Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Pig Art and Dish for the Deise: Get Involved in the Waterford Festival of Food

Pig Art and Dish for the Deise are two great new competitions launched for the Waterford Festival of Food 2011. So if you are a wannabe chef or an artist bursting to get out this could be for you.

Pig Art wants you to make and decorate your very own one metre high porker to take part in the Festival's Pig Fair and Pig Parade with one little piggy chosen as the 2011 Festival Mascot.

Dish for the Deise will select one recipe devised by an 'at home' cook ,using local ingredients and with a distinctive Waterford flavour, to be prepared and served in the wonderful Nude Food café.

Entry requirements, entry forms and further details are available on the Festival website at http://www.welcomewaterford.com/FestivalofFood2011/Competitions/.

Happy competing: may the best swine and dine(r?!) win!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Minister of State Re-Opens Newly Renovated Library

Minister of State, Michael Finneran is in Lismore this morning reopening the town's newly renovated Carnegie Library which celebrates its centenary this year.

The Minister for Housing & Local Services at the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government also launched "Port Láirge Ag Léamh: A Four Year Reading Development Strategy 2011-2014 ".

Mr Donald Brady, former County Librarian, made a presentation to Deputy Finneran.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Helen Dillon: Confessions of a Plantswoman at Lismore Castle Arts

Lismore Castle Arts is delighted to bring Helen Dillon to Lismore for a very special lecture, where she will discuss many aspects of designing, creating and maintaining a personal and highly celebrated garden.

Helen Dillon is a world-renowned plantswoman, writer, lecturer and broadcaster. With her husband Val, she has created a garden in Dublin that is considered to be one of the gems of the horticultural world. This widely acclaimed garden is a mix of startling design and perfectly grown plants - many of them rare and unusual.

"Confessions of A Plantswoman" will take place on Thursday 24th February at 7.00pm. Tickets cost €10 (€8 Friends) - advance booking essential. Cheques should be made payable to ‘Lismore Estates’ For further information or to book a ticket to this event please contact Paul McAree on 058 54061 or email info@lismorecastlearts.ie. Early booking is recommended to avoid disappointment.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Immrama Table Quiz

The annual table quiz to raise funds for Immrama, Lismore's Travel Writing Festival, will take place this Friday 21st January. The quiz will be held at Ballyrafter House House. Questions start at 8.30pm.

RTE's The Way We Worked Looking for Participants

RTE is producing a history programme called "The Way We Worked." A similar series last year focused on men working in industries like fishing, mining, creameries, turf and sugar beat. This new series will focus on women’s work in factories, shops, offices and at home.

RTE wish to get in contact with women with rural backgrounds who might have worked in the following areas at some point in their lives:

-domestic: housekeepers and nannies
-factories
-drapery/grocery stores, postmistresses
-office work, civil service, telephone exchange
-laundries, cleaners
-working from home - knitting, lace, dressmaking, poultry, farming

Do you know of any interesting women in the local area who have stories to tell about their working lives? RTE would love to talk to them. If you have any suggestions please email meallafahey@lismoreheritage.ie and we will pass them along to the show's producers.

Friday, January 14, 2011

On Yer Bike: Lismore Cycling Holidays

A new company- Lismore Cycling Holidays -wants to help organise your cycling holiday to the Sunny South East. With dates, duration, routes and pace all dictated by you Lismore Cycling will help arrange the holiday of a lifetime.

If you have your holiday or day trip planned and all you are missing is the bike then Lismore Cycling Holidays is also the place for you; bike hire can be arranged for at daily or weekly rates.

Mealla Fahey of Lismore Heritage Centre describes Lismore Cycling Holidays as a great new initiative. "We welcome every venture that can enhance the experience of tourists visiting the area and any enterprise that brings more visitors to the region. We wish them the best of luck"

To find out more about Lismore Cycling Holidays visit their website http://www.cyclingholidays.ie/ or find them on Facebook.

TG4 Documentary: The Waterford and Lismore Railway

"Boithre Iarainn" is a six part series currently airing on TG4 on Sunday evenings. The documentary series chronicles the history of Ireland's railways. On Sunday 16th January the programme will feature the Waterford & Lismore Railway.

Described as "one of the most scenic routes in the country" the railway will be fondly remembered by many. Sunday's programme will feature stories from the War of Independence and Civil War era such as the blowing up of the Ballyvoile Viaduct and the Durrow Ambush. Archive photographs kindly supplied by Waterford County Museum will also be of great sentimental and historical interest to many viewers.

Sunday's episode may have been of special significance to the series producers; Nemeton Television- "the largest independent producer of television hours in Ireland"-is based in An Rinn Gaeltacht just outside Dungarvan.

"Boithre Iarainn" will be shown on TG4 on Sunday 16th January at 8.15p.m.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Waterford County Museum Lecture Series

The first County Museum Talk of 2011 will take place on Wednesday 19th January. Museum curator, William Fraher, will present "The Bad Times: The War of Independence/Civil War & The Big House in Co. Waterford."

William has carried out in depth research in this area and believes it is very interesting to look at the topic from an Anglo-Irish standpoint. It is certain to be a fascinating talk with new insights drawn from recently unearthed documents. "The Big House(s)"of the title include Mount Congreve, Curraghmore, Gardenmorris and Lismore Castle among others.

The talk is open to all and will be held in the Town Theatre, St. Augustine St, Dungarvan at 8.00pm.

Upcoming talks in the lecture programme include:
Aspects of Co Waterford's Heritage by Bernadette Guest on 16th February at 8pm and Ballynatray House and Garden by Neil Porteous on 23rd March at 8pm.

Waterford County Museum is open Monday-Friday 10.00am-5.00pm. For further information please call 058-45960.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Waterford Scientists Preliminary Studies by Donald Brady Now Available from The Craft Shop

"Waterford Scientists Preliminary Studies" by Donald Brady is now available from The Craft Shop at Lismore Heritage Centre.

The remarkable and little known story of County Waterford’s scientists includes the only Irish recipient of the Nobel Prize for Science, the optician who helped to build the Birr telescope and the Earl’s son whose name is enshrined in chemistry textbooks across the world.

Donald Brady served as Waterford County Librarian for almost twenty eight years. Devoted to the preservation and collation of the historical resources of the county Mr. Brady has brought a selection of his wide studies to print in recent years. Lismore Heritage Centre was honoured to host a lecture by Mr. Brady on his latest work as part of Science Week 2010 in November. At a very reasonably priced €10.00 "Waterford Scientists" makes wonderful reading for both scientists and historians.

Monday, January 10, 2011

The Molly Keane Creative Writing Award

Waterford County Council’s Arts Office is pleased to announce that it is currently accepting entries for the Molly Keane Memorial Creative Writing Award.

The late writer lived, until her death in 1996, in Ardmore, Co. Waterford. Her first ten novels and four plays were published under the pseudonym M.J. Farrell. In 1981 ‘Good Behaviour’ became a publishing sensation for which she was short listed for the prestigious Booker Prize.

To celebrate this rich literary life, the County Waterford Arts Office, by kind permission of the Keane family, is inviting entries for a previously unpublished short story to a maximum of 2000 words. There is no entry fee, no age limit and no restriction on the subject matter.

A prize of €500 will be awarded to the winner at a special ceremony during the IMMRAMA Literary Festival in Lismore, Co. Waterford in June 2011.

The closing date for receipt of entries is 5pm on Thursday 24th March 2011.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Change in Opening Hours

Lismore Heritage Centre will be closed Saturdays and Sundays throughout the months of January and February.

The Centre will be open Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 5.30pm daily.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Brendan Grace at Cappoquin Community Centre

Brendan Grace will appear at Cappoquin Community Centre on Friday 28th January 2011.

Brendan Grace’s latest show is a mix of brand new material and some old favourites, drawn from a repertoire that spans back almost four decades. Described as “the greatest family comedian of our generation” it is not just Brendan himself who is a household name but also his characters- the legendary Bottler and the drinking, smoking, troublemaking Father Fintan Stack of Father Ted fame. A favourite on the Irish theatre and hotel circuit tickets for Brendan’s shows are always in demand and early booking is advised.

The show begins at 8.00pm. Tickets, priced €30.00, are available from Cappoquin Community Centre on 058-52746 or from ticketmaster.ie