When betrayal shattered her life, author Marcella thought she might never recover. A mother of four, broken and raw, she found herself on the edge of despair, until she chose to begin again. “The Year I Changed My Life“, is part memoir, part guide: a year-long journey through heartbreak, healing, and the radical act of coming home to yourself.
Join us for a fun and interactive workshop launch – with Refreshments served.
This is just one of the many free eventsat Cashel Library each year. Do Remember booking is essential to Tel: 062-63825.
Visitors attending this event can locate the Cashel Library building; situated on Friar Street, Lady’s Well, Cashel, Co. Tipperary, HERE. (Eircode E25 K798).
Tipperary-Born Writer-Director Jo Southwell Embarks On Feature Film, “The Catch.”
Press Correspondent Tom Ryan Reports.
Tipperary-born writer/director Jo Southwell(née Kelly) has confirmed her transition into feature filmmaking with “The Catch“, a bold new project which she has written and is directing.
Tipperary-Born Writer/Director Ms Jo Southwell.
Ms Southwell brings to the film a rich background in screen acting, television directing and immersive formats. A second-generation Irish woman now based in Henley-on-Thames, UK, she began her professional life teaching in Ireland; including at Teach an Leinn in Nenagh and St Mary’s in Newport, before moving into acting and subsequently into filmmaking. Her mother, Hanora Kelly, formerly resided in Templederry, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary.
Her acting career has included roles in Irish film and television dramas, before she relocated to the UK to further her screen work. She has directed short films that screened at BAFTA, BIFA and Oscar-recognised festivals, and has worked on episodic television (including shadow director placements on ‘Killing Eve and ‘Trigger Point‘).
“The Catch” emerges from this evolving trajectory. The film is described by Patrick Ewald, CEO of Epic Pictures, as “a razor-sharp blend of myth and obsession, a story that reminds us that the real monsters are often human.” The project attaches high-profile actors (including Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Ben Miles) and is being steered collaboratively by Southwell and producer Sara Gibbings.
Ms Southwell said: “I’ve always been drawn to stories that combine emotional truth and mythic resonance. In The Catch I explore how obsession distorts reality, and how the real monsters walk among us in human form.”
Production is scheduled to begin in 2026, with locations and final casting to be announced. The production is developed by Mermaid Pictures in association with Epic Pictures.
About Jo Southwell Jo Southwell is an award-winning writer-director whose career spans screen acting, voice-over, radio presenting and directing. Born and educated in Ireland, she has directed television, feature and immersive formats, delivering emotionally driven and visually distinct storytelling with discipline and precision. She has served as a BAFTA juror (Best Supporting Actress 2023; Best Short Form TV 2025) and is completing an MA in Screenwriting at Falmouth University.
About Mermaid Pictures Established in 2024 by Jo Southwell and Sara Gibbings, Mermaid Pictures is a UK-based production company focused on bold, female-led, genre-independent film and television. With “The Catch” as its first feature slate, the company seeks to bring imaginative and emotionally authentic stories to the screen.
Lyrics and Vocals: American country music singer, songwriter and short-story author, the late Tom T. Hall (1936 – 2021), informally nicknamed “The Storyteller”.
Old Dogs, Children And Watermelon Wine.
“How old do you think I am?” he said. I said, “Well, I didn’t know”. He said, “I turned 65 about 11 months ago”. I was sittin’ in Miami pourin’ blended whiskey down, When this old gray black gentleman was cleanin’ up the lounge. There wasn’t anyone around, ‘cept this old man and me, The guy who ran the bar was watchin’ Ironsides on TV. Uninvited, he sat down and opened up his mind, On old dogs and children and watermelon wine. “Ever had a drink of watermelon wine?” he asked, He told me all about it, though I didn’t answer back. Ain’t but three things in this world that’s worth a solitary dime, But old dogs and children and watermelon wine. He said, “Women think about they-selves, when menfolk ain’t around, And friends are hard to find when they discover that you’re down”. He said, “I tried it all when I was young and in my natural prime, Now it’s old dogs and children and watermelon wine”. Old dogs care about you even when you make mistakes, God bless little children while they’re still too young to hate. When he moved away, I found my pen and copied down that line, ‘Bout old dogs and children and watermelon wine. I had to catch a plane up to Atlanta that next day, As I left for my room, I saw him pickin’ up my change. That night I dreamed in peaceful sleep of shady summertime, Of old dogs and children and watermelon wine.
Lyrics: British pop music promoter, group manager and songwriter Ronnie Scott and producer, songwriter and guitar player Steve Wolfe.
Ms Bonnie Tyler
Vocals: Welsh singer Ms Sullivan (née Hopkins), known professionally as MsBonnie Tyler.
If I Sing You A Love Song.
If I Sing You A Love Song. If I sing you a love song, will you always remember? Will you hear it on lonely nights, when I’m not around? If I sing you a love song, will you hear it forever? To remind you how much I care and how I needed you. Love songs last longer than lovers ever do, So, baby, let me sing a love song for you. Love songs don’t leave you, but lovers often do, Oh, baby, I’m afraid it could happen to me and you. If I sing you a love song, let it always be with you, When the others have gone away, let it still be there.
Love songs last longer than lovers ever do, So, baby, let me sing a love song for you. Love songs don’t leave you, like lovers often do, Oh, baby, I’m afraid it could happen to me and you. Oh, oh, oh yea, Oh, lonely nights when I’m not around Baby, it’s a love song, so I’ll remember, On lonely nights. I’ll sing you a love song, To give your love for me. I’ll sing you a love song, I’ll sing you a love song.
Popular “Circling the Square” Festival Returns To Thurles, Co. Tipperary, With Stellar Line-Up of Poets and Musicians.
Thurles is set to celebrate poetry, music and creativity in style as the fourth annual Circling the Square Festival returns to The Source Arts Centre over the weekend of October 31st to November 2nd, 2025.
“Outside new antique pubs, young consultants — well-toned women, gel-slick men — drain long-necked bottles of imported beer. Lip-glossed cigarettes are poised at coy angles, a black bra strap slides strategically from a Rocha top”.
Aboveextract from the poem“The Celtic Tiger”by the late, acclaimed Thurles poet, Dennis O’Driscoll.
This year’s performances promise a vibrant mix of poetry, live music and discussion, with four main headline events across Friday evening, Saturday afternoon, Saturday night concluding with a guided walk of Thurles, followed by Poetry readings and Open Mic Poetry on Sunday November 2nd.
The festival opens officially on Friday afternoon at 4:00pm with a reading by US former Poet Laureate and Novelist Joseph Bathanti in Bookworm No 1 Parnell Street in Thurles, followed by the first major performances at The Source Arts Centre, Cathedral Street, Thurles from 7:45pm. The evening, introduced by Jimmy Duggan, will feature music by Brendan Collins(Uilleann pipes), Gina Oberoi(Mezzo-Suprano) and Pat O’Callaghan(Saxophone), Hidden Highways, The Ed Dwan Trio and Leslie Dowdall & Hugh Buckley, alongside readings from poets Polina Cosgrave, Sean Lysaght, Moya Cannon, Joseph Bathanti, and Mary O’Donnell.
Saturday’s programme, November 1st, begins with a Poetry Workshop at 10:30am in the Community Rooms (above the Library) at The Source, presented by Professor Joseph Bathanti.
This event will be followed in the afternoon at 2:00pm by a panel discussion on the poetry of the late, great Irish poet Seamus Heaney. For this event Rosie Lavin & Bernard O’Donoghue, (latter editors of the newly published definitive edition of Seamus Heaney’s poetry) will join in conversation with Declan O’Driscoll.
Same will be followed by poetry readings from Amy Abdullah Barry, Michael Dooley, Charlotte Buckley, and Laoighseach Ni Choistealbha, accompanied by Classical Flautist Emma Roche from 2:30pm.
The Saturday evening showcase beginning sharp at 7:45pm, promises another standout event, featuring music from Classical Flautist Emma Roche, Hidden Pathways, Leslie Dowdall and Hugh Buckley, and the Ed Dwan Quartet, interwoven with poetry from Eleanor Hooker, Mark Roper, Bernard O’Donoghue, Grace Wilentz and Jane Clarke.
Again the night will round off at 10:30pm with the ever-popular Après Festival in The Monk’s licenced hostelry with a relaxed acoustic music session.
On the final day Sunday November 2nd at 11:30pm, commencing from the Anner Hotel, a guided heritage and history walk around Thurles will take place led by local historian Jimmy Duggan.
Finally, at 2:30pm, in The Monk’s, a Poetry Reading session, will take place, including an open Mic Session(For the latter those wishing to take part are invited to submit their names in advance). Those already taking part are D’or Seifer, Philip Lynch, John Noonan, Cathy Conlon, Trish Bennett, Linda Tavokali, Susan Miller Demars, Lauren Mc Namara, Cora Peters and Ron Carey.
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