On The Town:The Olympia Theatre was bursting at the seams at the opening night of the (London) National Theatre's award-winning production of The History Boys, fresh from sell-out tours of the West End and Broadway, with Dublin theatre fans arriving in droves find out what all the fuss was about.
The play's Irish premiere was also chosen as one of Dublin Theatre Festival's three gala nights, where corporate guests are treated to pre-theatre drinks, the best seats in the house, and an after-show meal, where they get to exchange pleasantries and mingle with members of the cast.
One man eager to get to his seat was Def Leppard's Joe Elliott, recently returned from an extended period on the road with the band. "I've been on my feet for three months," he explained. Veteran broadcaster Mike Murphy was also among the first in the theatre doors, giving the lie to the adage that if you've seen one, you've seen them all. "I think I've been at 1,733 plays," said Murphy, who was attending the gala event in his capacity as director of Harcourt Developments.
Also seen tripping across Sycamore Street after pre-theatre drinks at Sin was Pat Moylan of Lane Productions, who said The History Boys had been her "first choice" from all the goodies on offer in this year's Dublin Theatre Festival. Actor Alison Doody and playwright Hugh Leonard were also in attendance.
By the time the curtain rose for the interval, the buzz of approval was already deafening, with John Costigan, managing director of the Gaiety Theatre, describing the show as "well cast and well directed", adding: "It's sensitive too." For couturier Peter O'Brien, the performance was nothing short of fantastic. "Alan Bennett is one of my heroes," he added.
As the final curtain fell, the audience rose and headed en masse for Fire Restaurant at the Mansion House to meet members of the show's talented young cast, who had clearly impressed all those pouring out onto Dame Street that night.
• The History Boys ends at the Olympia this evening
Poetry inspired by Japan's artists
Lines from Sean Dunne's The Frail Sprig ("'I want to do with you what Spring does with the cherry blossom' - a dream from our shared Japan") lent themselves to the title of a new anthology of contemporary Irish poetry launched in the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland this week. Our Shared Japan was published to mark 50 years of diplomatic relations between Japan and Ireland, and to celebrate the literary links between the two countries, which were further underscored by the presence of the Japanese Ambassador to Ireland Keiichi Hayashi at the event.
"We've cast our net wide, and the poems reflect both major and minor associations with Japan, everything from calligraphy to Basho to Hokusai and the experience of visiting Japan, real or imagined," explained contributor and co-editor Joseph Woods. He also paid tribute to Italian academic and co-editor Irene De Angelis, who had "hatched the plan" for the book.
The new anthology, which brings together over 80 Irish poets, was formally launched by Government Chief Whip Tom Kitt, who welcomed the distraction from his Dáil duties. "It's so uplifting to be in the company of poets," he said. Several read their contributions to the book, which is published by Dedalus Press.
Yvonne Cullen explained how a Japanese performer had inspired her poem: "A Kabuki Master, Tamasaburo Bando, danced to Yo-Yo Ma . . . he said for me what I had not been able to say."
Poets Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin, Patrick Cotter, Gerard Smyth, Maurice Harmon, Eileen Sheehan and Peter Sirr were among the many other poets who attended the launch, along with novelist Evelyn Conlon, and Pat Boran of Dedalus Press, who also contributed to Our Shared Japan.
Honesty is the Hall mark
'As Salvador Dali once said, 'drawing is the honesty of the art. There is no possibility of cheating.' Here in this exhibition we have 90 honest and fascinating works in all," said Minister for Arts Seamus Brennan at the opening of Patrick Hall's exhibition Drawings at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (Imma) this week.
The Minister paid tribute to the Tipperary-born artist, whom he referred to as "one of this country's most respected and influential artists", and said this latest show of ink, pastel and watercolour works on paper, and nude life drawings in charcoal, gave new insights into Hall's creativity.
Journalist Emer O'Kelly, a member of the board of Imma, paid tribute to this latest show by one of Ireland's leading artists. "It's a terrific exhibition. I feel it's another little coup for the museum," she said.
Also at the opening was curator Michael Dempsey, who is head of exhibitions at the Hugh Lane Gallery. He said Hall's work "touches a nerve for painters, and he's held that candle for a long time". Hall held an open conversation with artist William McKeown at the museum before the official opening, allowing members of the public access to the artist.
Also at the talk and the opening was artist and publisher Mari-Aymone Djeribi, who had travelled up from Leitrim to attend. Djeribi, founder of Mermaid Turbulence publishing, is also an accomplished baker, which has helped strengthen her relationship with Hall. "He's a fan of mine," she joked. "He buys my bread." Patrick's niece Iseult Hall was also at the opening, along with John Hutchinson, director of the Douglas Hyde Gallery and artist Isabel Nolan.
A second exhibition at Imma, entitled Three, was opened on the same evening, presenting the works of three artists from the Imma collection, Maria Simonds-Gooding, the late Charles Brady and Scottish artist Callum Innes.
Simonds-Gooding, whose work in the show combines brushed stainless steel and plaster, said she was inspired by the Irish landscape. "The inspiration is always to do with landscape and what farmers do to the land," she explained, adding that she had chosen to work with brush steel because "it gives out a beautiful soft light, it does its own thing."
• Patrick Hall: Drawings is at Imma until Jan 6, Three until March 17
Trinity dusts off old annals
Four centuries ago, an Irish Franciscan antiquary and poet took on the ambitious task of chronicling Irish history all the way from the flood. Donegal native Mícheál Ó Cléirigh came up with the idea of collecting all the ancient vellum books of local annals throughout the country and writing an all-encompassing Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland. The result was a series of five carefully compiled manuscripts, known as The Annals of the Four Masters, which spent the following 400 years in disparate locations until they were finally reunited for an exhibition that opened in Trinity College's venerable Long Room this week.
The exhibition, part of the 400th anniversary commemorations of the founding of the Irish Franciscan college in Louvain, Belgium, also contains the Book of Leinster and the Annals of Ulster, which were revealed in all their splendour between the rows of dusty bookshelves in this historic library.
For Edel Bhreathnach, national co-ordinator of Louvain 400, the exhibition opening was an "emotional" moment. "I'm absolutely delighted," she said.
The occasion had a further significance in that it was the product of a collaborative process between Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin and the Royal Irish Academy. "Obviously from a modern point of view, the fact that the three institutions have collaborated is quite unusual. Normally we're in competition," said Bhreathnach.
Monks in their habits rubbed shoulders with historians and librarians to see the ancient manuscripts reunited.
Dr Bernard Meehan, keeper of manuscripts at Trinity College Dublin, said that "the annals are a very important part of Irish historical consciousness - they helped to shape it," he said. "They've been very, very influential both at home and abroad."
Franciscan Fr Hugh McKenna of the Franciscan Order said this exhibition of the Annals of the Four Masters was a "a wonderful opportunity for us to celebrate our history and our tradition". Robin Adams, librarian of Trinity College Dublin, said the university had already been contacted by a number of schools about the exhibition. "Seeing ink on a page that was written by a monk with a quill pen brings the history much more alive for children," he said. Also present were Prof Jane Ohlmeyer, head of Trinity's school of histories and humanities and Prof Mary Daly, of UCD's college of arts and Celtic studies.
Prof Brian Norton, president of Dublin Institute of Technology, Dr John McCafferty, director of the Mícheál Ó Cléirigh Institute at UCD and Dr Bernadette Cunningham, deputy librarian of the Royal Irish Academy, were also at the opening.
• The Annals of the Four Masters runs until Dec 21