The coup d’oeil paintings of Canadian artist Bob Gonsalves: dreamy narratives inspired by the work of René Magritte and M.C. Escher.
More of his work here.
Yearly Archives: 2017
Peckish?
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Last week, we asked YOU to pick and choose from the historic roster of Irish musicians, artists and wanton noisemakers to populate your dream band.
In fact, we asked the following specifically.
‘My ultimate Irish supergroup would comprise_______________ [on vocals, guitar, bass, drums, etc.] and I would call them___________________________’
On the line was a cool and crispy €25 voucher for Golden Discs, redeemable at any of its fourteen locations around the country, including the brand-new Vinyl Lounge, upstairs in their flagship Cork city location.
The lines are now closed, and the choosing of a winner was especially tough going this week. But there can only be one…
PMCD, with this absolute cracker of a line-out.
Name of band: The Psychotic Reaction.
Cathal Coughlan (Microdisney/The Fatima Mansions) – Vocals.
Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine) – Guitar.
Cait O’Riordan (The Pogues) – Bass Guitar.
Eamon Carr (Horslips) – Drummer.
Jeremy Hickey (RSAG) – Drummer. (I’m going for the double drummer – full on Adam & the Ants “Burundi” effect)Donnacha Costello – Vintage Synths/Electronic effects (check out last year’s “Mouvements” if you haven’t already done so).
Brigid Mae Power, Lisa O’Neill & Katie Kim on backing vocals.Named after “Psychotic Reaction”, one of the greatest garage rock anthems of them all by San Diego’s Count Five, fronted by Crumlin’s John “Sean” Byrne. In deference to the origin of the band’s name, The Psychotic Reaction will have to don full length high-collared vampire capes (I may have thought about this too much).
Other highlights from the running:
AMOS: “Moya Brennan on vocals, Declan O’Rourke on vocals and guitar, Neil Hannon on piano, lyrics, David Holmes on keyboards and decks, Martin Hayes on fiddle, Emmaline Duffy-Fallon (of the great Engine Alley!) on drums, Joe Wall (The Stunning) on bass. Their name: “Tonight We Fly”.”
Michael Holland: “My ultimate Irish supergroup would comprise Cormac Battle on vocals; Andy Cairns on guitar/vocals; Mark Hamilton on bass; Graham Hopkins on drums and I would call them “Kings of Tragedy”.”
Stephen: “Kevin Shields on guitar, Aphex Twin on drum machine, Enya on keyboards, Richard Egan on bass and Dustin the Turkey on Vocals. The band would be called That Poultry Emotion.”
Penfold: “My ultimate Irish supergroup would comprise: vocals, Tim Wheeler; guitar, has to be Rory Gallagher, just a genius. Can switch roles with Wheeler who’s a better than decent guitarist, Bass: Richie Egan (he could switch it up and do keys), on drums: Keith Lawler from Giveamanakick. Just mental on drums. And they would be called: Enjoy Your Hearing While It Lasts.”
Mark1: “Vocals: Sinead O’Connor and Luke Kelly. Guitar: Rory Gallagher. Bass: Phil Lynott. Drums: Larry Mullen Jr. Name: The Gaelic Aesthetic Association.”
Thanks all.
Aodhán Ó Riordáin, above, in the Seanad this morning and his Misuse of Drugs (Supervised Injecting Facilities) 2017 bill (top)
Earlier today.
Senator Aodhán Ó Riordáin’s Misuse of Drugs (Supervised Injecting Facilities) 2017 bill passed in the Seanad.
Of the move, Mr Ó Riordáin told the Senate:
“I just want to put on record An Cathaoirleach, if I might, the name of a man called Robert Keyes who died on the 8th of November, 2015, in St Audeon’s Park in Dublin, of a fatal overdose. When the person who came across his body rang the emergency services they said it was “just another junkie”.
“Now this man’s mother came forward recently, spoke about her son lovingly and caringly in the media, to say that nobody is a junkie in this country.”
“And what you’re doing today, minister, is to ensure, in this life-saving measure that we bring humanity back into our policy, our drug policy and we finally move beyond the situation where anybody would decide to dehumanise or to denigrate somebody with that disgusting term.”
“Everybody who is a citizen of this state is entitled to humane, compassionate treatment and if somebody is hopelessly crippled with an addiction, well they deserve the care and compassion of this state. And what this injection centre legislation is doing is providing that. That nobody else has to go to a park, or behind a skip or into an alleyway, or into a playground and inject themselves in such a harmful manner. Finally we will establish a facility that will ensure that people’s lives can be saved, that they won’t contract hepatitis C or HIV and that we can look on these individuals as people with names.”
“And maybe it’s time for a Names Project, that they have in the States, in terms of Aids. That in Ireland we could have a Names Project, that everybody who dies of an overdose, and we do have the third highest overdose rate in Europe. That maybe people who are affected by this and whose families are affected by this, people who approach me but won’t say it publicly, people who approach me and tip me on the shoulder and say, ‘my son died of an overdose’, ‘my brother died of an overdose’, that they can actually begin to speak about their names in loving terms.”
“Because they are not junkies, these are human beings who are being afflicted by addiction and this is the first step, along the Irish road to a proper tackling of this issue in a humane and compassionate way.”
The bill can be read here
Disgusting
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Dara Quigley (above) Today’s Irish Sun
Campaigning journalist Dara Quigley has been identified as the woman filmed being arrested and dragged into a Garda car after walking naked in Dublin city centre.
Dara, who was battling mental health issues, took her own life within days of the video being shared on Facebook allegedly by a member of An Garda Síochána.
Stephen Breen, in The Irish Sun, reports:
A major probe is under way after a woman who was allegedly filmed by a garda as she walked naked in a busy street took her own life just days later.
The officer has been accused of using his mobile phone to record CCTV footage of her arrest in Dublin last month and then sharing it in a WhatsApp group.
The north Dublin woman had been suffering from depression and was receiving treatment for drug addiction when she was detained in the city on April 7 under the Mental Treatment Act.
It’s understood the video clip was posted to Facebook three days later by another individual — and viewed 123,000 times within a 24-hour period.
Facebook removed the clip on April 11 after being contacted by senior gardai but the woman’s body was found in the Munster area the following day.
The officer at the centre of the allegation is suspended on full pay. It’s understood he denies the allegation and any wrongdoing whatsoever.
Previously: A Rare Diamond
Ah Ear
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For the day that’s in it.
Frank O’Dea, of Balla Bán Art Gallery in Westbury Mall, Dublin, writes:
With Prince Charles and Camilla’s arrival to Dublin today, we have decided to mark the occasion with a bit of memorabilia of the man himself in the gallery window – a mug of a younger Prince Charles when he got engaged to Lady Diana. It’s the last of its kind and costs €20.
The inscription reads:
“Whatever beverage brims in this cup
Thank God for PRINCE CHARLES when you pick it up
And as you quaff it, bless that same grand Planner
Who gave him for a bride the fair DIANA.”
Mmf.
Prince Charles and Camilla head south to get a taste of the Áras (The Irish Times)
Thanks Frank
File under: Decent Irish hip-hop.
Dublin rapper Kojaque drops a low-key banger with new single Wificode, thru his own label, Soft Boy Recs.
And also, an early contender for Irish music video of the year, streaming above.
Camcorder tape, frail-looking caravan, drinking, general foolishness. A distinctly lo-fi take on a few important touchstones of the Irish domestic holiday experience.
