Art « Thurles Information

Free Afternoon Of Music, Talent & Community Spirit In Thurles, Co. Tipperary!

Everyone is warmly invited to come along and enjoy St Angela’s Academy Market Quarter Concert on Sunday next, June 7th, in the Market Quarter, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.
This is a free admission event and promises to be a wonderful afternoon of live music, community celebration and family-friendly entertainment.

The programme begins at 2:00pm with the Thurles Community Orchestra, followed by the Thurles Children’s Orchestra at 3:00pm. At 3:30pm, the Thurles Ukulele Band, [featuring 4th, 5th and 6th class children], will take to the stage.
The afternoon continues with The Grapevine Motown Band at 4:00pm, before finishing in style with The Papa Zitas Motown Big Band at 4:30pm.

St Angela’s Academy of Music undertakes magnificent work in educating, encouraging and inspiring music students of all ages. The Academy describes itself as an institution of musical excellence for more than 30 years, with experienced musicians and educators supporting students on their musical journey.
Its Roundabout Programme also provides classical music education for primary school children, helping young musicians access instruments such as Trumpet, Trombone, French horn, Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Flute.

This concert is a lovely opportunity to support local young talent, celebrate the arts in Thurles, and enjoy uplifting music in the heart of the community.

Bring family, friends and neighbours — admission is free, and all are welcome!

Tipperary Film Maker Ms Anne Williamson Wins Los Angeles Film Award for “Bridget”.

Tipperary filmmaker Anne Williamson has won international recognition in Los Angeles for her short film Bridget, a powerful drama based on the life and death of Bridget Cleary, who was murdered in Co Tipperary in 1895.

Ms Williamson, from Mullinahone, Co Tipperary, directed and co-wrote the film, which revisits one of Ireland’s most haunting historical stories. Bridget tells of the murder of 26-year-old Bridget Cleary, who was killed by her husband, Michael Cleary, after he claimed she had been taken by fairies and replaced by a changeling.

The film was co-written by Williamson and Brian Clancy from Clooneen and was filmed by cinematographer Louis Buggy of Diceman Films. It combines a modern-day introduction, filmed in colour, with a striking black-and-white historical retelling of the events surrounding Bridget’s death.

Speaking at a recent screening of the film at the Abymill Theatre in Fethard, Co. Tipperary, Ms Williamson said the story had stayed with her since childhood. “It was always a story that fascinated me from listening to stories my grandfather told me when I was a child,” she said. “It was always a tale that tore at my heart strings — the fact that Bridget was burned and buried in the middle of the night with no mourners. It always got to me that she was wronged.”

Ms Williamson travelled to Los Angeles with cast members Vicky Maher, who plays Bridget Cleary; John Peter Morris, who plays Michael Cleary; and Deirdre De Búrca, who plays a local gossip. All three were present at the Regal Theatre in Los Angeles when Williamson collected her award.

The production features performances from members of the Fionn MacCumhaill Players from south Tipperary. The cast also includes young actor Cathal Fahey as Danny, Mark Fitzgerald as his father, and Eugene O’Meara as his grandfather, who introduces the story.

The drama includes an original ballad, ‘The Maid of Old Clooneen’, written and performed by Dublin folk singer Chris Kavanagh.

Local support for the film has been strong, with cast and crew members receiving messages of congratulations from across Ireland and abroad following Ms Williamson’s success in Los Angeles.

Fethard undertaker and publican Mr Jasper Murphy, who plays a priest in the film, said the award had brought great pride to everyone involved.

Bridget shines a new light on the Bridget Cleary story, seeking to restore dignity to a young woman whose death shocked Ireland and became known around the world. Through the dedication of local writers, actors, musicians and film makers, the film brings this tragic chapter of Tipperary history to a new international audience.

A Song For A Sunday.

No One Knows My Name.

Lyrics: American singer-songwriter and musician Marc Scibilia and American songwriter and record producer Nolan Winfield Sipe.
Vocals: American singer Marc Scibilia.

**American singer-songwriter Marc Scibilia**.

The song featured hereunder sung by Marc Scibilia, is about the people who don’t chase attention, don’t make headlines, and may never get a standing ovation, but who quietly leave the world better than they found it. It reminds us that a meaningful life isn’t always measured by fame or recognition, but by love, humility, faithfulness, and the small acts of goodness that often go unseen. So as you listen, think of the people in your life whose names may not be known by many, but whose impact will never be forgotten.

No One Knows My Name.

This world is a circus and people love a clown,
So you better entertain ′em if you wanna win the crowd.
There’s no parade or protests for callouses on hands,
Sunday attendance and doin′ what you can.

Why do the best men rest in unmarked graves?
Why do the good ones never find the front page?
I can’t help but thinkin′ now if that′s the case,
I’ll be lucky when I go if no one knows my name.

My grandfather was simple, he gave more than he took.
No better man than Jesus, and He never wrote a book.
The odds are when I go, it probably won’t leave much,
But honey, I loved you so, and I hope that′s enough.

Why do the best men rest in unmarked graves?
Why do the good ones never find the front page?
I can’t help but thinkin′ now if that′s the case,
I’ll be lucky when I go if no one knows my name.

END.

A Song For A Sunday.

Heroes and Friends.

Lyrics and Vocals:
American country and gospel music singer, film/television actor and songwriter Randy Travis, (Randy Bruce Traywick) in association with the late songwriter Don Alan Schlitz (1952 – 2026).

Hereunder video “Heroes and Friends,” is the voice of Randy Travis with a heartfelt country song about the people we look up to and the friends who stand by us.
With Randy’s warm, unmistakable voice, the song reminds us that heroes can inspire us, but true friends help carry us through life.
From his North Carolina roots to the Country Music Hall of Fame, Randy helped bring traditional country music back to the spotlight with a voice full of warmth, faith, and truth.

Heroes and Friends.

I ain’t live forever but I’ve lived enough,
And I’ve learned to be gentle and I’ve learned to be tough.
I’ve found only two things that last till the end,
One is your heroes and the others your friends.
Your heroes will help you find good in yourself,
Your friends won’t forsake you for somebody else,
They’ll both stand beside you through thick and through thin,
And that’s how it goes with heroes and friends.
I grew up with cowboys I watched on TV,
My friends and I sometimes pretended to be,
Years have gone by but now and again,
My heart rides the range with my heroes and friends.
Your heroes will help you find good in yourself,
Your friends won’t forsake you for somebody else,
They’ll both stand beside you through thick and through thin,
And that’s how it goes with heroes and friends.
And that’s how it goes with heroes and friends.

END.

Buy A Gun For Your Son.

Lyrics and Vocals: Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, American folk singer-songwriter Tom Paxton whose career spans more than sixty years.

Tom Paxton wrote “Buy a Gun for Your Son” in the mid-1960s at the height of the Vietnam War era. He performed it on Pete Seeger’s Rainbow Quest in 1965. It is not a song in praise of guns or war; it is pure satire, using cheerful, almost advertising-like language to expose how casually children can be taught to admire violence.
Paxton released it on Ain’t That News with Elektra, and more than half a century later its bite is still sharp.
So before you listen to it, it is worth remembering, that the joke is bitter, the target is serious, and the question underneath it is still with us and asks what exactly are we teaching the next generation to value?

Buy A Gun For Your Son.

Hallelujah, Dads and Mommies,
Cowboys, rebels, Yanks and commies,
Buy yourselves some real red-blooded fun.
If you want to make the grade,
You’ve got to have a hand grenade,
And a fully automatic G.I. gun.

Chorus.
So buy a gun for your son right away, sir.
Shake his hand like a man and let him play, sir.
Let his little mind expand, place a weapon in his hand,
For the skills he learns today will someday pay, sir.

Pound that kid into submission,
‘Till he’s mastered nuclear fission,
Buy him plastic warheads by the score.
Once he’s got the taste of blood,
He’s gonna sneak up on his buddies,
Starting his own thermo-nuclear war.

Repeat Chorus.

Buy him khakis and fatigues,
And sign him up in little leagues.
Give him calisthenics as a rule,
Once you’ve banished fear and dread,
Then pat his seven year-old head,
And send him off to military school.

Repeat Chorus.

Once he’s grown to be a man,
He might get tired of blasting Granny,
Then you’ll see a crisis coming on.
Don’t get worried, don’t get nervous,
Send that kid into the service,
Let him rise into the Pentagon.

At the Pentagon he’ll rise,
The President he will advise,
His reputation growing all the while.
With your picture on the wall,
He’ll get that long-awaited call,
And press the firing buttons with a smile.

Repeat Chorus.

END