Join us this Sunday 11 June for our spectacular annual Poets’ Picnic – this year full of pleasure for all the senses: all the sights, sounds, and tastes of music, poetry, and food! This being Yeats’s 158th birthday year and the 100th anniversary of his Nobel Prize for Literature an extra special afternoon is planned.
2pm Studio
Poetry Reading with Terry McDonagh
3pm Tower
Music with Contempo String Quartet and Coole Music
4pm Garden
Poetry Picnic with Yeats Thoor Ballylee Society, you and your friends!
All events free but booking essential for the first two as places may be limited!
Terry McDonagh, poet and dramatist, facilitates in Europe, USA, Asia and Australia. He’s taught creative writing at Hamburg University and was Drama Director at Hamburg International School, and has published eleven poetry collections, letters, drama, prose and poetry for young people, most recently Two Notes for Home – published by Arlen House – September 2022. He returned to live in Cill Aodáin, County Mayo in 2019.
ConTempo Quartet is Ireland’s leading chamber music group with musician residencies at Music for Galway and RTÉ making them of the most exciting and vibrant ensembles performing today. Formed in 1995 in Bucharest, the string quartet was chosen as Galway Music Residency’s Ensemble in Residence in 2003 and continues to captivate audiences throughout the city and county with its astonishing range of repertoire in classical, contemporary, folk and traditional music. With a recored 14 internation prizes the quartet members were each awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Galway for service to Galway in the areas of music performance and education.
ConTempo will perform a selection of music by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Katharina Baker. They will be joined onstage by a number of ensembles from the youthful string enthusiasts at Coole Music with a selection of their chamber music repertoire.
For the 4pm Poetry picnic simply bring yourself, maybe a rug and a picnic and (if you like) join in the readings with your favourite Yeats poem!
All events free but booking essential as places are limited – and carpooling when possible is advised. To book the Poetry Reading call 091631436 or email: yeatsthoorballylee@gmail.com . Booking for the music concert with ConTempo is through Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.ie/…/contempo-countywide-gort…
