Donegal Bay and Bluestacks Festival begins today

The 24^th Donegal Bay and Blue Stacks Festival will take place from this today, September 26th to Sunday next October 13th.

Festival events will take place in a variety of towns and villages in the South and South West of the county, including Ballyshannon, Bundoran, Ballybofey, Donegal Town, Leghowney, Glenties and Glencolmcille.

The Festival opens tonight Thursday with the premiere performance at the Balor Arts Centre, Ballybofey of Shaun Byrne’s new play – ‘One Night at Glenlough’, which tells the story of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas’ eventful sojourn in Glencolmcille over the Summer of 1935. Directed by Charlie Bonner – who also directed last year’s hugely successful Civil War play Drumboe – this dark comedy features well known Ballybofey actor FrankieMcCafferty with Aidan Moriarty as the youthful Dylan Thomas.

One Night at Glenlough will be performed at the Balor Arts Centre, Ballybofey, this Thursday and Friday, September 26^th and 27^th (8.00pm);at HallaMhuire, Glencolmcille, this Saturday night, September 28^th. (8.30pm) and at the Abbey Arts Centre, Ballyshannon, this Sunday, September 29^th. (8.00pm).

Reflections on the North West Coast

Between Land and Sea, Reflections on the North West Coast is a group exhibition, opening at 6.00pm this Friday evening, September 27^th. at the new Kevin Lowery Galleryand Studio at Station Road, Bundoran. In it, ten artists from around the North West explore the deep connections between the environment and the lives of those who live along the remarkable Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim coastline.

The exhibition features a wide range of works in a variety of media including painting, printmaking, photography, glass and metalwork and digital art by Jonathan Ball, Concepta Boyce, Lisa Callaghan, Aisling Clarke, Vicky Crawford, Gavin McCrea, Rory Gill, Darragh Gorman, Christine Harrison and Kevin Lowery.

The exhibition runs from Saturday, September 28^th. to Sunday, October 13^th. and is Open Daily from 10.00am to 5.30pm.

The Bluestack Chorale’s Songs for an Autumn Friday

After another resounding success for their Mountcharles Opera Festival recital series this summer, the Blue Stack Chorale are delighted to bring their Songs for an Autumn Evening programme to St. Patrick’s Parish Centre, Donegal Town, this Friday evening, September 27^th. from 8.00pm.

With the ensemble’s usual eclectic repertoire, there’s always something for everyone’s musical tastes and this year is no different.Evan McGarrigle will accompany the singers on piano and will also perform some solo works, while Deborah Cunningham, Soprano and Paul Martin, Baritone will mark Puccini’s one hundredth anniversary by performing a selection his most beautiful and well-known operatic pieces.

Comedy Special with John Colleary at Ballyshannon

The brilliant John Colleary, who has supported Tommy Tiernan on many of this recent sell-out tours, brings his brand new show, Had Like A Shed, to the Abbey Arts Centre, Ballyshannon, this Saturday night, September 28^th.

Hugely popular on the live comedy circuit, John’s profile has been greatly bolstered byTV appearances on, among others, The Savage Eye, The Panel and The Tommy Tiernan Show.He also scooped a recent IMRO Award for his topical script writing and performances on Today FM’s drivetime flagship, The Last Word.

Head Like a Shed has just been booked for Dublin’s Olympia Theatre early next year, but Donegal audiences can see it first in the Abbey Arts Centre. A night of fun not to be missed.

Donegal Bay Film Festival at Bundoran

Following last year’s successful inaugural Donegal Bay Film Festival, initiated by the late Marc Gegan, Bundoran film-maker Caroline Harvey has drawn together an exciting programme of short film dramas and documentaries by emerging filmmakers from the North and North West of Ireland, which will run over two evenings – Wednesday and Thursday, October 2^nd and 3^rd. from 8.00pm – at the Eclipse Cinemas, Bundoran.

Featured drama and documentary makers will include Dorothy Duffy, Clem McInerney, JamesDoherty, Caroline Harvey, Ben Conway, Peter J. McCarthy, Diana Cheung, Sean Mullan,KateHaley, Fiachra Ó Longáin and Edwin Mullane. Admission to both evening programmes is FREE.

Without Willow and Sarah E Cullen play Ghostlight at The Balor.

This month’s Ghostlight Session at the Balor Arts Centre, Ballybofey, on Thursday, October 3^rd., will feature two of the North West’s finest singer songwriting acts, Without Willow and Sarah E. Cullen.

Without Willow – whoare Karen Kelly, Vocals and Simon McCafferty, Guitar –released an excellent debut album, Left Behind, to great acclaim earlier this year. Guest musicians on the recording included the late, great Ted Ponsonby and cellist, Laura McFadden. For this special festival edition of Ghostlight, they will be joined by guest musicians Laura McFadden and Rhys McBride on Bass.

Sarah E. Cullen’s debut CD, Notes from the Wonderground, was a BBC Radio Ulster Album of the Week.She is a member of the Irish – Rajasthani Citadels of The Sun ensemble, who have performed in Donegal, Derry, Rajasthan, Glasgow (Celtic Connections) and Belfast in recent years.Joining Sarah for her performance will be Rúairí Friel on Guitar and Michael Cullen on Bass.

Forthcoming Festival Highlights.

The Festival continues until Sunday, October 13^th.Upcoming highlights include Donegal Voices Choir’s performances of works by Handel, Rachmaninoff, Liszt and McGarrigle in Donegal Town ( Oct. 4^th.) and Ballyshannon (Oct. 11^th.), the Myths and Legends CarnivalParade in Ballyshannon (Oct. 5^th.),DonegalDrama Circle’s highly anticipated production of Frank McGuinness’s ‘TheFactory Girls’ at Leghowney Hall (Oct. 10^th – 12^th.)and writer Denise Blake’s In Conversation event at the Abbey Arts Centre, Ballyshannon with bestselling crime writer Brian McGilloway and novelist Una Mannion (Oct. 13^th.).

Full Programme Information is now available on the festival website www.donegalbaybluestacks.com and on the Donegal County Council website www.donegalcoco.ie

The Donegal Bay and Blue Stacks Festival is presented by Donegal County Council Culture Division. It is funded by Donegal County Council, The Arts Council and Creative Ireland.