A CURIOUS MIX OF BRITISH FOLK MUSIC AND AMERICAN POLITICS
By Dai Bando
Tommy Tiernan interviewed the late Manchán Magan multiple times, most notably on The Tommy Tiernan Show in March 2024, where Magan discussed his fight with a rare form of prostate cancer and his connection to the “other world”. They also collaborated on other projects, including the podcast “The Bog Shaman: Manchán on Moriarty,” which explores Irish folklore and the work of Patrick O’Moriarty
Oscar-nominated actor Stephen Rea was honoured with the Irish Academy Award for his Lifetime Achievement, and for his outstanding contribution to the Irish and international screen industry at the 21st Anniversary IFTA Awards Ceremony. Rea has been the winner of 3 IFTA Awards, with 9 overall nominations. This intimate documentary explores the development of his outlook through the actor’s life and work.
Stephen Rea: The Fire in Me Now follows Rea from where he grew up in north Belfast, to his family home north of Dublin, to London’s Maida Vale where he spent time as an actor and to his much loved Donegal.
The documentary film depicts intimate conversations with friends and collaborators of Rea’s, including actor Sinéad Cusack, director Neil Jordan and Civil Rights activist Eamon McCann.
Speaking about the documentary, Stephen Rea said: “I was initially reluctant to do the documentary in lots of ways because I am a deeply private person, and I’ve always believed that the work has to be bigger than your ego. But I did want to pay homage to the friendship and generosity of the collaborators I was lucky to find, like Nancy Meckler and Neil Jordan, who helped me personally and in my career. I am a proud North Belfast man, and I hope the film shows younger people in the business that no matter where you’re from, there’s not one set path to being an actor. It’s about being true to yourself.
The documentary showcases archive extracts from Stephen Rea’s most prolific performances over the course of more than fifty years which spans from his rarely seen student sketches at Queen’s University Belfast in the 1960s, to his collaborations in recent years with Vicky Featherstone, former Artistic Director of the Royal Court Theatre, London. Stephen Rea: The Fire in Me Now highlights his commanding presence on stage and screen.
The title The Fire in Me Now is a homage to the final lines of Krapp’s Last Tape, the documentary demonstrates that Stephen Rea’s enduring passion and commitment to theatre has remained steadfast as enters his seventh decade as a professional actor.
Stephen Rea: The Fire in Me Now airs on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player Thursday April 10, 10:15pm
Folk music group Lankum has won the RTÉ Choice Music Prize Irish Album of the Year for their album False Lankum.
Folk music group Lankum has won the RTÉ Choice Music Prize Irish Album of the Year for their album False Lankum.
The announcement was made by a former winner, Denise Chalia, at Vicar Street in Dublin tonight.
Hosted by Tracy Clifford, the event featured performances from eight of the ten nominated artists and was broadcast live on RTÉ 2FM.
The win caps a remarkable twelve months for Lankum, who previously won the Album Of The Year prize in 2019 for The Live Long Day. In February, False Lankum won the Best Folk Album prize at this RTÉ Irish Folk Awards; the record was also shortlisted for the UK’s Mercury Prize.
Chosen by a panel of 11 Irish music media professionals and industry experts, the band received an award, and a cheque for €10,000, provided by the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) and the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA).
Dance-pop singer Jazzy was named Irish Artist of the Year and Irish Breakthrough Artist of the Year at tonight’s event.
CMAT, Cian Ducrot, Hozier and Lankum were the other nominees in the artist of the year category.
The other nominees in the breakthrough category were John Francis Flynn, ØXN, The Scratch and 49th & Main.
The Classic Irish Album prize, for U2’s Achtung Baby, was presented by Dave Fanning, with Adam Clayton and The Edge accepting the award in a recorded message from Las Vegas, where the band have been in residency at state-of-the-art live venue The Sphere, performing Achtung Baby in its entirity.
Earlier, Cian Ducrot’s song Heaven was chosen as RTÉ Choice Music Prize Irish Song of The Year, as selected from a shortlist of ten by public vote on the RTÉ 2FM and Choice Music Prize websites.
Highlights of the Choice Music Prize event will be broadcast on RTÉ2 television next Thursday at 10.30pm.
Source: Lankum wins RTÉ Choice Music Prize Album of the Year
The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Hazel Chu, invites you to join her for ‘12 days of a Christmas Carol’. Featuring a number of well-known faces reading a different chapter of the Charles Dickens tale ‘A Christmas Carol’ every evening at 7pm, starting on December 13th and continuing right up until Christmas Eve. Tonight is musician, singer and composer, Lisa Hannigan. Please consider donating to The Mansion House Fuel Fund, which distributes cash grants through charitable societies including St. Vincent de Paul and Dublin Simon: https://dublin.ie/mhff
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