Drogheda based composer and musician Michael Holohan is to premiere a special new setting of ‘The Drimoleague Blues’ next Thursday, 30th January at a special party in the National Gallery of Ireland to celebrate the life and work of Poet Paul Durcan who celebrated his 80th birthday last October.
The event will celebrate both ‘Crazy About Women,’ a collection of poems inspired by paintings in the collections of the National Gallery of Ireland, and Paul Durcan – 80 at 80, a collection of poems published on the occasion of Durcan’s 80th birthday.
Michael Holohan, composer, will premiere his new setting of Durcan’s poem ‘The Drimoleague Blues’ in honour of Paul’s 80 birthday.
Michael Holohan, piano, Trudy Maguire singer and accordion and Breifne Holohan, guitar will also be performing a number of songs by Bob Dylan, Anna McGarrigle and Ralph McTell which have been specially chosen and relate directly to the paintings which Paul Durcan wrote about.
The event will be introduced by Niall MacMonagle, writer, critic and editor of Paul Durcan – 80 at 80. Poems will be read by actress Ingrid Craigie (The Dead), actor Mark O’ Regan (Angela’s Ashes) and meteorologist and former RTE presenter Jean Byrne.
Michael previously collaborated with Paul Durcan in December 2000 and 2001. ‘A Snail in my Prime’. Paul’s long poem about Newgrange, was premiered at a special government event in the Brú na Boinne Centre, Donore.
‘A Snail in my Prime’ was broadcast on RTE Radio 1 on Christmas Day 2000. Michael’s performers specialised in playing the ancient Bronze Age Horns of Ireland and percussion.
Performers included Paul Durcan, Michael Holohan, jazz singer Melanie O’Reilly, Simon O’Dwyer, Bronze Age horns, Maria Cullen-O’Dwyer, percussion, Colin Blakey, Bronze Age horns, Dr. John Purser, Bronze Age horns, Catherina Smith, percussion and Peter Browne, Uilleann pipes.
‘A Snail in my Prime’, an RTÉ Radio 1 programme, was the station’s official entry for the Prix Italia and went on to win a major award at the annual Celtic Film and Television Festival held in Quimper in France. ‘A Snail in my Prime’ won the overall award in the Radio Celtic Music Section
‘Portrait of the Artist; ‘ (2001) for voice and alto Flute, was premiered in Royal Hibernian Art Gallery, Ely Place, Dublin to celebrate the opening of Camille Souter’s Retrospective with Melanie O’Reilly (voice), Brian Dunning (alto flute).
