A Dramatic Retelling Of The Voyage Of The Orphans

The poignant true story of the 4,000 famine orphans who were transported from Irish workhouses to Australia between 1848 and 1850 is the subject of an exiting new project by the County Limerick Youth Theatre.

‘Voyage of the Orphans’, a film and three-act play will have its premiere screening and staging on Friday December 11th at the Honey Fitz Theatre in Lough Gur.

Work on the project commenced in March 2009 and involved over 50 members of the local community in east Limerick, including 28 full-time members of the Youth Theatre. The idea to explore migration developed out of a series of workshops, facilitated by drama and arts specialist Fiona Quinn.

Ms. Quinn explained: “Arising out of the workshops was an interest and keenness among the Youth Theatre members to make a film and devise a play on the theme of migration. We successfully applied for a Youth Initiative Grant under the European Youth in Action scheme to help them research and produce the film and three-act play.”

She continued: “Looking at our own history of forced migration, the County Limerick Youth Theatre focused on the poignant true story of the 4,000 Irish famine orphans who were transported from the Irish workhouses to Australia during the Great Famine. This story of our past helped draw parallels between our nation’s experience of migration and the plight of migrants today. Youth Theatre members undertook detailed historical research with the help of their coach, Kate Hammond.’

According to Ms. Hammond: “We looked at modern migration issues and the way that Irish society and the Irish media receive immigrants arriving here. This information was used as a springboard for improvisations at the weekly youth theatre workshops and slowly common characters and themes began to emerge”.

Shot on location in County Limerick during August, the ten-minute film documents how three young sisters ended up as orphans in a Workhouse before two of them were transported to Australia. The social and economic differences between the landed gentry and tenant farmer families of the time are starkly demonstrated in the production. The film featured a local cast, ranging in age from 4 to 92 years old. The oldest member of the cast sadly passed away in recent weeks.

The three-act play, which was scripted by Fiona Quinn, covers the same story. Act I opens and plays out with the girls in the workhouse, Act II portrays life on board the transportation ship, and Act III documents the girls’ arrival and reception in Australia where they were sent to work as indentured servants.

As part of the research on migration, members of the County Limerick Youth Theatre were also involved in visiting exhibitions on migration and democracy, inviting speakers to talk at the Honey Fitz venue and performing short plays commissioned by Amnesty International on the topics of racism and migration.

17-year-old Siobhan McCormack, from Herbertstown in County Limerick, noted that the project was very different to anything she or her fellow Youth Theatre members had ever done before. She explained: “For us, this was a complete eye opening experience. We devised a play about the orphan girls of famine Ireland who travelled to Australia for a better life but were often met with racism and prejudice. These things are still happening today and are as bad as they ever were. People come to our country from poor countries or countries who are experiencing civil war and who have no choice but to leave.”

The County Limerick Youth Theatre was originally founded 14 years ago and is an initiative of Limerick County Council.

Speaking ahead of next week’s premiere, County Limerick Arts Officer Joan Mc Kernan stated: “Rehearsals are underway, costumes are being made, songs and dances learned, and the set has been painted. We know that it will be an enjoyable night for all with humour and sorrow, laughter and tears showing the triumph of the human spirit over adversity’.

Ms. Mc Kernan said that the Youth Theatre had grown from strength to strength since its establishment fourteen years ago. “We established the Honey Fitz branch in Lough Gur four years ago to allow young people living in a rural isolated area direct access to the arts. There are now 28 full time members of the youth theatre aged between 13 -18 years old. We are always open to new members”, she concluded.

‘Voyage of the Orphans’ is showing at The Honey Fitz Theatre, Lough Gur, Co. Limerick from 11th – 13th December 2009 at 7.30pm. Tickets €10/€5 concessions. Booking on 061 385 386

For more on the County Limerick Youth Theatre contact the Limerick County Council Arts Office on 061 496 498 / 496 300

IMAGE :

The Voyage Of The Orphans: Kelly Clifford and Michelle Fitzpatrick who play Maggie and Kathleen Murphy in the County Limerick Youth Theatre production of 'The Voyage Of The Orphans', a dramatic account of the 4,000 famine orphans who were transported from Irish workhouses to Australia between 1848 and 1850. Image by Olivia Brooke. ‘The Voyage of the Orphans’, a film and three-act play will have its premiere screening and staging on Friday December 11th at the Honey Fitz Theatre in Lough Gur.

Holiday Group Backs Tourism Ireland Plans To Target UK Visitors

One of the UK and Ireland’s largest self-catering holiday operators has welcomed Tourism Ireland’s multi-million euro strategy to boost visitor numbers to Ireland in 2010.

Imagine Ireland, which promotes over 1000 individually vetted properties throughout the country, said a refocusing of marketing efforts to target growing consumer confidence in the UK would reap dividends for Irish tourism.

Imagine Ireland, however, has cautioned the Irish tourism industry against complacency as other worldwide destinations similarly would be actively targeting any resurgence in demand.

“The need to constantly drive value for money throughout pubs, shops, transport providers and attractions, combined for example with Tourism Ireland's efforts at maintaining a prevalent brand presence across key markets particularly the UK, Ireland's closest and largest overseas market, is critical to Ireland's emergence from its current tourism downturn”, stated Annette Collins, Joint Managing Director of Imagine Ireland.

Speaking at the launch of Imagine Ireland's new holiday programme for 2010, Ms Collins said: “We believe that tourism numbers, particularly UK visitors to Ireland, will return to 2008 levels by the end of next year. Our predictions are predicated on three factors: the increasing value for money for UK tourists in Ireland, the UK general election and the bottoming out of the UK's recession."

“There is an ongoing adjustment within the cost base of the Irish economy which combined with salary cuts and declining domestic demand will see a 10% fall in products and services over the course of 2010 countering the recent rises in the value of the Euro versus Sterling. There also are green shoots beginning to emerge within the UK economy as the banks are stabilized and the economic upheaval of the past 12 months settles. This in turn will encourage banks to start lending, companies to start investing and companies to start employing in turn putting more spending power back into the UK economy as consumers recover the confidence to spend” added Ms Collins.

Commenting on the Imagine Ireland’s bid to generate 11,000 self catering holidays in 2010, Ms. Astrid Nitzsche, Strategic Director, Imagine Ireland: “Our business is well-established thanks to our relationship with our owners and our holidaymakers. That said we take nothing for granted particularly as the tourism market has become global due to the internet while the self-catering market in particular has seen an upsurge in competition from non-traditional sectors such as hotels and serviced apartments. We have, for example, invested this year in our brand while our marketing activity is being repositioned to target our predicted lift in tourists' propensity to travel, hence our recent re-launch of Imagine Ireland against the backdrop of the world's largest trade fair, World Travel Market, which took place in London earlier this month”.

Imagine Ireland was established in 2003 by Annette Collins and Astrid Nitzsche.

For more see www.imagineireland.com.

Music Fans To Make The Very Most Of Indiecater Records Gig

Dublin-based Record Label ‘Indiecater’ is hosting its first live showcase in Whelans of Dublin on Saturday, December 12th 2009.

The crossover to the live music scene is the latest in a series of exciting developments for the indie label, which recently released its first CD. ‘In The Dream Of The Sea Life’ by Colorado-based duo The Candy Claws has already received critical acclaim throughout Ireland and further afield since its October release.

This month’s live event in Dublin will feature two Irish bands, ‘Storkboy Choons’ and ‘The Ambience Affair’, and headline act ‘The Very Most’ - a collective from Idaho, USA.

The Very Most (pictured below) will cap off their upcoming performance by launching their new album, ‘A Year With The Very Most’, which is made up of songs based thematically around the four seasons. These songs were released as four digital EPs (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter) on the Indiecater label during 2009.

Indiecater Records, which also operates a popular music review site called Mp3hugger, has released over two dozen EP’s and albums from acts including Mumblin' Deaf Ro, The Burning Codes, Michael Knight, The Van Allen Belt, South Ambulance. The label also has produced numerous compilation albums, as well as re-releases of classic Irish albums from The Brilliant Trees, In Motion, Sunbear and Red Star Belgrade.

The Indiecater Records gig takes place in Whelans (upstairs), Wexford Street, Dublin, on Saturday, December 12th, starting at 8pm. Tickets are priced at 8 euro and are available to buy in advance from http://www.indiecater.com/an-indiecater-night or on the night (subject to availability).