Enterprise 16-04

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ENTERPRISE L I N K I N G D U B L I N A N D B E L FAS T Volume 16:04

GARY LIGHTBODY Snowing Up In Public

K ATIE MULLAN

I r e l a n d ’s Hockey Hero

HARRY CONNICK JR. M e e t t h e Wo r l d ’s Greatest En t e r t a i n e r

ANDREA CORR L O V E ,

L I F E

&

L O S S

IRISH DESIGNERS SPECIAL + LESLEY MANVILLE + SORCHA RICHARDSON

ENTERPRISE MAGAZINE (DUNDALK MUSEUM).qxp_Layout 1 29/08/2018 15:16 Page 1

...where stories and legends inspire

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Jocelyn Street, Dundalk, Co. Louth eircode: A91 EFY9

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V O L . 1 6 / N O . 0 4

C O N T E N T S JOHN SWANELL

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R E G U L A R S

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F E A T U R E S

16. IN THE DEEP HEART’S CORR Following the release of her acclaimed memoir, Barefoot Pilgrimage, Andrea Corr reflects on struggling with fame, holding onto her faith, the importance of Billie Eilish and the future of The Corrs..

20. HARRY’S GAME

06. ENTER HERE

He’s one of the best selling artists of all time in America and has appeared in blockbusters like Independence Day and When Harry Met Sally, but Harry Connick Jr’s latest project sees him celebrate the music of ‘the complete entertainer’, Cole Porter. He talks singing, acting, performing and more.

12. RAIL NEWS

A rundown of what's hot and happening at your next stop.

24. LOVE IS IN THE AIR

Up to the minute news from Irish Rail and Translink

Lesley Manville sits down with Roe McDermott to discuss her new film Ordinary Love, a powerful and emotional drama in which she stars opposite Liam Neeson.

3 6 . FAS H I O N

26. SNOW BUSINESS

Roe McDermott recommends a selection of top Irish stores and designers that are promoting sustainability.

With Snow Patrol having just released their latest album Reworked, we meet frontman Gary Lightbody to discuss his recent team-up with Bono, winning awards, NI’s new breed of bands and more.

28. HOCKEYING THE OPPOSITION In November, the Irish women’s hockey team made history when they defeated Canada to qualify for the Olympics for the first time. Captain Katie Mullan reflects on a remarkable 18 months.

32. FIRST CLASS OFFERING Acclaimed singer Sorcha Richardson discusses her stunning debut album, First Prize Bravery, transatlantic living, negotiation friendships and relationships, and why she’s happy to be back home in Dublin.

40. REVIEWS We pick out the highlights from the latest book, album and Netflix releases.

4 4 . AT T R A C T I O N S Markets, bars, restaurants and hotels, and the best in shopping both North and South.

ENTERPRISE – EDITOR’S LETTER

VOL: 16 ISSUE:04

CREDITS EDITOR: Máirín Sheehy CONTRIBUTORS: Stuart Clark, Peter McGoran, Roe McDermott, Paul Nolan, Peter McNally, Brenna Ransden, Lucy O'Toole, Dane Persky DESIGN & PRODUCTION: Hot Press, 100 Capel Street, Dublin 1 DESIGN: Eimear O'Connor, Karen Kelleher, Luke Henebry ADVERTISING MANAGER: Tom Corcoran GROUP ADVERTISING MANAGER Catherine Madden

PUBLISHER: Niall Stokes ENTERPRISE IS PUBLISHED FOR N I R A I LWAY S A N D IARNRÓD ÉIREANN BY: Osnovina Ltd 100 Capel Street, Dublin 1 TELEPHONE: +353 1 2411 500 EMAIL: enterprise@hotpress.ie LETTERS: The Editor, Enterprise Magazine, 100 Capel Street, Dublin 1 PRINTED BY: Boylan’s Print COVER PIC: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile While every effort has been made to ensure the information in this magazine is correct, the publishers cannot accept any responsibilities for errors.

The views contained in this magazine are those of the authors and not necessarily those of N I Railways and Iarnród Eireann.

All material © Osnovina 2019.

All rights reserved.

Reproduction of material without permission of the publishers is strictly prohibited

HOPE WOULD BE A FINE THING Opened in 2016, Seamus Heaney HomePlace is just 45 minutes from Belfast. In a time of growing turmoil, the wisdom to be found there is more than well worth exploring...

O

nce in a lifetime, when hope and history rhyme. That singular note of extraordinary optimism was struck, in the play The Cure At Troy, by the great Irish poet Seamus Heaney – widely acknowledged now as one of the most important poets of the 20th Century.

It was a landmark moment for everyone on the island of Ireland when Seamus was announced as the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995, the fourth Irish writer to be so honoured, ranking Heaney alongside William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw and Samuel Beckett.

Seamus Heaney died on the 30 August, 2013, at the relatively young age of 74. By then, he had a fearsome body of work – including twelve original collections of poetry, two plays and eight major translations – to his credit, as well as a plethora of awards, including the Golden Wreath of Poetry (2001), the T. S. Elliot Prize (2006) and the Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry Lifetime Recognition Award (2012). In addition, he was made Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres by France in 1996.

But, of course, it is in his literary works that the real meat of his achievements resides. There are poets whose gift – and graft – is such that their work captures the popular imagination in a really meaningful way. It doesn’t happen very often. In Ireland, it can be said of the legendary William Butler Yeats, another recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, whose poetry became part of the national vocabulary and is frequently quoted still. Indeed, such was the iconic status of Yeats’ work, that poems like The Second Coming – with its extraordinary closing image – are quoted, again and again, in moments of political and societal importance across the globe.

In that epochal poem, William Butler Yeats coined so many memorable ideas and lines, with which we have all become familiar, at times not even knowing the source.

“Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold”. That is one that we all know. “The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity”. How relevant does that feel looking forward to a new decade?

And then there is the monumental question with which the poem ends. “And what rough beast, its hour come at last/ Slouches towards Bethle-

hem to be born?” It is an appalling image, but an extraordinarily vivid one, to which people across continents – especially in English language speaking countries, of course – have turned in times of crisis.

Seamus Heaney may not have delivered any single poem of such global resonance. To a great extent, his work was more personal, and focussed on the everyday. But he had, it turned out, found a different way to unlock the door to people’s hearts and minds. At one stage, the sales of his books amounted to two-thirds of all sales, in the UK, of the work of living poets. He was operating on a different plain to the vast majority of wordsmiths.

“I rhyme to see myself, to set the darkness echoing,” Seamus Heaney wrote in Death of A Naturalist. As a poet, this was one of his great gifts.

Seamus was interested in the still, and often dark, heart of things; and in the possibility of achieving a deeper understanding, so that the people who read his poems might share it. He was far more successful in this endeavour than he could ever have imagined starting out.

“I can't think of a case where poems changed the world, but what they do is they change people's understanding of what's going on in the world,” he said once. To say that Seamus Heaney achieved that and a lot more besides is to acknowledge his outstanding success as an artist, and his real importance as a writer.

And that famous line about hope and history?

In Sean O’Casey’s renowned Irish drama, Juno And The Paycock, the character Captain Boyle complains that “Th' whole worl's in terrible state o' chassis.”

You might just conclude that it has ever been thus. Perhaps the world has, indeed, always been in a terrible state of chaos. But there are moments when that seam of truth seems to present a more urgent challenge – and this, surely, is one of them.

There are many reasons why – but above all, there is the stark reality that effective action on the climate crisis is now more desperately needed than ever.

The truth is that, as we embark on a new decade, we really do need hope and history to rhyme again. Here’s to it…

• Seamus Heaney: HomePlace is a unique visitor attraction, located in the village of Bellaghy, just 45 minutes from Belfast.

MÁIRÍNSHEEHY | EDITOR 4

Enjoy a relaxing Railbreak...

Enjoy a relaxing Railbreak... ...with ...with NIR Travel

NIR Travel is Northern Ireland’s leading operator of short break holidays by rail. Our ready-made packages make For further information visit: it easy to take a trip to both Dublin and Northern Ireland; www.translink.co.uk/nirtravel and browse online for all our breaks are inclusive of rail travel on the Enterprise the hotel and then simply complete the online booking form. with an excellent choice of hotels on offer- ranging from Alternatively call NIR Travel direct on 028 9033 7004 or pop in to the Translink . Travel Centre, Glengall Street, Belfast.

3* to 5* to suit all budgets. This is just a small selection of the fantastic hotel breaks we have on offer.

NIR Travel is Northern Ireland’s leading operator of short break holidays by rail. Our ready-made packages make it easy to take a trip to both Dublin and Northern Ireland; all our breaks are inclusive of rail travel on the Enterprise with an excellent choice of hotels on offer- ranging from 3* to 5* to suit all budgets. This is just a small selection of the fantastic hotel breaks we have on offer.

For further information visit: www.translink.co.uk/travelcentre and simply complete the online booking form.

Alternatively call NIR Travel direct on 028 9033 7004 or pop in to the Translink Travel Centre, Glengall Street, Belfast.

Grease DUBLIN THEATRE BREAKS

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include return Dublin rail travel from 08 Oct - 12 Oct Dublin Rail & Hop-On Hop-off Bus Tour any NIRailways Includes Walking Tour Phantom Of £205/£229 Rail & Hop-on Hop -off Bus Tour £55pp £195/£215 station.

We Will Includes Walking Tour from £55pp The Opera Derry - Londonderry Rock You 02 July - 11 July Rail & Afternoon Tea • All rates are per Derry - Londonderry 28 Oct 02 Nov @ The Maldron Hotel £29 person sharing Rail & Afternoon Tea Les Miserables £205/£229 / single room @ The Maldron Hotel from £29 03 Sept - 12 Sept Theatre Break includes: NORTHERN IRELAND BREAKS supplements will Grand Canal Hotel All breaks include return apply.

Theatre Break includes: Return Rail (1stIRELAND Plus) NORTHERN BREAKS Belfast - 1 night B & B railGrand travel from any Canal Hotel from £95pps Europa Hotel Pre-show dinner • All offers are NIRailways station.

Return Rail (1st Plus) from £115pps Grand Central Belfast - 1 night B&B Overnight with breakfast and subject to Pre-show dinner Europa from £95pps Holiday Inn from £65pps Show Hotel ticket availability and with breakfast and AllOvernight rates are per person from £115pps Hampton by Hilton Grand Central from £70pps T&Cs and are Show ticket from £65pps Jurys lnn Holiday Inncorrect at time of publication from £75pps *All prices sharing / single room subject to change. from £70pps Hampton by Hilton *All prices correct at time of publication supplements will apply. from £75pps Outside Belfast - 1 night B & B Jury Inn • Any from £55pps Atlantic Hotel, Portrush All offers are subject to complimentary from £65pps Marine Court, Bangor Outside Belfast - 1 Night B&B availability and T&Cs and Atlantic Hotel, Portrush from £55pps City Hotel, Derry-1st Plus upgrade Call now on £65pps will be from subject to from £65pps Londonderry Marine Court, Bangor are subject to us change. or visit availability Everglades, Derrywww.translink.co.uk/travelcentre from £65pps Londonderry City Hotel, Any complimentary or visit1st from £65pps Derry-Londonderry • Not all dates can Pluswww.translink.co.uk/travelcentre upgrade will be be offered (peak Everglades, subject to availability events) from £65pps Derry-Londonderry MIdweek/Weekends

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DUBLIN THEATRE BREAKS

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A RUNDOWN OF WHAT ’S HOT & HAPPENING B Y P E T E R M c N A L LY RAMSEY CARDY

Aviva Stadium, Dublin, February 1

IRELAND Vs. SCOTLAND 6

After a desperately disappointing World Cup campaign last year, the Irish rugby team will be looking to get their 2020 Six Nations campaign off to a bright start with a win against Scotland at the Aviva.

Leinster’s imperious form in both the European Champions Cup and the PRO14 is grounds for optimism, but the Scots are always capable of a big performance, as they proved with their 2017 Six Nations victory over Ireland. Nonetheless, with Andy Farrell now taking over the managerial reigns from Joe Schmidt, Ireland will be keen to ensure his tenure commences on a high note.

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BILLIONAIRE BOY Olympia Theatre, Dublin, February 5–9 Bestselling children’s author and Little Britain legend David Walliams (pictured above), has once again teamed up with the award-winning West End producers of Gangsta Granny and Horrible Histories for an amazing new production of his best-selling story, Billionaire Boy. Released in 2010, the story Boy follows Joe Spud, who is the richest boy in the country and has everything he could ever want, other than a friend. The book was adapted for television by the BBC in 2016, and this musical musical production comes from the award-winning Birmingham Stage Company, with music by Miranda Cooper and Nick Coler.

13 Dame Street D2 George's Street Arcade D2 180 Rathmines Rd Lower D6 11 Academy Street Cork City 96 Botanic Avenue Belfast

umifalafel.ie 7

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THE ARENACROSS TOUR SSE Arena, Belfast, January 17 & 18 Arenacross hosts only the best motorsport mavericks who hail from all corners of the earth and specialise in whipping and flipping their bikes 40ft above the arena floor. An event like no other, the track is created from a locally-sourced purple type of dirt and organisers have scoured the globe to find some of the best Freestyle Motocross riders in the world to take to the ramps for your viewing pleasure. With bragging rights and a well-paid jackpot up for grabs, the riders leave nothing on the line resulting in knuckle to knuckle non-stop racing.

THE SCRIPT SSE Arena, Belfast, March 3 This Belfast date finds the Dublin rockers touring their latest opus, Sunsets & Full Moons, another blockbuster collection of stirring anthems that topped both the Irish and UK charts. Led by the charismatic Danny O’Donoghue, The Script’s live performances are powerful affairs, with their singalong-friendly hits enhanced by cutting edge visuals and production. The likes of ‘For The First Time’ and ‘Hall Of Fame’ will no doubt go down a storm at this hotly anticipated Belfast date.

T H E H EN RY GIR LS

NIGHT AT THE AQUARIUM Exploris Aquarium, Belfast, January 3, 31 & February 28 This brand new alternative night out gives visitors the chance to see if things go bump in the night at Belfast’s Exploris Aquarium.

Your evening will begin with a delicious two course meal using locally sourced ingredients at the beautiful Portaferry Hotel. The hotel overlooks the shores of Strangford Lough which makes it a magnificent setting for evening dinner! After dinner you will arrive at Exploris Aquarium for a fascinating guided tour of Northern Ireland’s only aquarium. The lantern lit tour will allow you to explore some of the amazing animals found in oceans, globally and a lot closer to home.

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ATLANTIC IRISH FEST Various Venues, Bundoran, Donegal, January 18–21 The Northwest of Ireland has long been celebrated for its unique Atlantic culture and history. Now there is a festival which takes place on that Wild Atlantic Way, making the most of the cosy winter atmosphere, with the best of cultural talks about the history of Ireland and outdoor activities along the spectacular coastline.

Outdoor activities include golf, surfing lessons and a beach horse riding trek. The craic agus ceol will be on hand at excellent musical performances by The Logues, The Henry Girls, Johnny Gallagher & Boxty and Erdini.

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PARANORMAL INVESTIGATION AT CRUMLIN ROAD GAOL Crumlin Road Gaol, Belfast, January 18 & 25, February 22, March 13 One of Belfast’s most haunted buildings is opening its doors to valiant visitors this spring. The only Victorian-era prison left in Northern Ireland, Crumlin Road Gaol is a place with dark secrets, where many of its inmates met violent ends over its 150 year history. This Paranormal tour will take you to the various hot spots of the Gaol where Paranormal Activity has been reported and the guide will tell you of the harrowing stories associated with these areas: the condemned man’s cell, the execution chamber, the tunnel and the flogging room. Comfortingly, tour tickets can also be bundled with a meal to steel the nerves!

EDUCATION

M.i.X Your fast-track to success in the music industry.

The MiX Course is for aspiring Musicians, PR, Media, Music Managers & Marketers who want to make their mark in the music industry or for those who simply want to update their knowledge, expertise and network!

SCHEDULE MiX is composed of a 13-Week, lecture-based course holding one class per week by the top specialist exponents of the Irish and International Music Industry

Find out more about MiX • Email: mix@hotpress.ie • Call: (01) 241 1542 • Website: hotpress.com/mix

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JIMMY CARR: TERRIBLY FUNNY Waterfront Hall, Belfast, January 24–26 It may seem like the 8 Out Of 10 Cats presenter is rarely off our TV screens, but Jimmy Carr has maintained a career as one of the UK’s most successful stand-up comedians by constantly touring. Since he began his career in the early 2000s, Jimmy has performed 10 sell-out tours and played over 2,000 shows to 2.5 million plus people.

Not for the easily offended, Carr has made a name for himself as a comic willing to poke and prod around the darkest recesses of taste, while still managing to keep the crowds rolling in the aisles.

STACEY DOOLEY

STRICTLY COME DANCING THE LIVE TOUR FOIL ARMS & HOG SWINES SSE Arena, Belfast, January 29 & 30

Hosted by 2018 winner Stacey Dooley, this high-kicking spectacular will feature a selection of celebrities and professional dancers from 2019's series of the show. Arena audiences can expect to enjoy an unmissable evening of dance entertainment filled with colour, excitement and humour. Showcasing all the amazing choreography and live music that Strictly is known for, audiences will experience a host of breathtaking dance routines guaranteed to leave them reeling and roaring for more. Recreating the glitz, glamour and magic conjured up on the TV, this show is undoubtedly a must-see spectacle for fans and families.

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Waterfront Hall, Belfast, February 2 Ireland’s top sketch trio are back on tour with their new show Swines. With over 100 million hits, the group are best known for their online sketches, but it’s the live show where they really shine. The trio achieved critical acclaim this year with the best reviewed show at the Edinburgh Fringe festival, and are now hitting the road around the Island of Ireland in an over packed car. The new show promises an hour of scripted nonsense, twisted characters, music and unintentional improvisation

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CLANNAD 50th ANNIVERSARY & FAREWELL TOUR Waterfront Hall, Belfast, February 29 Another one of the greats is saying goodbye. Legendary Donegal folk band Clannad are celebrating an exceptional 50-year career with a farewell world tour

which includes some eagerly anticipated Irish shows. The Grammy and BAFTA award-winning quartet have sold 15 million records worldwide and have eight Top 10 UK albums to their name. Additionally,

Clannad have plans to release In A Lifetime, a multi-format, career-spanning anthology.

Grab tickets and make sure you properly say goodbye to the group who’ve done so much for Irish culture!

STEVE MARTIN & MARTIN SHORT: THE FUNNIEST SHOW IN TOWN AT THE MOMENT SSE Arena, Belfast, March 12 Comedy legends of stage and screen for nearly 50 years, Martin and Short have been enjoying their later years by taking to the road together. Their 2018 Netflix special An Evening You Will Forget For The Rest Of Your Life was a huge hit, earning rave reviews and four Emmy nominations. As with that tour, the dynamic duo will be joined by bluegrass band The Steep Canyon, who are frequent collaborators of Steve Martin, himself an accomplished banjo player.

The jokes come at you at a rapid-fire pace with little set-up and big punch lines as they mock Hollywood and the fickle nature of celebrity, but the comedy truly soars when they lovingly (and relentlessly) roast each other.

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T R AIN | NEW S

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WHAT ’S HAPPENING ON THE RAILWAYS

NI public smash ’Stuff A Bus’ toy target for local children this Christmas he annual Translink and U105 Stuff A Bus Toy Appeal 2019 smashed its target of 20,000 toy donations. Thanks to the generosity of the NI public, thousands of children living in poverty received Christmas presents under the tree.

Now in its third year, the public transport provider and broadcaster joined forces to support The Salvation Army and St Vincent de Paul’s Christmas Family Appeal. With toy donation points in bus and train stations across the country, Translink passengers,

staff, local businesses and the wider public responded with exceptional kindness, helping to stuff a double decker Translink bus with over 20,000 toys.

The gifts were delivered ahead of Christmas Eve to families who need it most, ensuring thousands of children wake up to a present on Christmas morning.

Chris Conway, Group Chief Executive of Translink, thanked everyone for their efforts: “A massive thank you to everyone who supported the Stuff A Bus Toy Appeal. Every year we wonder if we can beat the last target, and year on year thousands of people visit our stations to

donate and make a positive difference for families who are going through very tough times at Christmas.

“If you’ve been tuning into U105 you will have heard moving stories about the families that St Vincent De Paul and the Salvation Army look after. It really brings home the need for ongoing support to tackle the serious issue of poverty across Northern Ireland.

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the kindness of everyone who has supported this year’s appeal, and I would like to wish them all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”

Celebrating 10 years of Translink Youth Forum Pupils from local schools across Derry~Londonderry, Enniskillen, Newry and Belfast recently attended special workshops in their local areas, to celebrate 10 years of the Translink Youth Forum transforming public transport to support young people.

Pupils took part in discussions on a wide range of matters to shine a spotlight on the views and experiences of younger passengers, including connections between public transport and the economy, social inclusion, congestion and active lifestyles.

Pictured at the Belfast event are (l-r): Jane Murphy, Translink; Ushnik Banerjee, Methodist College – Belfast; Chris Conway, Translink Group Chief Executive; Piaras Finucane, St Malachy’s College – Belfast; Tacy Hare, St Patrick’s Academy – Lisburn; Chris Quinn, NI Youth Forum Chief Executive; Lucy Grainger; and Naomi Sloane, Translink Youth Forum.

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T RAIN | NEWS

WHAT ’S HAPPENING ON THE RAILWAYS

Belfast’s Gin Palace wins ‘Metro Sessions’

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alented Belfast band Gin Palace was recently announced as the inaugural winner of Northern Ireland’s newest music competition, Metro Sessions - launched by Translink in association with the Oh Yeah Music Centre.

Speaking about the competition, Damian Bannon, Belfast Area Manager of Translink, said: “Translink Metro is the lifeblood of Belfast, connecting people from all walks of life and our new competition is a celebration of the city through music. Northern Ireland has always bred great original musical talent. For a

relatively small population, we have produced some of the biggest musicians in the world like Snow Patrol and Van Morrison. We’re delighted to support new local talent and help develop their career in the music industry.”

Shortlisted from over 60 acts, five finalists (Gin Palace, The Rising, Modern Rome, The John Andrews Band and Lucy Bell) recently performed at a live outdoor final at Belfast City Hall before the winner was decided by a 48-hour public vote which saw thousands of votes cast.

The line-up drew impressive crowds at City Hall with messages of support for the finalists flooding in, including advice from Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody.

Gin Palace is made up of four local lads from Belfast and Carrickfergus who found a love for performing from an early age. Formed in Summer 2018, the band produce a delicate and intricate form of indie music infused with elements from the early jazz and funk traditions of the USA, and the pop and psychedelic musical heritage of 1960s Great Britain, but with a modern twist.

The Translink Metro Sessions Competition was launched in September by Translink as part of the 2019 Sound of Belfast festival programme. Gin Palace has won a £1000 cash prize, recording studio package, airtime and industry mentoring from Media Partner Q Radio.

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TRAIN|NEWS

Saul clubwoman wins Translink Ulster GAA Coach of the Year award

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S

onia Kinsella, a coach from Saul GAC is the Translink Ulster GAA Coach of the Year for 2019.

This is the third time that Translink and Ulster GAA have partnered on the initiative, which is designed to recognise club coaches who demonstrate exceptional commitment to the coaching and development of Gaelic games.

A record number of public nominations were submitted from across Ulster, after which a panel of experts including Down Manager, Paddy Tally; Sports Correspondent, Neil Loughran; and Ulster GAA’s Director of Coaching & Games, Eugene Young, selected one finalist from each county in the province. Over 10,000 votes were cast in an online poll to select the overall winner.

Representing County Down, Sonia Knsella was presented with her award at the Ulster Club Football Final in Healy Park, Omagh. As well as the title, she also wins commemorative kit and free coach travel for her team, courtesy of Translink.

All of the finalists are outstanding ambassadors for their respective counties. The standard of nominations was exceptional, so to make the final nine should be a great source of pride for the individuals and their clubs.

Sonia has coached at her club for many years, committing countless hours. Her efforts have not gone unnoticed by her clubmates, who described her as ‘one in a million’ and praised her for her strength during a tough year for the club.

The full list of county finalists in the Translink Ulster GAA Coach of the Year awards was: • Antrim – Paul Buchanan – Lámh Dhearg, Belfast • Armagh – Rosie McMahon – Silverbridge Harps • Cavan – Fiachra Sweeney – Castlerahan • Donegal – Laurence McMullan – St Mary’s, Convoy • Derry – Sean Mellon – Na Magha CLG • Down – Sonia Kinsella – St Patricks, Saul • Fermanagh – Brendan Rasdale – Derrygonnelly Harps • Monaghan – Jaime Black – Latton O’Rahilly’s • Tyrone – Paddy O’Neill – Derrytresk Fir An Chnoic

T RAIN | NEWS

Saul clubwoman wins Translink Ulster GAA Coach of the Year award

S

WHAT ’S HAPPENING ON THE RAILWAYS

onia Kinsella, a coach from Saul GAC is the Translink Ulster GAA Coach of the Year for 2019.

This is the third time that Translink and Ulster GAA have partnered on the initiative, which is designed to recognise club coaches who demonstrate exceptional commitment to the coaching and development of Gaelic games.

A record number of public nominations were submitted from across Ulster, after which a panel of experts including Down Manager, Paddy Tally; Sports Correspondent, Neil Loughran; and Ulster GAA’s Director of Coaching & Games, Eugene Young, selected one finalist from each county in the province. Over 10,000 votes were cast in an online poll to select the overall winner.

Representing County Down, Sonia Knsella was presented with her award at the Ulster Club Football Final in Healy Park, Omagh. As well as the title, she also wins commemorative kit and free coach travel for her team, courtesy of Translink.

All of the finalists are outstanding ambassadors for their respective counties. The standard of nominations was exceptional, so to make the final nine should be a great source of pride for the individuals and their clubs.

Sonia has coached at her club for many years, committing countless hours. Her efforts have not gone unnoticed by her clubmates, who described her as ‘one in a million’ and praised her for her strength during a tough year for the club.

The full list of county finalists in the Translink Ulster GAA Coach of the Year awards was: • Antrim – Paul Buchanan – Lámh Dhearg, Belfast • Armagh – Rosie McMahon – Silverbridge Harps • Cavan – Fiachra Sweeney – Castlerahan • Donegal – Laurence McMullan – St Mary’s, Convoy • Derry – Sean Mellon – Na Magha CLG • Down – Sonia Kinsella – St Patricks, Saul • Fermanagh – Brendan Rasdale – Derrygonnelly Harps • Monaghan – Jaime Black – Latton O’Rahilly’s • Tyrone – Paddy O’Neill – Derrytresk Fir An Chnoic

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FEATURE ANDREA CORR

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ANDREA CORR

I N T H E D E E P H E A R T ’ S C O R R Following the release of her acclaimed memoir, Barefoot Pilgrimage, Andrea Corr reflects on struggling with fame, holding onto her faith, the importance of Billie Eilish and the future of The Corrs.

INTERVIEW LUCY O'TOOLE

C

PHOTOGRAPHY JOHN SWANELL

elebrity memoirs are often best taken with a pinch of salt. Whether you’re reading a ghostwritten run-through of a pop star’s glory years, or a hastily throwntogether money-spinner, the genre is not typically associated with, shall we say, literary merit.

That’s exactly why Andrea Corr’s stunning memoir, Barefoot Pilgrimage, has blindsided both critics and the public.

Following the death of her father Gerry in 2015, Andrea began seriously reflecting on her life’s journey – resulting in a refreshingly honest work that prioritises the intricacies of family life and faith above the glitz of her world-dominating success as the lead singer of The Corrs. Indeed, for a globally idolised woman, who’s received an honorary MBE, topped charts around the world and rubbed shoulders with the likes of Nelson Mandela, Andrea proves astonishingly normal, in the best sense of the word, both on the page and in conversation.

“I wanted to record what I believed to be an extraordinary story, now that I was far away from it,” Andrea explains. “And that doesn’t just mean the music, but the home as well. It wasn’t until I came to the very end of writing this book that I even thought about people reading it.”

Often taking a stream-of-consciousness approach, Barefoot Pilgrimage raised plenty of eyebrows on its release – with many critics taken aback by Andrea’s fine-tuned writing chops and confident voice.

“Somebody recently said to me in an interview, ‘I didn’t realise you were so funny!’” she recalls with a laugh. “I was in a band as a singer – I wasn’t trying to be a celebrity character or a comedienne. I was shy in the band, particularly in interviews, though not so much on stage. I didn’t do a lot of talking, but I’ve made up for that in

the book.”

Barefoot Pilgrimage was a worthy winner at this year’s An Post Irish Book Awards, taking home the prestigious prize of Ireland AM Popular Non-Fiction Book of the Year.

“That was so emotional for me,” she nods.

“Particularly because Daddy’s poetry was in the book. If he knew – and I think in a way he does – that he won an Irish Book Award, he’d be thrilled.”

Family takes a central role in Barefoot Pilgrimage, as it clearly does in Andrea’s everyday life – demonstrated mid-interview by her expert defusing of a rapidly escalating snack-related row between her two children.

Personal photographs are dispersed throughout the book, while she explores

“I wanted to record what I believed to be an extraordinary story, now that I was far away from it” some of the more painful moments throughout her family’s life, including the loss of her parents and her three-year-old brother Gerard, who died before Andrea was born. Were her family apprehensive about her decision to share these private moments with the world?

“No, because I only showed it to them once it was finished,” she reveals. “I didn’t tell anybody about it along the way. I didn’t want the expectations – because I didn’t even know what I was doing myself. But at the same time, there’s no dirty laundry, and it was never going to be sensationalist or tabloid-worthy. I kind of despair at culture these days – there’s so little dignity.”

Nonetheless, Barefoot Pilgrimage has sparked a massive reaction among readers – particularly with regard to Andrea’s moving discussion of her five miscarriages, a subject

17

that’s impacted the lives of countless women, but often goes undiscussed in Irish life.

“Before the book came out, I was thinking about the subjects in it, and I just didn’t anticipate such a reaction to that section,” she reflects. “That reaction is very telling of how many people are quiet about their hidden grief. It’s made me quite emotional to think so many people suffer in that way – when having these pitfalls can really be a part of your reproductive life.”

The book also sees her openly discussing her faith – something she finds is becoming increasingly difficult in today’s rapidly changing world.

“These days we’re constantly being turned towards hate and darkness – because that’s what we’re watching all the time,” she muses. “Myself included. I’ll sit down and I’ll watch Making A Murderer, and I’ll be intrigued. But really, what we’re talking about are dead bodies, murder and hurt. And then, of course, there’s the leaders who we’re looking at. We’re watching and listening to some awful people.

“And yet, we can’t talk about our faith in humankind, or what happens to our parents and loved ones when they die,” she continues. ”That seems to be something we’re not really permitted to have a point of view on. It’s strange. But the thing is, if you’re confident in your own faith, you don’t need to push it down anyone’s throat, and that’s certainly not something I would consider. It’s something that’s with me every day of my life.”

In the face of dramatic changes in the Roman Catholic Church, does she continue to find solace in prayer and Catholicism?

“Absolutely,” she says. “Like everybody else, I’ve seen and

18

been horrified by the crimes that have been permitted to happen within the Catholic Church that we’ve been brought up in. Those people should be fully compensated as much as they can, because their lives have now gone down a different road than they should have.

“But at the same time, for my own happiness, my own faith, and even my faith in humankind, I can’t blame God for it. I don’t want to lose God.” Andrea’s searingly honest approach also extends to her discussion of fame – something she admits to struggling with in her twenties. Would she be reluctant to let her children enter that world?

“Well, I’m here with a book, and an extraordinary story to tell – and that’s because of a passion for music, and walking, albeit naively, into that world,” she considers. “If my children loved music, of course I’d embrace it all the way. I wouldn’t be without my worries, but at the same time, I’d have my worries no matter what they went into!”

Indeed, Andrea has great faith in music’s latest teenage megastar, Billie Eilish.

“She seems like an old soul,” Andrea smiles. “I’m going to sound like a granny now, but I really do respect her stance against the exploitation of women in pop culture and pop music. And I really love the songs – I’m happy that there’s no swear words, so it’s alright for the kids, too (laughs).”

She’s also noted that, at the height of The Corrs’ fame, there was a tendency among the media to pit the sisters against each other, or judge them solely by their looks – while Jim, as the sole male member of the band, was deemed the ‘proper’ musician. Are those kind of practices changing?

“Definitely not, no,” she sighs. “I would imagine that people in that position now are still getting the same treatment. It didn’t really cause tension between us, but it did cause discomfort.”

Andrea surmises that life in the public eye may be more straightforward for men – with superstars like Bono often sitting more comfortably in their fame.

“I think he’s just about gotten used to it by now,” she laughs. “It’s something he’s learned to live with it. But even John Hughes, our manager, would say that, when you watch a male rock band getting off a plane looking all wrecked, worn and messy, it’s grand – in fact, they’re probably all the more credible for it. With women, it doesn’t quite work out the same way.”

Having recently moved back to Ireland with her husband and two children, is Andrea keeping up with the current happenings on the homegrown scene?

“I’m addicted to The Gloaming!” she enthuses. “I keep putting it on every day and my children are like, ‘Mammy, you’re playing that song again!’. But aside from that, I’m pretty terrible – I’m always listening to audiobooks.”

As we hurtle towards the end of another decade, which saw the release of her second solo album, Lifelines, and a major Corrs reunion, it’s no surprise that Andrea’s real standout moments revolve around her family.

“Yes, it would have to be the children,” she nods. “He’s nearly six and she’s seven – so they’re very much of this decade. And of course, the book. It’s a massive highlight.”

And could a Corrs reunion be on the cards for 2020?

“I hope that we play together again,” Andrea smiles. “We’re talking about doing dates, and I believe we will do something.

It’s just about managing all of our lives, with the children and everything. Having gone solo, and done all that, I really appreciate being a singer in a band, especially a band such as The Corrs. I love that position, and I really look forward to singing our songs again.”

• Barefoot Pilgrimage is out now.

HILDEN BREWERY

IRISH LINEN CENTRE AND LISBURN MUSEUM

DUNDONALD INTERNATIONAL ICE BOWL

THE PARSONS NOSE

VISIT LISBURN AND CASTLEREAGH Why not unwind after the Christmas rush with a well-deserved trip or day out to Lisburn and Castlereagh?

From action-packed attractions to rich cultural and heritage sites, there’s something to capture everyone’s imagination.

Delve into the history of the area at the Irish Linen Centre and Lisburn Museum (lisburnmuseum.com; Market Square, Lisburn), home to the award-winning ‘Flax To Fabric: The Story Of Irish Linen’ display.

In the stunning setting of Hilden House, you can visit Hilden Brewery (hildenbrewery.com; 192 Grand St, Lisburn) – a working brewery with a licensed restaurant, where you'll discover the history of the ancient craft from the Master Brewer, and sample award-winning beers.

There’s plenty of family fun to be had at the Dundonald International Ice Bowl (theicebowl.com; 111 Old Dundonald Rd), offering Northern Ireland’s only public Olympic-size ice rink, ten-pin bowling and a jungle-themed play kingdom.

Foodies will also enjoy the area’s acclaimed restaurants, including The Parsons Nose (48 Lisburn St, Hillsborough).

For even more information about the area, see visitlisburncastlereagh.com, or drop into Lisburn Visitor Information Centre (15 Lisburn Square, Lisburn) or Hillsborough Visitor Information Centre (The Square, Hillsborough). enjoylisburn

@visitlisburn

visitlisburncastlereagh

vic.lisburn@lisburncastlereagh.gov.uk

02892447622 visitlisburncastlereagh.com

FEATURE HARRY CONNICK JR.

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HARRY CONNICK JR.

HARRY'S GAME He’s one of the bestselling artists of all time in America, and has appeared in blockbusters like Independence Day and When Harry Met Sally, but Harry Connick Jr’s latest project sees him celebrate the music of ‘the complete entertainer’, Cole Porter. He talks singing, acting, performing and more.

INTERVIEW PETER McGORAN

H

arry Connick Jr lounges back in the room of his south Dublin hotel.

He’s just gotten in from Paris, will be performing on The Late Late Show a few hours after our interview, and will spend most of his brief time in Dublin fielding questions from journalists. Yet, the 52-yearold jazz singer is as pleasant an interviewee as you could ask for.

There’s no mention of a time limit for our chat, and, as we get into his latest album True Love: A Celebration Of Cole Porter, Harry seems to relish the opportunity to talk for as long as possible about his passion project.

As he explains, talking in his deep, commanding Louisiana drawl, the album sees Connick Jr selecting some classic compositions from The Great American Songbook and rearranging them to suit his own unique voice.

“I was signed with Columbia Records for a long time,” he says. “I figured it was time to sign a new deal, so I went to Verve because they were a group I’d admired for a while, and it just seemed a really good fit. I was talking to them early on in the process about what kind of album they thought I should make, and one of the things we kept talking about was a Cole Porter Songbook. I’d never done a Songbook album which is just one composer. I’d also done a few Cole Porter songs, but I’d obviously never done a full album.

They said they loved that idea, so that’s how we all settled on that.”

He’s known for his voice and his chiselled good looks, but it’s not widely known that Harry writes all the parts for all the music he makes…

“It’s funny, because when I was about 23, I did my first orchestral arranging and orchestrating. And I’ve done every album since, writing all the string parts… It’s just what I do. But I never really talked about it because I thought, ‘People don’t really care, they just want to hear the music and they’ll like it or not. They don’t care who’s writing the notes down.’ Then my wife turned to me one day and said, ‘Why don’t you tell people that you’re the guy that conducts the orchestra? Tell people.’ So I’ve told people on this one and I think some people have been surprised by that. But I go out on every record. It’s a lot of work, but it’s my passion.”

With legendary songs like ‘Paris’, ‘Night And Day’ and ‘I Get A Kick Out Of You’, as well as his success on Broadway and film, Cole Porter is often considered as ‘the complete songwriter’. Does Harry see himself as something similar?

“I see us as having similar skillsets,” he reflects. “I would by no means compare myself to him, other than that we both write music and lyrics and know about orchestration. But I have to draw the line there, because he’s a legend, and it would be presumptuous and inaccurate of me to place myself anywhere near his level.”

Harry Connick Jr doesn’t tend to talk about his politics, but I put it to him that Cole Porter was particularly revered because he provided people

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"If people are going to come and see me play, the bottom line is – my entertainment will hopefully make them feel better than they did when they came in. That’s a big responsibility.”

with entertainment during a difficult juncture in American history – notably during the Depression Era and in the lead-up to World War II. What does it mean to be an entertainer during times of national difficulty?

“Man that’s such a great question,” Harry nods fervently.

“And you’re absolutely right, he did write music like that – he probably got people through really difficult times. I think that’s something I have in common with him too.”

He pauses to think. “You know, it is a particularly difficult time in the United States right now and all over the world.

And I take the idea that I’m an entertainer very seriously.

I thought it was maybe arrogant to think about that, but I’ve had enough time to digest that fact. If people are going to come and see me play, the bottom line is – my entertainment will hopefully make them feel better than they did when they came in. That’s a big responsibility.”

Connick Jr has previously been part of events of national unity in his country, such the Concert For Hurricane Relief, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in his hometown of New Orleans. Has this persuaded him against talking about politics?

“Here’s how I see it. When I’m on stage, I see – for example in the United States – that half of those people might fall on one side on the political fence, and the other half might fall on the other side. But yet, they’re all laughing or enjoying something together. And me being a performer, you almost by default celebrate something to do with our common humanity, which is really important.

We’re in a very divisive time in our culture, especially in the United States. So that’s something we can’t take lightly. The person you’re sitting next to at a show might have a different set of beliefs to you, yet we’re still breaking bread together with this entertainment.”

As well as his new album, Harry Connick Jr is still as busy as ever on the filming front. He’s set to star alongside Katherine Heigl in upcoming crime thriller Fear Of Rain. How does he keep on top of it all?

He laughs. “Man, it’s exactly the same as what you’re doing right now. You came to this interview clearly very prepared, seemingly interested, and you’re taking each thing you do today as it comes. When I do a film? The last thing I’m thinking about is playing piano or writing an orchestration, it’s all about that film, that moment. That obviously comes as a result of really complex scheduling on the part of my management. I’ll be honest, if it were left to me I wouldn’t have a career. They keep me on track and keep me focused. I love it all. I have a short attention span. It’s almost like, when I’m in that movie – I’ve forgotten how to play piano. Or when I’m on Broadway, it’s like experiencing everything again for the first time.”

• Harry Connick Jr’s new album, True Love: A Celebration Of Cole Porter, is out now.

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FEATURE LESLEY MANVILLE

L O V E I N

I S T H E

A I R

Lesley Manville discusses her latest film Ordinary Love, a powerful and emotional drama in which she stars opposite Liam Neeson.

INTERVIEW ROE McDERMOTT

W

e haven’t even spoken yet and actress Lesley Manville has already landed me in trouble.

Not intentionally, nor recently, to be fair. In 2011, when the nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards were announced, I was asked to speak about the nominations on the radio. I spent so long angrily ranting that Manville hadn’t received a nomination for her sublime performance as a lonely, desperate divorcee in Mike Leigh’s quiet drama Another Year that I barely discussed the actual nominations, annoying the producers – but I stand by my rage. Manville was finally nominated for an Oscar last year for her brilliantly scalding performance in Phantom Thread – but in my heart, she will always be “Two-time Oscar nominee Lesley Manville.”

Manville laughs appreciatively when I tell her this.

“Thank you!” she says, with the modest air of someone who values the compliment – while also agreeing that

"If you put an interesting story with a woman over 40 on the screen, people will want to go and see it" 24

her performance deserved a nod. “Who knows what goes through the voters’ minds, but I know it was a complicated one for Sony Classic Pictures who were distributing it. It was looking promising that year that I was going to end up with a nomination, but no-one knew whether to put me as a Supporting Actress or a Leading Actress. I’m an Academy member myself now, and you can put anybody in whatever category you think. I kind of feel maybe that’s where I came unstuck – you can get a split vote where a number of people put you in Supporting and others put you in Leading, and that’s it, you’re done for!”

“But listen,” she says conspiratorially, “I got the nomination for Phantom Thread – payback time!”

This introduction is Manville in a nutshell: warm, mischievous, assured, humble, and always authentically herself.

“It was a great film to make,” she enthuses. “Paul Thomas Anderson is heralded as one of the world’s great film directors, and quite rightly, he’s wonderful. I had 14 glorious weeks of filming that with Daniel Day Lewis and Paul, so it was one of the stand-out experiences of my career. The Oscar nomination was just the icing on the cake. I didn’t grow up in a culture that expected Oscar nominations, so to get one was just thrilling!”

Manville may not have grown up in a culture of awards, but she’s growing into it beautifully. The Brighton-born actress started acting as a teenager, was married to Gary

LESLEY MANVILLE

"It’s a beautiful film and I think it very delicately and accurately conveys what it’s like to go through this experience"

Oldman, and has long been respected for her incredible work in theatre, television and film – including her career-long collaborations with acclaimed director Mike Leigh.

“I’m so indebted to him,” Manville gushes. “I met him when I was 22 and I don’t know if I would be the actor I am today without him having been such a force of good in my career. He taught me fundamentally that I could play characters that are unlike me, which up until that point, I didn’t think I could do. I didn’t have a breadth of understanding about my own capabilities, so he brought that to my table.

“Every job with him has been glorious, whether it’s a big role like in Another Year, or a smaller supporting role in something like Secrets & Lies. I’ve had the most amazing experiences because he’s never asked me to play the same character twice. It’s really been the most brilliant creative influence throughout my career, and I hope we do something else together in the future.”

Though Manville has always been an in-demand performer, she is now enjoying what she refers to as a “golden period”, receiving acclaim both in the UK and internationally. As well as Phantom Thread, she has recently starred in the BBC sitcom Mum, appeared in Disney’s Maleficent and its sequel, and starred in an international touring production of Eugene O’Neill’s magnum opus, Long Day’s Journey Into Night.

“I’m working too much, I’ve got too much work on!” she laughs. “One can only be grateful.”

Manville’s latest film, Ordinary Love, is a beautifully quiet drama in which she and Liam Neeson star as a married couple, who are left reeling when Manville’s character is diagnosed with breast cancer. Neeson and Manville share the warm, teasing chemistry of a couple who not only love each other, but like each other immensely – though the weight of the diagnosis destabilises their easy routine. Written by Belfast playwright Owen McCafferty and loosely based on the experiences of McCafferty and his wife Peggy who survived breast cancer, the film feels realistic, grounded and emotional, which is exactly what attracted Manville to the role.

“Then there’s the Liam Neeson element, which is not be sniffed at!” Manville laughs. “I was asked did I want to do virtually a two-hander with Liam Neeson, and my hand shot up immediately – yes please! But it’s a beautiful film and I think it very delicately and accurately conveys what it’s like to go through this

experience. You don’t want to make a film about such a difficult subject and get the factual stuff wrong, or have the procedural stuff be inaccurate. But we had real technicians and nurses when my character is having her biopsy and chemo, so they could really talk me through what it would be like, to help me to play it. And there’s hardly anyone who isn’t affected by cancer in some way in their lives, so it’s important.”

Neeson and Manville are lovely onscreen together, showcasing the quiet, ordinary joys of life – the jokes, the dinners, the affection, the contentment – and how their characters try to keep valuing their everyday life together, even when going through something as devastating as cancer. Manville is proud of and grateful for the intimacy she and Neeson conveyed onscreen.

“Directors just have to put out the offers and hope that the chemistry is going to be there, because you can’t predict that,” she notes. “I think they knew Liam and I were both nice, easygoing people and neither of us have a reputation for being difficult, but we didn’t know each other beforehand. Liam lives in New York and I was doing a play in New York a few months before we started shooting the film, so we met up and had some time together. But it was – and I think Liam would say the same – just easy to be with each other, the chemistry was there. Which is lucky, because we have to do such intimate scenes, and I felt very easy in his company.”

Hollywood is not a kind industry to women, particularly to actresses over 30, and Manville has been determined to seek out interesting roles for women her age. She has found them – but acknowledges that they are few and far between.

“I’m having a golden time at the moment, but I do know a lot of my peers are fed up being offered The Wife or The Mother,” shares Manville. “These characters have no dimension and aren’t the driving force of the piece; they’re just serving the male characters. But I do think it’s slowly getting better because the film industry is realising that if you put an interesting story with a woman over 40 on the screen, people will want to go and see it – they’ve proven that, in their droves. And it can be any kind of film, from Mamma Mia to Ordinary Love. They’re films that are properly representing my generation, and aren’t just pigeonholing them into uninteresting roles. It is getting better, but there needs to be more progress.

25

S N O W B U S I N E S S With Snow Patrol having just released latest album Reworked, we meet frontman Gary Lightbody to discuss his recent team-up with Bono, winning awards, NI’s new breed of bands and more.

INTERVIEW EDWIN MCFEE

W

hen Snow Patrol quietly drifted off into their selfimposed Odinsleep at the start of the decade, some wondered if they would return and, if they did, would they be able to take back the stadiums and festivals of the globe? Last year’s Wildness finally ended their hiatus, and proved another commercial hit, maintaining the group’s place in the rock vanguard.

Aiming to make up for lost time, and also to perhaps strike while the iron is hot, the (mostly) Bangor-bred bunch have served up another new record in the form of Reworked. The opus features 13 reimagined cuts from their back catalogue, plus three new tunes to tide fans over until Wildness’ sequel (more on that later…).

When Enterprise catches up with singer/guitarist Gary Lightbody in LA he tells us that, like most worthwhile art, the seeds of the LP grew from a refusal to do what was expected “It’s been 25 years since we started,” he reflects. “So maybe the obvious thing would’ve been to release a Best Of, but we didn’t want to do that. We already released a Best Of 10 years ago, so we wanted to give people something they hadn’t heard before. That was preferable to trotting out another one, and rinsing people for the thing they’ve already got, you know?

“We’ve been playing acoustically a lot on side tours these days, so I thought we could do an acoustic record. I talked to Johnny about it and he was like, ‘Nah let’s do something more ambitious than that!’ I didn’t think we’d have the time, but he made time on tour and worked his butt off. We recorded it across a hundred different cities, just setting up

26

in hotel rooms and dressing rooms. Johnny worked until goodness-knows-when-o’clock in the morning. This is the first record we’ve ever made on the road.”

Snow Patrol appeared at Belfast’s Ulster Hall on November 7, to receive their thoroughly deserved Oh Yeah Legend Award at the now annual NI Music Prize bash. How does Gary feel about being an official legend, then?

“I think we all feel old,” he laughs. “It is an amazing honour.

Therapy?, Ash and the legend that is Terri Hooley have received it in the past and we’re proud to be part of that list. I actually gave Terri his award at the first event many years ago. I’ve been to the Northern Ireland Music Awards a few times and it’s a brilliant night.

“The NI music scene is infinitely healthier now than when I was starting out. When we were playing gigs at 18, 19, 20, there were great bands, but it didn’t feel like a deeply connected music scene, whereas now it does. There’s so many great young bands, there’s people playing on each other’s records, getting gigs sorted together… you feel like it’s a real scene, and more akin to what happens in Dublin.

In my early days, I’d go down to Dublin and see what was happening and you’d be almost kinda jealous. Everybody knew each other, everybody was hanging out and enjoying themselves, and that’s how it feels now in Belfast, which is amazing.”

The Best Album category was particularly competitive this year, and Gary marvels at the high standard of the nominated acts.

“Saint Sister’s album is is my favourite record on there.

Two Door Cinema Club’s is great too. They’re also Bangor lads and have recorded with our long-time producer Jacknife Lee. He’s actually their long-time producer too – they’ve done three albums with him. There are so many incredible records and they just keep coming out. Like Kitt Philippa just released an album, which is stunning and

SNOW PATROL

“It was the first time an all Northern Irish bill was attempted on that scale, and so many of them played out of their frickin’ skin."

it’s not even in contention until next year’s awards. It feels like there’s a continuum that’s developed. Before, albums came out in dribs and dabs, now there’s a constant flow of awesomeness.”

Speaking of a constant flow of awesomeness, earlier this summer Snow Patrol silenced the naysayers when they famously sold out their homecoming show at Ward Park in Bangor.

“It was amazing,” reflects Gary. “MCD looked after the first two and we went into co-production with them on this one. It wouldn’t be something we’d rush straight back into (laughs).

I now understand what it takes to put a gig on, from building the stage to the lighting to the toilets to the bars… I know that we got the bars wrong, because it was the only thing people were complaining about! There’s never enough bars at an Irish festival, let’s put it that way. There’ll never be enough.

“It was an incredibly immersive experience. We were on tour all over the world and we were getting calls about various things that needed sorting. But it was something we had a lot riding on, and we had a lot of belief in it, so it was worth it. Some people thought we were mental to try it again nine years after the last one, but we just trusted it was going to work and we were proved right.

“It was the first time an all Northern Irish bill was attempted on that scale, and so many of them played out of their frickin’ skin. Like The Wood Burning Savages were playing on the second stage and they were unreal. Every gig they do, it’s as if they’re playing Wembley to 80,000 people and that is the sorta belief you need if you’re a rock band. They’ve such extraordinary confidence and stagecraft for such a young group.”

And of course, Bangor also received a visitation from Bono that night too, with the U2 frontman joining the band on a version of ‘One’. Gary tells us the whole experience left him feeling like he was back in school.

“It’s funny, we were talking about having a special guest,” he notes. “Obviously the first person I thought of was Bono, but I didn’t want to say it out loud because I thought the idea was too mental! I thought, he’s not gonna be free, but then Jonny Quinn said it and I was like, ‘Okay, I’ll text him I suppose…’. I sent him a wee text and fair play to him, immediately he said look, I’m busy that day, but I’m going to see what I can do to move things around.

“He was up for it right from the get-go. He was only able to get there at 10 o’clock, so we were already onstage by the time he hit Bangor. We didn’t officially know it was happening until he walked out onstage! It was a flying by the seat of your pants situation if ever there was one. Obviously he doesn’t have to rehearse ‘One’, but we’d never played it together before. So I texted him beforehand and said, as soon as you go out you’re in charge – take over. There’s no point trying to stand beside the greatest frontman in rock ‘n’ roll history, so I let him do his thing. I stood in the background and sang along a little bit every now and again. I think you can tell from my face in the photos that I felt like an 11-year-old kid thinking what the hell is happening? This has broken my mind.”

Finally, we turn to the subject of Wildness’ follow-up.

Lightbody reveals that his band’s fans won’t have to wait another seven years to get their hands on it.

“On Reworked we’ve showcased our gentler side,” he says.

“So on the next one, I’d like to do something big. I’d like to do something rocky, a bit more up. Not that I don’t enjoy softer music, but there’s an itch that I definitely want to scratch, and that’s making a big rock record. That’s my plan. I haven’t spoken to the rest of the guys about it, they might have a different answer. But everybody in the band loves rock music, so I don’t think it’s going to be a plan that we’ll disagree on.”

• Reworked is out now on Polydor. Snow Patrol play the Olympia Theatre, Dublin on January 15.

27

SPORT KATIE MULLAN

H O C K E Y I N G T H E O P P O S I T I O N

In November, the Irish women’s hockey team made history when they defeated Canada to qualify for the Olympics for the first time.

Captain KATIE MULLAN reflects on a remarkable 18 months.

INTERVIEW LUCY O’TOOLE

KATIE MULLAN

T

he Irish women’s hockey team’s World Cup heroics were the sporting highlight of 2018 that no one saw coming.

Smashing popular misconceptions of women’s hockey as a sport for well-behaved schoolgirls, captain Katie Mullan and her team proved themselves to be among the top Irish athletes of their generation – becoming the first Irish field sports team to reach a World Cup final, and taking home historic silver medals.

Now, following a dramatic victory over Canada at Donnybrook’s Energia Park in November, the team are gearing up to make history all over again at the Tokyo Olympics. Shattering expectations and records alike, the qualifier drew the biggest ever crowd for a women’s international sporting event in Ireland, with a total of 6,137 cheering spectators.

Katie tells me that the team celebrated in the best way they knew how: “Heading into Copper’s ‘til the wee hours.”

It was just one in a series of celebrations the girls have managed to squeeze in over the last year-and-a-half, including their heroes’ welcome following the World Cup, with a turnout in the thousands that blindsided the team.

“We were in our own little bubble in London, so we didn’t even realise how big the support was back at home,” Katie recalls. “After the quarter-finals, we had all put our phones in our bedside lockers, and logged off social media, so we weren’t really hearing things. We were just focused on the next game.

“It wasn’t until the day we landed back in Dublin Airport that we saw what was going on,” she continues. “We stepped off the plane and looked up to the big glass windows in the airport. There were all these people in green cheering and waving at us. We didn’t even have to go through passport control!”

A Garda escort brought the team to their 8,000-strong throng of supporters on Dame Street. Although they were about four months too early, highlights included a sing-a-long of ‘All I Want For Christmas’ – which even impressed Mariah Carey, who shared a video of the madness with her 20 million-plus followers on Twitter.

“There’s a long way to go, but when you step back and look at we were in 2015 versus where we are now, it’s chalk and cheese”

PHOTOS: DANNI FROTO

“That was outrageous,” Katie laughs. “We were worried when they told us they were going to do a homecoming for us on Dame Street. We thought it would be a flop – that there would be no one there, and the pictures on the news would look awful. Boy, were we wrong!

“The nicest thing about it was that our true personalities and our team morale came across. We were just being ourselves, and we’re all really proud of that.

We’ve never had any media training, or any exposure like that before, so it was cool to know what the public were getting was 100% honest.”

Overnight, the team found themselves catapulted from relative obscurity as underdogs, to celebrity status – scooping up plenty of prestigious silverware, including RTÉ Sport Team of the Year.

“It was really special to be able to dress up and put on a ballgown,” Katie smiles.

“Doing those things together is really important, but it’s a big change for us.

We’ve gone from not even knowing that these events were going on, to getting invited and receiving awards.”

These starry highlights are something Katie could have never predicted when she started playing hockey at school in Ballymoney, Co. Antrim.

“My PE teacher was the vice captain of the Irish women’s hockey team,” she explains. “If it wasn’t for her, I probably wouldn’t have even known that international hockey was a thing. It was her dream to play in the World Cup and the Olympics. These players that inspired me when I was younger are looking at us now, and they can’t believe where we’ve got to. I hope in 20 years time, I can look at the Irish women’s team and be able to say the same. That’s how I want to see the sport grow and progress. But never in my era did I think hockey was going to get to where it’s got, especially in terms of the media coverage.”

Katie, who has also found success in the GAA, winning the All-Ireland Intermediate Club Camogie Championship in 2010 with CLG Eoghan Rua, was

29

“There was a real joy, knowing that every sacrifice you’ve made along the way is worthwhile. You’ve achieved that goal.” surprised by the warped perception of hockey in Ireland ahead of the World Cup. “The big perception would have been that hockey was a posh, upper-class sport in Ireland,” she says, “But what our team represents is a complete contrast to that.

Hockey is a sport that’s not expensive to play, and everyone is welcome. It’s the number one sport for girls in most schools across the country. This perception just isn’t the reality, and I wasn’t even aware of it until we were asked about it before the World Cup. To be honest, I was a bit gobsmacked.”

In fact, the history of women’s hockey on these shores runs surprisingly deep.

In 1896, Ireland hosted the first recorded women’s international hockey match – defeating England 2-0. 123 years later, the Irish side finally have the platform to raise awareness about crucial issues in their sport.

“In hockey, both men and women are equally underfunded – across the board,” Katie notes. “We just don’t have the programmes and funding that the GAA have, but there’s such a need for it, considering that it’s an international sport. The cost of us going to play games against other teams is huge.

“The number of kids playing hockey has tripled in the last 12 months,” she continues. “But the problem we’re facing now is that we don’t have the facilities to cope with those numbers, and we don’t have enough coaches. A lot of time and money has to be put into improving those resources.”

Like Serena Williams and Irish international rugby player Leah Lyons before them, Katie and her team have also used their voices to speak out against

30

body-shaming culture, and its impact on young sportswomen. Fighting against the tendency to refer to muscular women as ‘manly’, Katie argues that “strong is the new skinny”.

“I’ve spent a lot of time coaching, and the girls have told me about the pressures of school and just being a teenager,” she explains. “Now, I’m not very old, but it’s even changed massively since I was at school. The pressures of social media just blow me away. It makes it very difficult for these girls.

“Playing sport, no matter what it is, creates such an important space for young people, where they can go and talk to their teammates about what’s going on. Kids should have somewhere to go to express themselves. Without sports, I wouldn’t have been able to do that.”

While this passion for hockey has brought her international success, it certainly hasn’t come without some substantial sacrifices.

“Every one of us on the team has had to make some major life choices, in order to be able to commit to the programme,” she nods. “Whether that’s a change in career, where you live, or how often you get to see your family and friends. So many friendships don’t last because you just don’t have the time. There have been so many weddings, birthdays and trips away with my family and friends that I’ve had to miss out on.

“That’s why, when we qualified, a lot of the emotion was relief. There was a real joy, knowing that every sacrifice you’ve made along the way is worthwhile. You’ve achieved that goal.”

This success has coincided with the launch of the 20x20 campaign, which

aims to increase media coverage, participation and attendance of women’s sport in Ireland by 20% by the end of 2020.

“It couldn’t have come at a better time,” Katie says. “It’s made a huge difference, and it’s definitely working – but of course, 20% more than not very much is still not very much! It’s brilliant when these campaigns reach their target, but we have to aim higher again. We have to keep pushing until equality in sport doesn’t even have to be a topic anymore.”

Although it’s been an unforgettable year for the Irish women’s team, their male counterparts haven’t been so lucky.

A controversial penalty shoot-out in the last seconds of their own qualifier against Canada saw their Olympic dreams dashed.

“What happened to the men was heartbreaking,” Katie says sadly. “We all watched it, and we were absolutely gutted for them. There are some exceptional players there, and now a number of them will retire, which is such a shame.”

The men’s devastating loss aside, Katie reckons that Irish hockey is thriving.

“There’s a long way to go, but when you step back and look at we were in 2015 versus where we are now, it’s chalk and cheese,” she smiles. “That’s a huge credit to the nation for getting behind us. When people contact us, and say that watching us on the TV has brought some joy to their life, that’s massive. This has become bigger than any of us could ever have imagined. When I first started playing for Ireland, you would get 30 or 40 people on the sideline, and a few dogs. Now we’re getting over 6,100 – the biggest crowd at a women’s international event ever. That says it all.”

FOOD

A FOOD AWAKENING The latest dining news from resident foodie Stuart Clark

(Clockwise) Krewe, Ora & Glas

LUST FOR LIFE

The reviews have all been rave for Ora, the new Great Victoria Street wine and tapas joint.

Deriving its name from the Maori word for “life”, the globetrotting menu reflects chefowner Marty Murphy’s culinary travels with the Spiced Glazed Pork with Fennel, Kohlrabi, Pear & Yuzu Dressing and Confit Duck Leg with Chorizo & Lentil Cassoulet top of the ‘recommended’ list. With its plush velvet chairs, original brickwork and views of the Grand Opera House across the road, the room is every bit as tasty as the food. orabelfast.com.

A TOUCH OF GLAS

One of Dublin’s hottest new tables is Glas, a stylish vegan ‘n’ veggie joint whose menu changes with the season.

Residing close to Dáil Éireann at 16 Chatham Street, D2, we feasted recently on White Truffle & Forest Mushroom Pate, Roast Candy Baby Beats (yum!) and Plum Tart Tatin, which comes with a generous scoop of Pistachio & Almond Milk Ice Cream.

They get extra marks for having staff

who know the menu inside out and are happy to talk you through it. glasrestaurant.ie Also causing quite the stir at 51 Capel Street, D1 is Krewe, which is bringing America’s Deep South to the Northside.

Crispy Pork Boudin, Cajun Blackened Cod and Lamb Belly Po’ are just a few of the Nawleans classics that can be washed down with one of their signature cocktails. The Aged Rum, Maraschino, Pomegranate, Hibiscus, Lime & Muscovado Dixieland is especially tasty. krewe.ie.

YEAR OF THE DOG

Having teased their arrival for several years, BrewDog has finally opened its Dublin Outpost in a striking looking

building on Capital Dock.

Along with such signature beers as Punk IPA, Dead Pony Club and Indie Pale Ale, you can sample such muscular fellas as the 14.2% Abstrakt AB:20; the fantastic BrewDog vs. Cloudwater New England IPA collaboration; and a rotating cast of guest tipples, which the last time we popped in included Wild Beer’s seriously yummy Millionaire Salted Caramel Stout. brewdog.com

POETRY IN MOTION

Let us also point you in the direction of the outstanding beers being conjured up by Heaney, the farmhouse brewery run by a relative of the late, extremely great Seamus near Magherafelt.

Along with their Stout, Red Ale, Blonde and Pale Ale core range, Heaney’s recent limited-edition Can’t Catch Me Gingerbread Imperial Stout shows what they’re capable of when allowed to run riot! heaney.ie.

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FEATURE SORCHA RICHARDSON

F I R S T C L A S S O F F E R I N G

Acclaimed singer Sorcha Richardson discusses her stunning debut album, First Prize Bravery, transatlantic living, negotiating friendships and relationships, and why she’s happy to be back home in Dublin.

INTERVIEW PETER McGORAN

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I

t goes without saying – first albums are tricky. But in Sorcha Richardson’s case, that felt particularly true considering that her musical output to date has consisted of brilliantly evocative singles, which don’t conform to a single genre (there’s lo-fi indie, folk rock, synth-pop – take your pick).

Richardson is a bit of an anomaly on the Irish music scene. For most of the time that she spent becoming a successful musician, she was away from these shores (she moved to America after school to study creative writing in Brooklyn, where she lived up until last year). She had a dedicated following back in Ireland, but it was on the digital landscape that her stature grew; singles like ‘Last Train’ and ‘Ruin Your Night’ gained a staggering amount of traction on Spotify, and Sorcha found herself placed on major playlists, where her songs amassed tens of millions of plays. When I spoke to her last year during a public interview, she laughed casually about a surreal moment when she woke up one morning to find her phone ablaze with notifications: Hollywood star Chloe Grace Moretz had shared her song ‘Petrol Station’ with her 3 million+ followers on Twitter.

The singles releases were obviously doing well, but making a complete body of work was something that had been on Sorcha’s mind for a while now.

“It’s exciting to do this after doing the single thing for a few years,” she says. “It’s exciting to make a more complete picture.

This feels like a novel rather than a short story.”

The 10 songs on First Prize Bravery are packed with vivid imagery, documenting the minutiae of social interactions: the dramatic early days of a relationship (‘Honey’); the old friend who talks about standing up for your own (‘First Prize Bravery’); and the tail-end of a late night, where the penny drops that a relationship isn’t incompatible (‘Oh Oscillator’). Sorcha’s voice gravitates brilliantly from deeply melodic, confessional and poetic (“Watched you move around the room / You’re more magnetic than the moon”) to a kind of blunt tongue-in-cheek irony (“Hey, Ok, we don’t have to talk about it / It’s only love”). On top of that, her penchant for telling stories about intensely relatable social situations mean that if this is a ‘novel’, it could well be a Sally Rooney one.

“Once I decided that I was going to make this, I started writing differently compared to anything that I’d done before,” says Sorcha, explaining how she sat down in front of the piano in her parents’ house and, still unsure of her ability with the keys, just… started writing.

“After a while I stopped and said, ‘Right let me look at everything I’ve done from the past year-and-a-half.’ I spent a few weeks trying to get a clearer direction of how I wanted the album to be. A lot of it came to me when I was driving around LA with one of my friends, listening to the demos in his car. Because I think you hear them in a much different way when you listen to them out in the world, than when you listen to them with headphones on. I can’t listen properly that way.

I’m too analytical. So over a couple of weeks, I went

“It’s exciting to make a more complete picture. This feels like a novel rather than a short story.”

SORCHA RICHARDSON

through this process of kicking things off the list, until there were maybe 14 or 15 songs. Then taking those ones and saying, ‘These are the ones I think make the most sense. These are the ones I want to work on.’”

For the recording process, Sorcha teamed up with Alex Casnoff, who had been her friend and the producer of many of her songs in the past.

“Alex and I had worked on ‘4AM’ and ‘Waking Life’ and ‘Can’t We Pretend’. Some of these songs existed back then. I showed him early versions of ‘Oh Oscillator’ and ‘High In The Garden’, so we were talking about these songs for a while, but it didn’t feel like they were ready to be recorded. Then I spent some time in New York, recording some better studio demos.

“After that, the bulk of the recording was done between Dublin and LA. Alex got a band of his friends and we recorded a lot of the drums and piano and bass live together. Then we kind of finished it with a lot of swapping of hard drives and Abletons back and forth. Alex has produced most of my music that people would have heard, so it felt easier to let him take the reins than it might have with other producers.”

Lyrically, First Prize Bravery is about negotiating friendships and relationships. How did Richardson find herself gravitating towards those themes?

She thinks on it. “What happens with songwriting is – the times when things go wrong, I really find myself dwelling on that a lot. The way I know how to understand things better is to write about it. Then it ends up in the songs. And also, friendships and relationships are confusing. The intricacies between yourself and another person – whatever category of relationship it is – they’re so messy and so confusing, and so much goes left unsaid. And if you would just say what you mean, maybe it would be easier.

(Laughs) But then, maybe it wouldn’t? Maybe people find that vulnerability hard to deal with. But I always find that interesting, and that’s what I always return to.

The quiet intimate moments between two people that are confusing.”

Added into the confusion was the fact that Sorcha was spending almost a decade living between Ireland and the US. Was it difficult to even conceive of a relationship with someone when you didn’t know where you’d be in a few months?

“Not necessarily,” she says, “but I like being spontaneous. I like being able to leave at the drop of a hat. So that actually suits me fine. So yeah… Not really, and I haven’t been in a serious relationship for a while.

So I think, you know, having the freedom to decide ‘I want to go to New York for a month’, or ‘I’m going to live in Dublin for a couple of months’ – I like having the freedom to know I can make those decisions without too many consequences.”

Despite this, Sorcha feels comfortable being back in Dublin – for the meantime anyway.

“The last six months or so, I’ve loved being here,” she smiles. “I was in New York at the end of the summer and my friends were making fun of me, because I was talking about Dublin so much and telling them about how good it was, but I do love being here. I’m happy to call Dublin home.”

With more Irish shows and an appearance at the prestigious Eurosonic Festival on the horizon, the songs from Sorcha’s debut album will get their full live airing soon. We can’t wait.

• Sorcha Richardson’s First Prize Bravery is out now, via Faction Records.

33

TRAVEL SAN DIEGO

C A L I F O R N I A D R E A M I N G

Boasting terrific scenery, food and nightlife, San Diego is a true gem of America’s west coast.

BY DANE PERSKY

“The people of Sunny San Diego tend to take life pretty slow as a result of the nice weather, so expect a relaxed atmosphere.”

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T

he perfect escape, especially during winter months. San Diego has some of the most agreeable weather in the world.

The coldest it gets is only about 15°C, while its hottest temperatures hover around 33°C. Most of the year, it’s somewhere in the middle. The people of Sunny San Diego tend to take life pretty slow as a result of the nice weather, so expect a relaxed atmosphere.

In terms of location, San Diego is tucked right in the southwesternmost corner of California, directly bordering Mexico. Tijuana is right across the border and makes a great day trip. If you play your cards right and have a lot of flexibility, you can snag a flight to San Diego from Dublin for as little as €200-250. More typically, though, you’ll be pay around €300 or more, with prices skyrocketing through the €800 mark during the holidays. Luckily, San Diego International Airport is very centrally located, and an Uber, Lyft or taxi will get you to the city in five-to-10 minutes.

To maximise your stay and see as much as possible, you’ll want to rent a car. The unfortunate reality of Southern California is that the public transportation system simply doesn’t hold a candle to Dublin, or many other places around the world for that matter. Like Los Angeles, San Diego is quite spread out, and though there’s a bus and trolley system, driving

will get you to your destination faster every time.

If you’re travelling light and looking to save money, there are a host of hostel options available in San Diego, many of which are located along the beach and geared towards the surfer crowd. Airbnb is an option as well – just make sure the place you select isn’t too far from the city. We recommend staying in Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach or Mission Valley: these places are jam-packed with fun activities.

If you’re looking for a hotel, there are some truly stunning options downtown. If you’re looking for spectacular views, La Jolla is also a great place to stay. It’s undoubtedly one of the most gorgeous beachside communities in the city, but be warned: it’s not cheap. Tempting though they may be, try not end up in Encinitas or Carlsbad if you want to fully experience the city. They have beautiful beaches and they’re a joy to visit, but they’re simply too far from all the action.

When it comes to food, you certainly won’t go hungry in San Diego! The options are plentiful, and to die for. There are so many hidden gems, most of which won’t break the bank, thankfully.

Our best advice is to just download Yelp when you arrive and peruse the choices. One essential desination is the Taco Stand – you simply must try Mexican food when you come to San Diego. The Taco Stand is one of the many delicious and inexpensive Mexican joints scattered around the city. There’s one branch in La Jolla and another downtown. Sometimes there’s a bit of a daunting line outside, but trust

TRAVEL

"The Gaslamp Quarter offers a great evening, while Pacific Beach is for those who want to kick back and listen to the waves after a night of drinks and dancing." us, it’s worth the wait.

Also well worth worth checking out is Lucky’s Golden Phenix, a breakfast joint in the hip North Park district. They serve a super-cheap American breakfast – coffee, juice, pancakes, sausage, bacon, ham, eggs however you want them – and they serve it well.

Another great spot is Chez Nous, which given its Scripps Ranch location, might be a little out of your way. But go anyway! It offers one of the best dishes we’ve ever enjoyed: the indescribably delicious Spicy Chicken Melt. Also worth visiting are Convoy Street in Kearny Mesa, which has all the best Asian food in San Diego; TJ Tacos, another great Mexican restaurant up in Escondido; and beloved Californian fast food chain In-N-Out Burger.

Turning to nightlife, the Gaslamp Quarter offers a great evening, while Pacific Beach is for those who want to kick back and listen to the waves after a night of drinks and dancing.

If you’re looking to see a concert, the Observatory in North Park is a great spot to catch the bigger acts. North Park is one of San Diego’s hippest areas so it’s well worth arriving early and having a walk around if you time allows. To catch some local acts, see if there’s a show at the Ché Café while you’re in town. Situated on UC San Diego’s campus in La Jolla, it’s undoubtedly the best DIY venue in the city.

There’s also of plenty of sightseeing to do around the city. Balboa Park is arguably top of the list – it’s a big, beautiful park with a tonne of museums, gardens and green spaces. If you have kids, go to the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center. If you like plants, check out the Botanical Building, and uf

you want to centre yourself, go to the Japanese Friendship Garden. As the name suggests, the Old Town is quaint and full of history, and easily accessible via the Old Town Trolley.

Also of note is the San Diego Zoo, located right next to Balboa Park. Lesser known though equally cool is the Wild Animal Park. For maritime adventure, head to La Jolla Cove, where there’s swimming, snorkelling, surfing and plenty of other water-based activities on offer. You’ll probably see some seals and sea lions, too! We’d also heartily recommend Little Italy and Torrey Pines State Reserve, the latter offering the city’s best hiking trail. You can hike along the cliffs or take a walk along the beach, or do a mix of the two. It’s great place to visit after a night of gorging on tacos and it offers killer sunsets, too. Torrey Pines also has an awesome glider port, where you can watch hang gliders jet off the cliffs, or strap up with a pro and do it yourself! Don’t miss it.

The beach communities of Del Mar, Solana Beach and Encinitas are a bit further north. They all boast great beauty and terrific waves for surfing, and they’re great for picnics. These beach communities are a bit further north. All of them are beautiful. Like almost every beach in San Diego, they offer great waves for surfing, and are perfect for picnics.

Finally, the Cabrillo National Monument offers a panoramic view of the city that’s just a stone’s throw from downtown. During low tide, there are also some pretty incredible tide pools along the water in Point Loma.

Whatever takes your fancy in San Diego, enjoy to the full!

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Our resolutions for 2020 are sustainability and supporting local business – and with this in mind, we here recommend a selection of top Irish stores and designers.

By Roe McDermott

Designs for

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Life

FASHION

R E B E C C A

D U

B R U N

ASHION E N T E R PF R I S E

"I love to work with silk and begin by painting metres of fabric, before turning it into what I call textile sculptures."

R

ebecca Browne, also known as Rebecca du Brun, was born in Belfast, and grew up with a love of art and design. At 18, she moved to England for university, completing a UAL Foundation Diploma at Leeds College of Art, before studying at the Fashion BA course at Manchester School of Art. Browne’s work is truly unique, as she takes the term ‘fashion’ loosely, and loves to explore different methods of pattern cutting. Browne encourages freedom and mistakes in her method of painting, experimenting with unusual forms of mixed media whilst playing with the idea of scale.

“The most exciting part of the process for me begins with making the textile fabric,” says Browne. “I love to work with silk and begin by painting metres of fabric, before turning it into what I call textile sculptures. I see my designs as sculptures and consider the full 360 degree view, with the most exciting shapes happening around and at the back of the body. I painted over 80 metres of fabric for ‘Memory Is An Interpretation’ with some pieces completely covered in beads.”

Browne is fascinated by neuroscience, and as a musician herself, explores the relationship between music, memory and the brain in her work.

“That was the inspiration for one of my collections,” she says. “I conducted an in-depth research project with themes including memory loss, removing painful memories, and how music can help patients with Alzheimer’s. This really turned my work into a celebration of music. When a musician plays their instrument, fireworks go off in the brain and this inspired my metres of patterned beading. I took reference from the Cliffs of Moher, creating textiles with similar texture to represent memory loss. I love the late Oliver Sacks and learnt a lot about neuroscience, as well as collaborating with an Irish radiographer to receive first-hand MRI brain scans.”

• If you would like to see Browne’s work in person or online, visit rebecca-browne.com or see her Instagram at de_brun_.

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F I N T A N

M U L H O L L A N D

“My approach to fashion through the craft of knit is to build an understanding of the yarn through experimentation and sampling...”

F

ashion designer Fintan Mulholland hails from Co. Monaghan, has a studio in Belfast, and from what we can tell, is set to become an international superstar in the very near future. His BA collection sold out, and he has already won five awards for his work, as well as a Paul Smith scholarship to study design in Tokyo.

In 2016, just months after completing his MA, Mulholland was asked to collaborate in Brown Thomas’ Create showcase.

Mulholland always enjoyed art in school and brought his creative flair to studying Textile Art and Fashion in Belfast School of Art. Experimenting with print and embroidery, Mulholland found his niche working with knit. While yarn and knit are often dismissed as dated, Mulholland’s stunning and intricate work shows the versatility and modernity of his chosen textiles and techniques.

“My approach to fashion through the craft of knit is to build an understanding of the yarn through experimentation and sampling,” he says. “Through that, I see the potential of each object from the yarn itself. I aim to get a full understanding of the capabilities and limitations of the equipment I use, and then use this to my advantage by pushing these limits to create innovative and interesting garments. This then allows me to plan and execute my silhouette in materials that lend themselves to the garment both sensually and visually. I use alpacas and mohair yarns for their handle, I think they age and wear beautifully. For construction pieces I use linen, merino and wools.”

One of Mulholland’s most striking collections was inspired by his travels in Japan. Appreciative of all kinds of art, he was drawn to prehistoric Japanese sculptures featuring sharp symmetry and humanoid features.

“The figures show various kinds of body distortion – exaggerated limbs or sexual organs, while geometric forms tend to shift from symmetry to asymmetry. Often the geometric pattern becomes the infilling for naturalistic design, and from that appears an individual. Seeing links in the sculptures from my previous work in the lines and curves made me want to use some aspects for their mystery and shape.”

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T H E

T E M P L E

W O L F

FASHION

O

ne of our all-time favourite Irish shops for gifts, jewellery and accessories is The Temple Wolf, an Irish online store filled with irresistible pieces that range from boho chic to gothic glamour.

“I describe The Temple Wolf as ‘a store for boho dreamers’ so I try to appeal to the bohemian girl,” explains The Temple Wolf founder and designer Emma Laing.

“Think tassels, crystals, coin jewellery, dreamcatchers etc. I choose and/or design the pieces based on things I always wanted but either wasn’t able to afford, or couldn’t source in Ireland. I have always had a fascination for skulls, pentagrams etc. so you’ll always find a sprinkle of that in the shop! My favourites at the moment are the turbans, chunky amethyst rings and ‘Feminist’ necklaces!”

The Temple Wolf features the Eire collection, boasting beautifully delicate jewellery such as necklaces and rings. They have the silhouette of Ireland, with a tiny heart shape cut into the piece. It’s a gorgeous collection that would make the perfect present for friends and family who now live abroad.

“I am Ireland’s biggest fan!” enthuses Laing. “I am one of those annoying people on Facebook who is constantly sharing videos of beautiful scenery in Ireland.

I think we have an absolutely stunning country and I can confidently say – after doing very official research all over the world! – that we have the best people too.

When I was abroad, I was very proud to tell people that I’m Irish, and when I came home, I began to think about what I could bring back with me to show I was Irish.

The Éire necklace was born out of this desire. People seemed to love it and so I began to develop the idea – giving an option for the province your heart would be placed in and expanding the collection to include earrings and rings.”

“I describe The Temple Wolf as ‘a store for boho dreamers’ so I try to appeal to the bohemian girl...”

• To browse and buy Emma’s curation of jewellery and accessories, visit TheTempleWolf.com. She also loves chatting to customers on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

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MUSIC

E N T E R | TA I N

BEST IN SHOW We sift through the latest album releases, which include two Irish contenders for Album Of The Year.

LANKUM SORCHA RICHARDSON First Prize Bravery (Faction Records) With tens of thousands of streams on Spotify, Sorcha Richardson has been releasing indie-pop earworms for years. An LP, though, always remained around the corner. Well, the waiting is over. Recorded over a month in LA with long-term producer Alex Casnoff, First Prize Bravery is about as coherent a debut album as you can get.

The album is about the minutiae of relationships and friendships, and what it means to negotiate these whilst being constantly on the move between her bases in New York and Dublin. As with any good situational drama, the joy is in the small details. On opener ‘Honey’ – a stripped-back, heart-onsleeve number – she sings about an encounter with a mysterious “you” that left her questioning everything. But it’s the imagery that wins you over: “I watched you move around the room/ You’re more magnetic than the moon/ That hangs above the balcony/ As you make your way back to me.”

The joy is that it all works. Every song, in fact, boasts stellar production.

So catchy is the title track, it’s easy to overlook how exquisitely constructed it is. As the song commences, Richardson’s echoing vocals gradually emerge into the foreground.

Thereafter, the tune folds layers of acoustic guitars, piano melodies and dreamy synths into a readymade pop hit. Everything, of course, is a foil to Richardson’s voice, which can only be described as laidback liquid gold. It draws you into these personal situations, and lays them out like an open diary, judgement-free. Bravery indeed. This is a superb record.

40

The Livelong Day (RIver Lea)

BECK Hyperspace (Fonograf Records / Capitiol) In the 25 years since Beck made good, he has been nothing if not interesting, and often quite brilliant. He’s on another winner here. Written and produced with Pharrell Williams, Hyperspace is a more subdued affair than 2017’s Colors.

After the Eno-y ‘Hyperlife’, featuring the first of Beck’s superb vocals, ‘Uneventful Days’ continues along slightly ambient lines. It finds our man lamenting either a failing relationship, or the fleeting nature of inspiration.

Either way, it’s a great single and sounds as au courant as today’s paper.

Which makes the slide acoustic guitar on ‘Saw Lightning’ more jarring, but in a good way.

Meanwhile, love is the drug in the acoustic electronica of ‘Chemical’, and ‘See Through’ floats away on keyboard waves.

The title track features Terrell Hines on vocals, channelling André 3000, with another guest in the form of Chris Martin on ‘Stratosphere’. The latter could pass for one of Coldplay’s better moments, if that’s not a musical oxymoron. ‘Dark Places’ and ‘Star’ are more variations on the sonics that preceded them, and closer ‘Everlasting Nothing’ brings the acoustic guitar back-up – before the synths overpower – and it goes out with a glorious choral finish.

The production and the ever-present keyboards and treatments might sound cold on paper, but this is a warm record, combining the best of analogue and digital. A pretty good trick, but nothing less than you’d expect from the man.

Few contemporary artists epitomise the integrity and authenticity at the heart of great folk music quite like Lankum.

True to the title of their previous LP, the Dublin four-piece’s sound exists somewhere Between The Earth And The Sky – embracing both earthy, human grit and intangible, otherworldly textures.

On The Livelong Day the group have re-emerged with a deepened sense of maturity and mortality, culminating in a project of uniquely raw intensity.

Lankum’s trademark organic ambience is brought to thrilling, sometimes terrifying, new heights, courtesy of their honorary fifth member, engineer and producer John “Spud” Murphy.

Experimental instrumentation and playing include stunning appearances from the harmonium, mellotron, trombone and, most notably on ‘Hunting The Wren’, whatever else happened to be lying around the studio at the time.

Capturing the wily anarchy that’s always been an integral aspect of Irish folk music, the group handle inherited songs like ‘The Wild Rover’ and ‘The Dark Eyed Gypsy’ with immense respect – but they are never precious. As with their previous releases, ancient sounds and haunting drones are used as a vehicle to express modern issues and to explore the human condition – with ‘The Young People’, a rousing ballad about suicide, packing a slow-building, but ultimately devastating, blow.

Yet, despite fearlessly confronting these darker moments of our past and present, there’s also a deep, resounding love encased within the music throughout the album – with Radie Peat’s tenderly earthy vocals embodying the Irish landscape and people to stunning effect.

A remarkable and urgent reminder to celebrate the livelong days. Long live Lankum.

E N T E R | TA I N

IN A FIELD OF HIS OWN The new novel from master thriller writer John Le Carré leads the way in our round-up of the best new book releases.

AGENT RUNNING IN THE FIELD John Le Carré (Viking)

John Le Carré’s latest novel revolves around an agent recently returned to London called Nat, who gets ensared in a web of intrigue encompassing Russian influence and Britain’s relationship with America. The author’s intention is to give two fingers to Brexit and Trump. Ed, who makes a badminton challenge at Nat’s beloved local club, becomes central to the whole affair. What is Jericho? Are Nat’s superiors corrupt? What’s the connection with Agent Pitchfork? And what about Valentia, the pride of Moscow centre, who appears to be chasing a big British fish? This cleverly current caper rattles along at a fine clip, with the requisite twists and turns, before reaching a satisfying end. Le Carré gives the impression that he could knock this kind of stuff out in his sleep, but that’s because he is the master.

BAREFOOT PILGRIMAGE Andrea Corr (Harper Collins)

Dealing with everything from her childhood upbringing in Dundalk, to the devastation at the passing of her father, to her travails in the music industry with her siblings, Andrea Corr’s memoir is an oddly lyrical, sometimes stream-of-consciousness, work of brilliance.

Written as a series of poetic confessionals, Corr’s writing brings religion, mortality and family to the fore. She also weaves in poetry (her father’s as well as her own), and shares archive photographs from her family’s history. Sweet, sad, but ultimately inspiring, Andrea’s story isn’t just one that diehard fans of The Corrs will enjoy. It’ll ring true to anyone who has ever dealt with the complexities of familial loss.

C AT C H A N D K I L L Ronan Farrow

(Little, Brown & Company)

In 2017, a routine network television investigation led Ronan Farrow to a story only whispered about: one of Hollywood’s most powerful producers was a predator, protected by fear, wealth, and a conspiracy of silence. As Farrow drew closer to the truth, shadowy operatives, from high-priced lawyers to elite warhardened spies, mounted a secret campaign of intimidation, threatening his career and weaponising an account of abuse in his own family. Catch And Kill is the untold story of the exotic tactics of surveillance and intimidation deployed by wealthy and connected men to threaten journalists, evade accountability, and silence victims of abuse. It’s also the story of the women who risked everything to expose the truth and spark a global movement.

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E N T E R | TA I N

A FRANK EXPLANATION Roe McDermott selects the latest films on Netflix, with highlights including Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed epic drama The Irishman – about mobster Frank Sheeran – and insightful drama Marriage Story.

MARRIAGE STORY

THE IRISHMAN While Scorsese’s new film The Irishman, adapted from Frank Sheeran’s much-questioned memoir, tackles many of the director’s beloved themes such as power, corruption, loyalty, and guilt, The Irishman is propelled by an awareness of time, mortality and growth.

As elderly Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) recounts his decades-long relationship with mob boss Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci) and union leader Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino), Frank’s almost-deathbed ruminations feel like the preoccupations of a man Scorsese’s age.

The director reckons with the questions that emerge from a lifetime in America, and a concept of masculinity that emerged from military life: be taciturn, be loyal, kill your enemies, never express feelings about it. Is it any wonder, Scorsese asks in this suitably icy film, that these men returned from war to lives filled with efficient violence, disposable relationships, and self-serving quests for money and power?

The three leads put in superb performances. Caught between two powerhouses’ loyalties and agendas, De Niro has rarely been better, bringing a quiet stoicism to Frank, a man trying to do what he was told made a man.

Though too long, the film is still a powerful, melancholic character study of loneliness and old age – but never quite remorse.

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Marriage Story captures not just the complexity of how a relationship ends in divorce, or what people learn about themselves while detangling their lives; it examines the divorce-industrial complex itself, and the ruthless process that often compounds division and heartbreak.

Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver star as Nicole and Charlie, an actress and theatre director with a young son. Nicole has instigated the split. A once-sought after It Girl who sacrificed fame and much of her creative voice to work in Charlie’s experimental theatre company, she feels stifled, lost and resentful. Charlie, whose controlling nature springs from oblivious selfishness rather than malicious intent, reacts to the divorce like most things in life: with the naively arrogant belief that things will work out for him.

Director Noah Baumbach balances our sympathies brilliantly. We identify with Charlie’s slow-burning realisation that divorce is brutal, and that his life will never be the same. But Nicole’s tourde-force confessions and conversations with her celebrity divorce lawyer (Laura Dern, sublime) reveal the layers of deeply gendered pain that Charlie’s cultivated cluelessness has caused. Nicole’s actions in divorce hurt Charlie; but his inaction in love hurt her.

The superb lead performances and the story’s emotional wreckage are balanced by the consistent comic genius of Baumbach’s screenplay, and the brilliance of every supporting role. Exquisite, scorching and utterly humane.

VOX LUX In Brady Corbet’s audacious, explosive and knowingly ridiculous Vox Lux, Natalie Portman embraces and elevates the persona she created during her hilarious SNL rap sketch, playing a swaggering, mercurial pop star diva. After surviving a school shooting and writing a heartfelt ballad about the tragedy, the 14-year-old Celeste (initially played by Raffey Cassidy) becomes an overnight sensation, instantly plunged into the world of fame and excess.

Not that she resists, but what teen can process that level of both trauma and media attention without becoming lost? And what nation?

As Celeste becomes internationally famous, she ceases to be a person to the press and her fans, instead becoming a cipher and metaphor – which is where Portman comes in, replacing Cassidy’s quiet performance with one of exaggerated indulgence.

The adult Celeste is all excess – constantly covered in glitter, her New York accent almost a pantomime, expressing every emotion under the sun in 10 seconds. Selfish, abrasive and needy, she’s all toddleresque id. She has explosive, sobbing temper tantrums before being asked to publicly provide insight into mass violence highlights – a process that reveals the absurdity of this sort of fame, and how it simultaneously spotlights and erases people.

A fascinating, darkly funny, operatic examination of fame, in Vox Lux, Corbet’s philosophy echoes Celeste’s: “You wanted a show. I’ll give them a show.”

DUBLIN CITY CENTRE

Midweek Breaks

(Sunday to Thursday inclusive) With NIR Travel Staying at the Harcourt Hotel Fashionable City Centre Hotel close to Grafton St and St. Stephen’s Green.

Your break includes:

Return rail from any NIR Station. 2 nights Bed & Breakfast. 3 Course Early Bird Dinner on one evening in the elegant 1900 (Nineteen Hundred) Restaurant.

Feb £124 / March / April £159 / May to September £182 CERTAIN EXCLUSION DATE BUT YOU WILL BE ADVISED AT THE TIME OF BOOKING.

For reservations contact NIR Travel call 028 9033 7004 to Friday &

ATTR AC TIO N S

KARL LEONARD

ENDA CAVANAGH

DUBLIN CASTLE

GLASNEVIN CEMETERY TOURS

DUBLIN DUBLIN CASTLE Dame Street, Dublin 2 Tel: (01) 645 8813 dublincastle.ie Dating from the early 13th century, Dublin Castle was originally built on the site of a Viking Settlement as a defensive fortification, and for centuries served as the headquarters for British administration in Ireland.

Following Ireland’s independence, Dublin Castle was handed over to the new Irish government and continues to be a major government complex, in addition to a must-see tourist destination. Visitors can experience the castle’s rich history through the ornate bedrooms, dining rooms, picture gallery and drawing rooms, with tours running daily. The complex is also home to the beautiful Chester Beatty Library, housing a collection of rare books.

NATIONAL WAX MUSEUM PLUS 22-25 Westmoreland Street, Dublin 2 Tel: (01) 671 8373 waxmuseumplus.ie The National Wax Museum Plus was opened in the iconic Lafayette building that divides Westmoreland Street and D’Olier Street – an appropriately central location for a museum full of figures central to

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Irish history. Visitors can explore the past via the museum’s own Augmented Reality app – watch Brendan Behan’s face spring to life and recite poetry, or a sketch of the Liffey morph into an animated pictorial history of Dublin. Kids will love how the app gamifies the museum too, with treasures (and ghosts!) to find and Night at the Museum events, where visitors are taken through the museum in masks and actors bring exhibits to life. Game Of Thrones fans will also want to watch out for the Mother of Dragons, Daenerys Targaryen, who was unveiled earlier this year to coincide with the final season of the epic series. Be sure to visit their sister museum The Irish Rock ‘N’ Roll Museum (Curved Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2), to experience the wonderful history of Irish music.

EPIC – THE IRISH EMIGRATION MUSEUM The CHQ building, Custom House Quay, Dublin 1 Tel: (01) 906 0861 epicchq.com One of the newest major attractions in Dublin, EPIC tells the unforgettable story of the 10 million Irish people who left their homeland

over the centuries – and how they influenced and shaped the world.

The interactive galleries make this family-friendly experience an essential destination for everyone with an interest in Ireland’s people, culture and history. The museum also houses the Irish Family History Centre, with experts helping visitors uncover their Irish roots. Shortlisted for European Museum of the Year 2018 and included in the Top 5 Irish Museums on TripAdvisor, EPIC is open from 10am to 6.45pm daily (last entry 5pm)

GLASNEVIN CEMETERY TOURS Finglas Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 11 Tel: (01) 882 6500, glasnevinmuseum.ie The largest non-denominational cemetery in Ireland, Glasnevin is the resting place of some of the most famous figures in Irish history. Daniel O’Connell, Charles Stewart Parnell, Michael Collins and Eamonn DeValera are buried here, next to well-known artists such as Brendan Behan, Luke Kelly and Christy Brown. The hauntingly gorgeous Victorian Garden cemetery covers 124 acres of glorious parkland. Guided tours

of the cemetery and museum are available daily, with each guide passionate about telling the stories of Ireland’s complex and fascinating history. The tour of Glasnevin Cemetery gives a fascinating view of its heritage.

GUINNESS STOREHOUSE St. Jame’s Gate, Dublin 8 Tel: (01) 408 4800 guinness-storehouse.com Leased to Arthur Guinness in 1759 for 9,000 years, St. James’s Gate Brewery has been the home of Guinness for more than two centuries. Formerly a fermentation plant at the brewery, it was transformed into the seven-floor Guinness Storehouse. It offers daily tours, and includes the ‘Taste experience’, where visitors can learn about the four ingredients that go into Guinness and the all-important pouring process.

The beer is poured first about three quarters full, left for about a minute to settle, and then filled to the top. It takes 119.5 seconds to craft a perfect pint of Guinness, and visitors are guided through the full process.

A TALE OF TWO CITIES

Dublin & Belfast BILL ABERNETHY

BELFAST CATHEDRAL

CRUMLIN ROAD GAOL

BELFAST BELFAST CATHEDRAL The Cathedral Church Of St. Anne, Donegall Street, Belfast Tel: (028) 9032 8332 belfastcathedral.org One of Belfast’s most magnificent buildings, the Cathedral Church of St Anne is situated in the heart of the bustling Cathedral Quarter. Dedicated in 1904, there is much to explore within its walls, including mosaics by the Martin sisters, sculptures by Rosamond Praeger, the handcrafted Titanic Pall made in memory of the ship’s victims, and stunning stained glass windows. The Cathedral also has an amazing choir, and holds Choral Evensong every Monday to Friday during term-time, with Choral Services on Sundays at 11am and 3.30pm. Visitors and believers alike are welcome to step in and explore the building and stay to experience the spiritual impact of the Evensong.

BOTANIC GARDENS College Park, Botanic Avenue Tel: (028) 9031 4762 Visitbelfast.com Occupying 28 acres, the Botanic Gardens are a must-see attraction for all lovers of the outdoors. This lush public space opened in 1828

as a private park run by the Royal Belfast Botanical Gardens and attracted thousands of visitors per day. Today, the gardens, which feature two stunning Victorian conservatories – the Palm House and the Tropical Ravine – are fully open to the public. A number of notable concerts have also taken place amongst the gorgeous scenery from the likes of U2, The Kings of Leon and Snow Patrol.

TITANIC BELFAST 1 Olympic Way, Queen’s Road, Titanic Quarter, Belfast Tel: (028) 9076 6386 titanicbelfast.com “It’s really quite phenomenal. It’s a magnificent, dramatic building, the biggest Titanic exhibit in the world,” enthuses Titanic film director James Cameron, and we’re not about to disagree with him. The Titanic Belfast is an unforgettable experience and since opening, thousands of visitors have thronged to the centre to learn about the history of the world’s most famous shipping disaster. It was voted the World’s Leading Tourist Attraction at the 2016 World Travel Awards in the Maldives – the Oscars of tourism.

CRUMLIN ROAD GAOL 53-55 Crumlin Road, Belfast Tel: (028) 9074 1500 The Crumlin Road Gaol is a 19th century Grade A listed jail and the only Victorian prison left in Northern Ireland. Much like Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin, its story is synonymous with the history of Belfast, and some notable historical figures have passed through its walls, including Eamonn DeValera and Martin McGuinness. The tour of the Gaol allows access to all areas, including the underground tunnel which links to the courthouse on the other side of the Crumlin Road, the hanging cell, the Governor’s office, the hospital and the graveyard.

W5 The Odyssey, 2 Queens Quay, Belfast Tel: (028) 9046 7700 w5online.co.uk Right beside the River Lagan, W5 will fascinate children and adults alike with its interactive and fun methods of learning. With humanoid robots, and a MED lab explaining pharmaceutical and biomedical science in an entertaining way, it is not to be missed. W5 also recently revealed

their new technological space AMAZE. This immersive experience has state-of-the-art screen projectors with soundscapes, motion graphics and props that will take you to some of Northern Ireland’s stunning landscapes without leaving the room. W5 also has Quiet Sessions for children with special needs, who may need a more relaxed and quieter environment. W5 is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5:30pm.

BLACK TAXI TOURS Tel: (028) 9064 2264 belfasttours.com A great way to soak up the history of Belfast is to take a tour in a classic black taxi. Out of the chaos of the Troubles came some of Belfast’s most recognisable landmarks: its murals. The 90-minute taxi ride will take you from east to west and north to south, taking in both sides of the community and how they depicted the conflict through amazingly detailed murals. All of the drivers have their own lived experience and are always willing to help visitors gain a deeper understanding of the city’s history.

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RESTAURANTS

DINING OUT

Dublin & Belfast

THE MUDDLERS CLUB

FADE STREET SOCIAL, DUBLIN

DUBLIN FADE STREET SOCIAL 6 Fade Street, Dublin 2 Tel: (01) 604 0066, fadestreetsocial.com Fade Street Social is one of Dublin’s hippest eateries – and for good reason. It’s a meeting place, restaurant, tapas bar and cocktail winter garden, with each constituent part sitting effortlessly alongside the others; each attracts its own crowd and projects its own vibe. The restaurant offers homegrown produce assembled into simple dishes packed with flavour. The gastro bar, meanwhile, allows you to delve into the sharing menu, choosing bite-size, tapas-style taste bursts.

YAMAMORI NOODLES/ IZAKAYA/ SUSHI 71 South Great George’s Street, Dublin 2. Tel: (01) 475 5001/ 12 South Great George’s Street, Dublin 2. Tel: (01) 645 8001/ 38 Ormond Quay Lower, Dublin 1. Tel: (01) 872 0003 yamamori.ie A Mecca for Japanese food fans for over 20 years, these three, striking restaurants are renowned for their quality food and drinks. The superfresh sushi, norimaki, temaki and sashimi with the Chef’s Selections are always a good bet when you’re in Yamamori Sushi, while the upstairs Tengu Bar is one of the best places to find yourself on a night out. Elsewhere, the wok fried noodle, ramen, grilled and hot fish dishes are also superbly executed in

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BELFAST Yamamori Noodles, with Haddock Tempura, Cha Han and Tatsuta Age among the generous house specials.

But perhaps the most unique prospect is Yamamori Izakaya, with its delightful Victorian setting, great food, and jaw-dropping whiskey and sake selection. Try the Nigiri Platter and Dassai wine if you’re feeling adventurous.

THE WINDING STAIR 40 Lower Ormond Quay, North City, Dublin 1 Tel: (01) 872 7320 winding-stair.com For a wholesome Irish restaurant overlooking the River Liffey, complete with a downstairs bookshop, look no further than the Winding Stair. Dishes showcase the finest Irish ingredients by focusing on old-fashioned home cooking and no-fuss recipes. Named after Yeats’ poem, the Winding Stair combines fine cuisine with literary delights, with two floors connected by an 18th century staircase. After treating yourself to a delicious brunch, lunch or dinner, be sure to wander down and peruse the vast selection of books on offer.

BIA REBEL 409 Ormeau Road, Belfast Tel: (028) 9543 5964 biarebel.com While you have to be an Irish speaker to appreciate its punsome name, everyone will love the steaming bowls of ramen in this Cathedral Quarter newcomer. “36 hours; 26 ingredients; a lifetime of knowledge” proclaims the shortsharp menu, which also includes a wondrous Ewings Smoked Salmon Bánh Mi baguette. No wonder it’s such a popular student hangout.

SIX BY NICO 23 Waring Street, Belfast Tel: (028) 9032 9467 sixbynico.co.uk Already a big hit in his native Glasgow, Nico Simeone has now crossed the Irish Sea with his unique dining concept. A man who loves to have fun with the food he creates, he’ll be treating the Cathedral Quarter to a new themed menu every six weeks. First up is The Chippie, which includes contemporary takes on Chips ‘n’ Cheese, Scampi, Steak Pie, Fish Supper Smoked Sausage and – best of all! – Deep-Fried Mars Bar. The six-course experimental feast is £28 or £53 with paired drinks included.

THE MUDDLERS CLUB, 1 Warehouse Lane. Belfast.

Tel: (028) 9031 3199 themuddlersclubbelfast.com Named after the 200-year-old secret society that used to gather there, the Muddlers Club is tucked away in the historic backstreets of Cathedral Corner. What’s no secret is the success of the venue, having won the award for Best Restaurant in Ulster at the Irish Restaurant Awards 2018. The Michelin-rated venue has an open kitchen providing a sense of theatre to the dining experience, allowing customers to watch as local ingredients are transformed into delicious dishes. It also stocks an enticing selection of wines, beers and spirits to complement the mouthwatering food.

BAR

LIQUID REFRESHMENT

Dublin & Belfast Sale of the century: Titanic Belfast

IDLEWILD

DUBLIN IDLEWILD 14 Fade St, Dublin 2 Tel: (01) 253 0593 Idlewilddublin.com Inspired by the affair between JFK and Marilyn Monroe, this cosy bar in Dublin’s creative quarter has a lot to offer, whether you’re looking for a date spot or a low-key night out.

The plush green velvet sofas in the back of the bar make a stunning centrepiece, and the bar also boasts a beautiful interior and friendly staff.

Stocking a great range of wines, beers, spirits and cocktails in a laidback setting, IdleWild's intimate vibe provides a true throwback to exquisite '50s style.

THE OLD ROYAL OAK 11 High Road, Kilmainham Lane, Dublin 8 Tel: (01) 671 3967 facebook.com/theoakd8 Offering up a little slice of the country in the bustle of Dublin 8, the Old Royal Oak is one of the city’s most treasured hidden gems.

While it may have the outward appearance a classic old-timer’s pub, the Old Royal Oak attracts a diverse range of customers across a range of ages, and is famed locally for its inclusive atmosphere. Tucked away on Kilmainham Lane, the pub has been operated by the highly accommodating Costello family for over 46 years. To many of its

KELLY'S CELLARS

BELFAST frequent customers, the Old Royal Oak serves as a trip back in time, from its simple interior décor to the perfection of its Guinness

THE BLACK SHEEP 61 Capel Street, Dublin 1 Tel: (01) 873 0013 galwaybaybrewery.com/blacksheep Affectionately known as ‘The People’s Pub’, The Black Sheep is conveniently located at the corner of Capel Street and Parnell Street.

Featuring an eye-popping range of craft beers and spirits, you’ll be able to go back time and again and try something new on each occasion.

The Black Sheep also serves food from noon up until ten in the evening, with succulent steaks and mouth-watering wings among the highlights. Great as an after-work spot, or as a pre/post-cinema location, you’ll find yourself at home here on both weekdays and weekends.

KELLY’S CELLARS 30-32 Bank Street, Belfast Tel: (028) 9024 6058 Kellyscellars.com Famed as Belfast’s oldest traditional Irish pub, Kelly’s Cellars is an intimate venue full of character.

The best place to grab a pint without any fuss or pretension, Kelly’s oozes rustic charm. Grab a seat by the bar or in one of the cosy corners and prepare for a night of laughs, stories and entertainment. With a rich history of Irish traditional music, if you’re wise enough to go on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evening during one of their trad sessions, you’ll be treated to the enchanting sounds of superb musicians from all over the country.

THE NATIONAL

recommended). A spot that’s sure to provide a memorable night.

THE SPANIARD 3 Skipper St, Belfast Tel: (028) 9023 2448, thespaniardbar.com Tucked away in the Cathedral Quarter, there’s a chance you could pass this gem without even realising; we can’t stress what a mistake that would be. Combining a traditional feel with flavours of Iberia and good old-fashioned rock’n’roll, it boasts a flabbergasting array of rums and an unbeatable atmosphere, ensuring there’s never a quiet night. Keep your eyes peeled for a familiar face or two, as the likes of Bill Murray and Sean Bean have been known to pop by when in town.

62 High Street, Belfast Tel: (028) 9031 1130 thenationalbelfast.com Situated on Belfast’s famous High Street, with the Merchant Hotel beside it and the trendy Club 66 above – not to mention the Cathedral Quarter on its doorstep – the National Grande Café has become a hub for students and young professionals in recent years. Hardly a surprise, given its stunning décor, good music and excellent range of drinks (the Aren’t You Glad? cocktail comes highly

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SHOPPING

BEAUTIFUL BUYS

PAUL TIERNEY

Dublin & Belfast

ST. GEORGE'S MARKET

FOLKSTER

DUBLIN COVET Powerscourt Centre, Dublin 2 Tel: (01) 679 9313 covet.ie Described as a store that provides ‘luxurious lends’, Covet will make you feel as if you’re on your way to the Oscars. With dresses to rent from Alexander McQueen, Oscar de la Renta, Badgley Mischka and Rachel Gilbert, they will also style your hair and make-up for a big night out. You can even borrow a pair of Christian Louboutins to match your outfit.

NOWHERE 65 Aungier Street, Dublin 2 Tel: (01) 607 8983 nowhere.ie This upmarket, independent menswear store on Aungier Street features an array of incredible designers, labels and collaborations: individual pieces in the store ooze class and style. We love their perfectly tailored coats and shirts, their cutting-edge Craig Green collections and their Adidas X line, which sees the trainer giant collaborate with new designers.

We also love the retro-inspired backpacks and watches.

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BELFAST FOLKSTER 9 Eustace Street, Dublin 2 Tel: (056) 770 3312 folkster.com An affordable, street style-inspired vintage store, Folkster sells everything from uber-glamorous sequin dresses to rough and ready military jackets. Dublin’s Folkster was initially meant to be a pop-up, but its eclectic boutique blend of vintage, contemporary fashion, and interiors has captured many hearts.

With stunning costume jewellery, delightful flapper designs and a beautiful bridal section, as well as modern pieces, each handpicked by the owners, we can’t get enough of this gorgeous fashion chest.

INDUSTRY & CO DUBLIN 41 A/B Drury St, Dublin 2 (01) 613 9111 industryandco.com Located just off Grafton Street, Industry has been a welcome addition to Dublin’s design scene since 2010, when it started out as a small boutique. Since then it has expanded to become one of the capital's best-known lifestyle stores, housing both Irish and international products. The award-winning Industry & Co stock everything from plants to cutlery and furniture. As you peruse, be sure to stop by the café for some healthy, freshly made soups, salads and cakes.

PEEL FASHION 107 Bloomfield Avenue Tel: (028) 9045 2665 peel.fashion.com Spread across three floors, Peel is a mini-department clothing store, stocking collections from fashion capitals such as London, Milan, Paris and LA. Covering everything including edgy, sophisticated, fun and affordable, this is a one-stop shop for fashionistas. In addition to clothes, they have a wide range of accessories and jewellery to complement any style.

BELFAST PRINT WORKSHOP Cotton Court, 30-42 Waring Street (028) 90 231 323 bpw.org.uk Located in the city’s Cathedral Quarter, the Belfast Print Workshop is a playground for artists. At present over 100 artists are involved in the company, rekindling a passion for printmaking. The public can visit the workshop to browse, pick up some prints or book one of the courses available and learn the craft.

LIBERTY BLUE 19-21 Lombard Street, Belfast, Tel: (028) 9023 0396 libertybluebelfast.co.uk Liberty Blue is renowned throughout the city for selling

local, independent labels that have a glam vintage flare. An alternative to high street fashion, Liberty Blue is perfect for women who want a touch of uniqueness to their wardrobe without breaking the bank. Not just stocking clothes, the shop sells jewellery and accessories to match your new outfit.

ST GEORGE'S MARKET 12-20 East Bridge Street, Belfast Tel: (028) 9024 6609 If it’s atmosphere you’re after, look no further than this indoor market known for its selection of beautifully crafted goods and mouthwatering street food stalls.

St. Georges is particularly brought to life by a live band strumming in the awe-inspiring surrounds and it’s local independent retailers.

The last surviving Victorian covered market is open for only three days a week, Friday - Sunday so be sure to plan accordingly.

ACCOMMODATION

STAYING OVER

Dublin & Belfast ROB DURSTON

THE CLARENCE

DUBLIN THE CLARENCE 6–8 Wellington Quay, Dublin 2 Tel: (01) 407 0800 theclarence.ie Located on Wellington Quay, the Clarence was one of Dublin’s first boutique hotels. All the furnishing has been designed and crafted

by Irish artisans, including the comfortable super kingsize beds.

The Octagon bar is not to be missed – the art deco-style watering hole so impressed Bono and The Edge they decided to buy the entire hotel. Equally impressive is the Liquor Rooms, a basement venue dedicated to cocktails; perfect to unwind in after a long day.

THE INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL Simmonscourt road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 Tel: (01) 665-4000 intercontinentaldublin.ie Minutes away from Dublin’s city centre, the award winning Intercontinental hotel sits on two acres of landscaped gardens in the heart of Ballsbridge. This five-star hotel is just steps from the historic RDS and central to locations such as the Aviva Stadium and the 3Arena. Formerly owned by the Four Seasons, the InterContinental has retained all of the style and elegance of its predecessor, offering travellers a tranquil retreat.

With afternoon tea, bottomless

TEN SQUARE

BELFAST brunch, a whiskey bar and the iconic Seasons Restaurant, the Intercontinental boasts a fine array of dinning options sure to cater for any palette.

BROOKS HOTEL 62 Drury St, Dublin 2 (01) 670 4000 brookshotel.ie Brooks Hotel is a distinctive, luxury four-star boutique hotel in Dublin’s Creative Quarter, a short walk from Grafton Street. Enjoy modern Irish and international cuisine at Francesca’s Restaurant, a favourite of the critics, where Head Chef Pat McLarnon serves dishes created from locally sourced ingredients, including fresh herbs from the Brook’s very own ‘urban herb garden’. Elsewhere, you can also visit Jasmine Bar at Brooks, an award-winning Great Whiskey Bar of the World with over 100 different varieties on offer. Bedrooms are well appointed and spacious with quirky designs. The hotel also boasts an oak-panelled Residents Lounge, a private cinema room and a fitness suite.

TEN SQUARE 10 Donegall Square South, Belfast Tel: (028) 9024 1001 tensquare.co.uk An extraordinary boutique hotel located in the centre of Belfast city’s shopping, business and culture hub, Ten Square impresses guests with its uber-stylish, eclectic look. Aesthetics aside, this is the perfect place to spend a busy city centre break and for a girlie getaway. The cocktails in a teapot come highly recommended!

RAMADA ENCORE 20 Talbot Street, Belfast BT1 2LD, UK Tel: (028) 9026 1800 encorebelfast.co.uk For luxury comfort in a great location, The Ramada Encore is a perfect choice to experience the best of Belfast. With 165 ensuite bedrooms including double, twin and family rooms, it is ideal for business travel as well as short city breaks. Situated in St. Anne’s Square adjacent to The MAC Belfast’s arts centre, The Encore Belfast is also close to many other local attractions including the must see visitor attraction - the Titanic Belfast, St. Anne’s Cathedral and City Hall. The hotel is also home to the beating heart of the Cathedral Quarter, The SQ Bar & Grill. With live entertainment, an inviting outside terrace seating

area overlooking the square, and a tempting cocktail list created by the in house mixologist, the Ramada Encore is sure to give you a night to remember.

BULLITT HOTEL 40a Church Lane, Belfast Tel: (028) 9590 0600 bullitthotel.com Want to stay somewhere with all the necessities, none of the nonsense and extra comfort? Look no further than the Belfast Bullitt Hotel, named in honour of the classic 1968 mob movie starring Steve McQueen.

Straddling Victoria Street and Ann Street, the hotel has 74 rooms and three bars including an Espresso Bar. If you’re a foodie (who isn’t?) you can get a good grilling at Taylor & Clay, the in-house restaurant, before washing it down with a Bullitt beer in the Bullitt Bar or head on up to the rooftop bar and garden, Babel – a quirky spot for some seriously cool customers. Bullitt offers a variety of room choices, ranging from ‘Dinky’ over ‘Comfy’ to ‘Roomy’, catering for both those travelling solo and those on a family city break.

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ENTERPRISE COMPETITION

W I N D I N N E R F O R T W O W I T H W I N E AT

PAC I N O S

S U F F O L K S T, D U B L I N 2

A warm atmosphere awaits you at one of Dublin’s best Italian restaurants. Located right at the foot of Grafton Street, Pacino’s is a superb spot to replenish your energy reserves after an activity-packed day out in town. With rustic brickwork, mosaic tiles and ambient lighting, Pacino’s has a comfortable and relaxing feel. The friendly and fun energy in the dining room makes the already excellent dishes even more

delectable. All of Pacino’s fine Italian cuisine is cooked to order and their tasty wines are expertly chosen by the in-house professional sommelier.

A member of Good Food Ireland, their ingredients are locally sourced for the most delicious and sustainable results. Ask the staff to guide you towards the kitchen’s signature dishes and specials of the day.

Find out more at pacinos.ie

THE PRIZE: The winner of the Enterprise competition will enjoy a delicious meal for two with wine at Pacinos great Italian city centre restaurant.

To enter simply email your answer to enterprise@hotpress.ie. Please include your contact details.

THE QUESTIONS: 1. What is the title of The Corrs' biggest selling album?

- Talk On Corners - Talk On The Wild Side - Talk Talk

2. Who did the Irish women's hockey team defeat to qualify for the 2020 Olympics?

- France - Germany - Canada

3. Lesley Manville stars opposite which actor in Ordinary Love?

- Brendan Gleeson - Liam Neeson - Gabriel Byrne

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