Welcome to this years Athenry MAD Festival which runs from the 18th-21st September.
The programme, which is curated by the Athenry Arts & Heritage Centre, supports local artists and arts practitioners to showcase their work and provides an event that is inclusive and accessible to all. Many of the events are free to attend but pre-booking for some is required due to capacity for the artist delivering the workshop/performance.
The Athenry MAD Festival is supported by:
Thursday 18th September: ÉIST - Mindful Concert 5:30pm
With Ciara Finnerty
A mindful concert, that unfolds by the artists listening for what wants to be sung, by attuning
to the place, and to the people and emotions that are present.
We will be connecting through song with the mindful way in which the poets of the Irish
language folk tradition saw the world around them. We will explore this through both
traditional Irish songs, as well as through our own songwriting. The performance will
conclude with the writing of a song through mindful improvisation, with the help of the
audience.
Special Guests Peter O’Sullivan & Fionn Heffernan
Thursday 18th September: Seamus Ruttledge
Athenry Heritage Centre 7:30pm
Jackdaws Chant The Blues
Jackdaws Chant The Blues is the exciting new collection of poems from North Mayo native, Séamus Ruttledge. The Tuam-based songwriter is a great observer of life and this shines all through this collection of poetry. Ruttledge’s poems are a journey through mystery, mysticism and the secrets of country people.
Jackdaws Chant The Blues celebrates country life with evocative imagery and at times humour, through poems like No Flowers Please, Winter Is Nearly Done, and In Times Of Change. Ruttledge expertly uses the ways of country life as a prism to explore conflict, nature and mystery. The impact of pop culture on the
lives of young country people is addressed through poems like Ways To Live and Bowing In The Backroom, but this collection is mainly a homage to life in
rural settings.
Jackdaws Chant The Blues is a journey of discovery through times of change with Ruttledge capturing mood and emotion with ease, drawing the reader into his world, almost as a co creator. His observations are sharp, never overpowering and affords space, like a musician uses silence between notes. This definitive collection from Séamus Ruttledge draws us nearer to ourselves, our lives and our world. The poems will make us think while also supporting us within the kaleidoscope of life in rural Ireland. The language is honest and the energy is sincere. We cannot ask for anything more.
Ruttledge’s poems document change and aspects of a rural past, where nature was supreme, but the struggle to make sense of what it means to be truly human, in a complex modern world, remains at the heart of his work.
‘Ruttledge's poems come straight from a heart full of truthful songs. With grace and melody they sing us through past and present, love and loss, towards some greater understanding of who we are.’
Mike McCormack
Friday 19th September
Culture Night in the grounds of the Athenry Heritage Centre
Saturday 20th September
12:00pm Drummadore
Make it a banging start to your weekend with Drumadore. This free event which is accessible for all ages to enjoy is the ideal way to make friends and make some rhythmic noise. All equipment is provided on the day, so come along with family and friends or make some new ones on the day. The fun commences at 11:30am.
12:00pm Moth & Butterfly Storytellers Athenry Library
Meet the Moth & Butterfly Storytellers in Athenry Library on Saturday 20th September and enjoy stories for smallies from Orla & Nicole. This event is for children under 8 but everyone is invited to join us in the library for tales and maybe some songs for you to sing along too. This event is free to attend and commences at 12:00pm.
1:00pm Messy Play Sensory Art Workshop 3-6yrs €5.00 Donation
Athenry Heritage Centre Festival Garden
The MAD Festival is pleased to include Jessica Farrell Brick Artist, her Family Workshops are fun, challenging, creative events suitable for all ages 7+.
In the family workshop, families build together as a shared experience. Parents learn that creative play is important for people of all ages and creating together is mutually beneficial. Although each workshop is tailor-made to meet the requirements of the participants and venue, all have the same core purpose with the key elements being communication, family bonding, and creativity. Throughout the session, children learn to express themselves artistically using LEGO® bricks as a medium and parents are reminded of the great value in engaging with their children.
Parents are also shown how to continue these activities at home.
Jessica will provide drop in workshops on Saturday 20th September from 12:30pm. This event is free to all participants however all children must be accompanied by an adult/guardian.
20th September Community Mandala 1:30pm-2:30pm
Athenry Heritage Centre Garden
20th September 3:30pm: Face Jam with Arts Facilitator Maire Daly
The Mad Festival presents a teen arts workshop with Maire Daly.
Discover a new skill with Maire as she provides an engaging and fun workshop to discover the world of body painting including special effects and techniques to enhance your new skills.
All materials will be provided on the day, so bring a friend and experience something MAD for your Saturday.
Places are limited for the workshop and its free to attend.
20th September Route 424 Pop Up Brass Band
Streets of Athenry
Route 424 Brass Band is a vibrant community brass ensemble based in Galway, blending traditional Irish folk tunes with a New Orleans street band spirit.
Directed by Donal McConnon, the band brings together accomplished and amateur musicians in a collective that thrives on public performance, improvisation, and audience participation.
With a focus on playful engagement, Route 424 often invites members of the public to conduct the band, creating unique, shared musical experiences that celebrate inclusivity, spontaneity, and the joy of live music.
Route 424 will be performing on the streets of Athenry from 1:00pm.
Keep your eyes and ears open for this unique MAD Festival event.
The MAD festival is pleased to partner with the Athenry Music School for their Wild Trad Tunes. Sunday 21st September: Ted Turton My Travels With Footsbarn Theatre
Athenry Heritage Centre 6:30pm Free 16+
The Athenry MAD Festival welcomes Ted Turton, the founder of the Galway International Arts Festival as he introduces us to his life with the famous and infamous Foostbarn Theatre.
In his words, this book is about how I ran away with the circus . . . a modern version of what travelling players had been doing for centuries.”
He describes his escapades as an artist, designer, photographer, printer, truck driver, publicist, front-of-house salesperson, document forger and occasional street actor for the acclaimed Footsbarn Theatre.
President Michael D Higgins quotes how the book "serves as an evocative reminder that the arts can be a bridge between cultures...in a world that now finds itself divided and in conflict."
Ted's new book will be available to purchase through the centre and all copies will be signed.
Sunday 21st September: Pocket Jazz Orchestra
Athenry Heritage Centre 7:00pm 18+
Closing this years festival, the Athenry MAD Festival is pleased to welcome the Pocket Jazz Orchestra.
This fun talented quartet will delight audiences with their jazz sounds. A popular sight on the streets of Galway, we welcome the band to participate in the MAD Festival.
Making their name busking on the streets of Galway City about 2 years ago, the Pocket Jazz Orchestra, are fast becoming a regular fixture in the city of culture, with dance sessions breaking out spontaneously on a busy shopping street.
Playing jazz standards in the style of Django Reinhardt, who could not resist to move their feet to such jittering uplifting sounds.
Featuring Donal McConnon (vocals/clarinet), Henry Egan (violin) Ciaran Neeson (guitar), Michael Curry (guitar) and Lucas (Bass).
