On The Town:Some music-lovers may even be forgiven for wearing flowers in their hair when they attend this year's Electric Picnic Festival. Long green grass, old trees and easy vibes are promised at the Boutique Music Festival, which will take place in the stately grounds of Stradbally Hall in the summer.
"It's a very chilled, very laid-back festival," said Fernando Martin, of Neutronyx, the company which has designed the look of the festival since its beginning four years ago. "Yes, it's very hippy but with class."
His fellow designers, Israel Villalobas, Sandra Lores and Tubbal Jardon, all agreed.
Johnny Cronin, lead singer with The Aftermath, will be at the festival, performing songs from the band's new album. He was at the celebratory launch party, in Dublin's Crawdaddy venue, with his brother, drummer Michael Cronin. The band's album, A Retreat from Ambition, produced by David Odlum of The Frames, is due out around the same time, explained the Mullingar-based boys.
The two chatted to Marty Mulligan, the slam poet from Mullingar, who will not only perform at the Electric Picnic in September, but will also be at Glastonbury in June. Slam poetry "is fast talking from the stage" he explained. "I'm a spoken-word artist . . . It's a stream of consciousness."
A capacity crowd of 32,500 is expected to attend the festival, which runs over three days, with highlights including the Beastie Boys, Björk, Iggy and the Stooges, Jarvis Cocker, Primal Scream and the Damon Albarn-led The Good, the Bad and the Queen.
"We don't make it too big," said organiser John Reynolds. "It's not just music. There's an arts trail, there's everything. It's literally a kind of collection of a lot of different elements." Among these, he listed political debate, holistic treatments, a kids' field and a village hall for a rustic knees-up.
When Thomas Crosby, the owner of Stradbally Hall, and his wife, Gesa, arrived at the party, he recalled the day that Reynolds "rocked up" to his house to propose hosting the festival there. Nestling in the heart of Co Laois, it has turned out to be the ideal location.
• The Electric Picnic, the Boutique Music Festival runs from Fri, Aug 31 to Sun, Sept 2 at Stradbally Hall, Co Laois.
Making the musical journey to Limerick
A classical music festival taking place in July this year will feature both Honor Heffernan and Sinéad O'Connor. The two singers attended the launch in Dublin of the MBNA Shannon International Music Festival programme by Minister for Arts John O'Donoghue.
The festival, one of Ireland's leading classical music platforms, is a showcase for the Irish Chamber Orchestra and takes place in a number of venues in Limerick.
The orchestra's double bass player, Malachy Robinson, who was at the launch with his two sons, Fiachra (aged eight) and Oscar (six), noted that the orchestra will be playing in three concerts on the Friday of the festival.
"It's all fantastic," he said of the programme, pointing to the opening concert, featuring singer Sinéad O'Connor and the orchestra, as one of the highlights. She will sing songs from her recently recorded new album, Theology, including Something Beautiful, with the verse: "They dress the wounds of my poor people as though they're nothing - saying 'peace, peace' when there's no peace."
"The great finale of the festival is the Mozart Requiem, being conducted by Douglas Boyd, who is a great favourite with the orchestra," said the orchestra's general manager, Nick Winter. "We are taking our audiences on a musical journey."
Among those at the launch were Stuart McLaughlin, the new chief executive of Business2Arts; David Darcy, choirmaster of the National Chamber Choir, which is participating in the festival; the South African ambassador to Ireland, Priscilla Jana; and accordion player Dermot Dunne, who will also play during the festival in the Spirit of South America concert at St Mary's Cathedral in Limerick on Friday, July 13th.
• The MBNA Shannon International Music Festival runs at venues in Limerick from Wed, July 11, to Sun, Jul 15. For further details, visit www.irishchamberorchestra.com; for booking information, call 1890-923543.
Cutting a long story short
There's still "more tea than alcohol" in the stories that shone in this year's Frances MacManus Short Story Competition. Themes dealing with "failing relationships, bereavement, madness, strange meetings and shifts in faith" were all found in the 20 stories, which were shortlisted from a total of 700 for the final, said one of its judges, writer Anne Enright.
"It's still more tea than alcohol, there's more alcohol than heroin, very little sex, very little touching of any kind, some violence but not much . . . and always there's mourning for the dead," said Enright, speaking at a reception in RTÉ's Radio Centre in Donnybrook to announce this year's winners.
In first place was Hester Casey, from Greystones, Co Wicklow, for her story, A Thing of Beauty. She won €3,000 and a Waterford Crystal trophy, and her story will be broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 along with those of all 20 of the finalists.
"Like the best of writing for radio, these short stories . . . engage the audience as individuals. They are the lonely voice, which depicts what's seen only out of the corner of the eye, telling tales of hidden lives with all their joys and sorrows," said Ana Leddy, head of RTÉ Radio 1.
The competition has become "a magnet for attracting new and emerging writers . . . a stepping stone for publication and recognition", said Seamus Hosey, the competition's director since it was set up in 1985. Hosey was also chairman of the panel of judges, which included novelist Joseph O'Connor and columnist John Boland.
Geraldine Mills, from Rosscahill, Co Galway, came second with her story, The Weight of Feathers, and Gavin Corbett, from Dublin, was third with his story, For Scrap.
Meanwhile, at another reception the following morning in Dublin's Mansion House, the eight shortlisted novels in this year's International Impac Dublin Literary Award were announced. There were smiles all round when it emerged that Irishman Sebastian Barry was on the list for his novel, A Long, Long Way.
Up our house!
• The 20 shortlisted stories in the Frances MacManus Short Story Competition will be broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 each week from Wed, May 2, at 7.45pm.
Rising to their challenge
A flowering of creativity was on view in every corner of Project Arts Centre at a special cultural evening in Dublin this week. Paintings, poetry, performances and a documentary screening were unveiled as part of a showcase of the work of participants in Rade (Recovery Through Arts, Drama and Education), in collaboration with Temple Bar Cultural Trust.
"There's a freshness and an honesty in their work," said Eoghan O'Neill, one of the tutors with the programme, which is based in Cathedral View Court in Dublin 8. "We encourage them to express themselves." Participants, who are mainly recovering from dependencies, start off "very self- conscious" but, he added, "their own confidence has grown".
Diarmuid Molloy, from Ballymun, whose girlfriend, Sara Gavin, was taking part in the stage performances, said that attending Rade classes has helped her to be "more positive with herself . . . She's changed. She wants more out of life. I'm very proud of her". And, he added, "she's changed my life, in good ways".
"I found them fantastic, energetic and always with a new take on things," said poet Paula Meehan of her students. She ran writing workshops at Rade, resulting in the production of a poetry collection, Somewhere to Flap Your Wings. Later in the evening, Joanne Whelan and Mick Byrne read some of their poetry to a packed auditorium, which included President Mary McAleese.
"Both addiction and art make very, very harsh demands of us," said the President when she addressed the audience. "Art helps to build up pride, self-belief, self confidence . . . Addiction obliterates our true nature, and damages our true potential. It takes such guts to take on addiction. It's one big monster."
Those showcasing their work "are stronger, they are wiser now, they are people of substance, not substance abusers", she added.
Among those enjoying the performance were writer Peter Sheridan; Raymond Keane, of Barabbas Theatre Company; Patrick Sutton, of the Gaiety School of Acting; and Alice Leahy, of the Trust charity, with her husband, Charlie Best.