to shame and have new artists upping their game to try to compete with her. The middle of the gig consisted of a warmly welcomed acoustic set during which Ellie showcased her skilful guitar playing and proved her vocals could stand the test even without a live band behind her.

Her rendition of the Elton John's' Your Song is something that could make even the coldest of hearts feel emotion. Showing her own love for the song by having it as the second last song on her set, only losing out to the much-loved and always crowd-pleasing Starry Eyed.

Speaking to me about the song the previous day Ellie revealed that it was in fact UK retail giant, John Lewis (who feature Ellie's version of the song in their Christmas ad campaign) who chose the song and carefully selected Ellie as the voice behind the campaign.

Ellie also made no hesitation in proclaiming that Human (which is heavily rumoured to be her next single) is without a doubt her favourite from her latest album Bright Lights.

The whole concert definitely went down a treat with the music hungry crowd and Ellie and the band finished their second full tour on what they described as being ''...definitely one of our favourite nights of the entire tour.''

The only critique I have about the night was the fact that unfortunately none of the new songs from Bright Lights (which essentially is a re-release of her first album Lights with the added bonus of six new songs) were included in the set-list, bar Human and of course Your Song. However, this small oversight only just fuels my yearning to see her live again.

By: Lynne Swan