Things to do: Discover the likeness between lakes and lungs, meet the everyman prisoner, get lost in an ambient folksong and witness “white rage” on the silver screen

Our Picks

Our recommendations – no sponsored content, or adverts, just stuff we like.

What We’re Made Of

In June 2023, an audience of one hundred and fifty people were invited to Mountjoy Prison by senator Lynn Ruane and artist Grace Dyas. Among those on the list were elected representatives, ministers – current and former – Garda representatives, journalists, artists, and high-level employees from the HSE and Tusla.

The audience of “decision makers” entered the prison to see a pair of performances, titled "Pedro’s Dream" and "Rehearsal for Reality", which was conceived of by approximately twenty inmates in the prison, and facilitated by Dyas and Ruane. The performances, all written and delivered under the collective name of ‘Pedro’, reflected on cycles of violence, social deprivation, punishment, remorse, forgiveness, and the dehumanising nature of prison.

Although the performance was a one-off, it has now been documented and expanded into a book: What We’re Made Of, which was released earlier this week.

An anthology-like piece of work, What We’re Made Of features the original production, which comprised spoken-word passages and dramatic scenes, both as scripts and short comic strips. But, to create a dialogue, it pairs new essays by ‘Pedro’ – the prison everyman – with attendees, like Tusla chairperson Pat Rabbitte, former HSE CEO Paul Reid, TDs Kathleen Funchion and James Lawless, and Irish Sun crime editor Stephen Breen.

It is a harrowing, informative and enlightening read, unburdened by metaphor and direct in its dissection of institutionalisation.

Copies are available over in Books Upstairs. You can buy it online here, or if you move fast enough, there should still be a few up at the counter.

Fathom: Outstretched Arms

Whether you know it or not, if you have travelled to or spent any time in this city, the chances are high that you’ve encountered a work by sculptor Rachel Joynt. Be it the brass footprints by O’Connell’s Bridge, the vast "Perpetual Motion" sphere on the Naas Dual Carriageway, or the kerbstones in Temple Bar, which correspond to businesses (current and former) that were active in the area circa 1989, you’ve seen her work.

In fact, given that the Louvre gets roughly 20 to 22,000 visitors per day, while the Naas Dual Carriageway was already getting 40,000 daily users by the time Joynt’s sculpture was installed in 1996, it is possible that, in the past twenty-nine years, more people have seen her work than they have the Mona Lisa.

All of this is a very indirect way of saying, for the next few weeks, you won’t need to brave the Temple Bar crowds or drive a car to see her work. Her new solo show, "Fathom: Outstretched Arms" is opening in Solomon Fine Arts gallery on Balfe Street today.

"Fathom: Outstretched Arms" is the result of the artist’s “exploration of and intervention with” the Lough Hyne marine reserve in West Cork. Joynt studied the saltwater lake, its habitats, geology, and asymmetrical tidal cycle, and through sculpture draws parallels between it and the human respiratory system.

If you are thinking of dropping in, the show opens this evening, 29 May, and will continue until 21 June.

For more information, visit the exhibition webpage here.

Rory Sweeney is back

This morning producer Rory Sweeney made his return with a dreamy new single, "Entrance Places", which I have been playing on a loop while preparing this newsletter.

It has been just over a year since Sweeney came out with his hip hop mixtape, "Irish Hash Mafia", released under the moniker Carlos Danger, and featuring a cast of rappers, such as Curtisy, Ahmed with Love, EMBY and E the Artist. "Entrance Place" is a step in a new direction for Sweeney. Inspired by Irish folk tales and fairy folklore, here Sweeney elaborates on the more delicate ambient style he embraced through his collaborations with vocalist Pippa Molony, first on his debut album Trash Catalogue and then on Molony’s EP Hungry Ghost.

"Entrance Place" is a glimmering piece of work, with soft arpeggiated synthesisers, ringing bells and a departing melody played on an old, slightly out of tune piano, performed by Sweeney with composers RÓIS and Risteárd Ó hAodha. Hauntingly otherworldly vocals drift across the song for its almost six minute runtime, and delivered by singer-songwriter Saoirse Miller.

If you want to give it a spin, the single is available over on Bandcamp.

Pat Curran

The arts community was left shocked when it learned this week that painter Pat Curran’s family home was destroyed when a firebomb was thrown through the front window in what has since transpired to be a case of mistaken identity, according to the Gardaí.

Pat Curran, his wife Breda and son Luke were in the house at the time, and managed to escape, but tragically, they lost their dog Zach to the fire. Many of their belongings were also destroyed, as were most of Pat’s original paintings and materials.

Curran’s work is distinct among artists in the city currently, as he often paints on found materials, like old book covers and factory signs. Our contributor, Rae Bathgate was able to give us a glimpse of some of the now lost work in 2020, which looked back on his time spent living in Dolphin’s House, and which you can read here. One of Curran’s works featured on the cover of Dublin Inquirer #109.

Presently, the Curran family is without a home, and we wish them all the best as they rebuild their lives. If you can support their effort, they have set up a GoFundMePage here.

Whiteface in the IFI

Next Thursday, 5 June, the National College of Art and Design and the Irish Film Institute are joining up for a screening of South African artist and director Candice Breitz’s film, Whiteface.

Assembled from found footage and sound clips which Breitz has been archiving for several years, including political figures, news anchors, talk show hosts, and video bloggers, the film grapples with “the rising anxiety of white people” as they are faced with concepts like “white privilege”, “white fragility,” “white rage,” and “white guilt”.

Breitz, with bleached hair and zombie-like white eyes, theatrically acts out this archive of soundbites – featuring Bill Maher, Tucker Carlson, Robin DiAngelo and Rachel Dolezal among a cast of others – to look at the “constructed nature of whiteness” and “perpetuate white supremacy squarely within the genre of horror”.

Following the screening, she will also sit down for a Q&A session, and if you’re thinking of going, tickets are on sale here.

Noticeboard

Listings of events submitted by readers – you can submit yours for next week's newsletter, via this form.

Kilmainham to Thomas Street Project Active Travel Survey

If you travel or live near the Kilmainham to Thomas Street Active Travel route, Dublin City Council is carrying out a survey to find out about your experience here.

This study is a collaboration of DCC’s Active Travel Programme Office, the Trinity Centre for Transport Research, and the ADAPT Centre in UCD, and features as part of a broader “Data Insights for Active Travel” project.

For more information on the project, visit its webpage here.

Clontarf to City Centre Active Travel Survey

Dublin City Council is also conducting a survey for those using or living beside the Clontarf to City to City Centre Active Travel route.

If you have five minutes for this questionnaire, which is also part of the ‘Data Insights for Active Travel’ project, click on the link here.

Baldoyle Library reopens

On Monday, Fingal County Council reopened Baldoyle Library after substantial renovation works over the past months, including a suite of energy efficiency improvements, the installation of a heat pump and Solar PV panels.

Baldoyle’s My Open Library service has resumed, with patrons able to access services from 8am to 10pm, seven days a week. For more information, contact the library at baldoylelibrary@fingal.ie or call at 01 890 6793.

Ireland Said Yes Podcast Series

Comedian Shane Daniel Byrne celebrates ten years of marriage equality in 'Ireland Said Yes', a new podcast series, which looks at the decades-long fight for same sex marriage.

The show is available now on Spotify.

Auto-Correbt & Friends BYOB Comedy Show

One of Dublin’s longest running improv groups, Auto-Correbt is bringing its sketch comedy show to The Pearse Centre on Saturday, 1 June.

The performance is on at 20.00, and general admission is €12.00. Tickets are on sale here.

Tallaght Toastmasters

If you want to improve on your presentation or leadership skills in a friendly environment, the Tallaght Toastmasters is looking for new members. The first visit is free, and they are located at the St. Kevin’s Family Resource Centre on Treepark Road, Dublin 24.

For more information, give them a call at 0874160988. Or alternatively, check out their Facebook page here.

NCH Gamelan Ensemble End-of-Year concert

The National Concert Hall was gifted a Gamelan in 2014, and has since offered biweekly social sessions between September and May. Gamelan is a traditional Indonesian set of percussion instruments, played together by an orchestra. 

On Wednesday, 4 June the NCH Gamelan Ensemble will perform its End of Year concert. 

Tickets are free and are available here.

Please Share

If you know anyone who'd like to get this newsletter, please share it with them – and they can sign up for free via the button below.