‘Song for a Raggy Boy’ is based on the true story of a single teacher’s courage to stand up against an untouchable prefect’s sadistic disciplinary regime and other abuse in a Catholic Reformatory and Industrial School in 1939 Ireland.

Director: Aisling Walsh
Writers: Aisling Walsh, Kevin Byron Murphy

This film screening will be followed by a Q&A session with Director Aisling Walsh and Producer Tristan Orpen Lynch.

Full details about all Fingal Film Festival Events from www.fingalfilmfest.com

Aisling Walsh Bafta Winner, Writer and Director Masterclass

Aisling is a graduate of The National Film and Television School, Beaconsfield, England and Dun Laoghaire School of Art in Dublin. She has been working in the film industry as a Writer and Director since 1988. Aisling has written and directed feature and television films as well as directing a number of highly acclaimed television series. Her film credits include the Sundance Film Festival premiered and multi award winning – Song for a Raggy Boy – starring Aidan Quinn and Iain Glen which she wrote and directed. The award winning Joyriders for which she won the Irish Tribune Arts Award. The Daisy Chain – starring Samantha Morto and Invisible State – Ireland’s segment for the European Film Omnibus in 2004.

Her television credits include – Damage – which she wrote and directed and which was nominated for the Prix Europa in 2007. Room at the Top with Michael McNulty and Maxine Peake which she directed in 2010 for BBC4. Fingersmith – which was nominated for both BAFTA and Royal Television Society Awards in 2005. The multi award winning 2002 television film – Sinners – starring Anne-Marie Duff. Trial and Retribution 1 and Trial and Retribution 2 and Doctor Finlay for which she won a BAFTA Award in 1992.In 2009 Aisling was nominated for a BAFTA Award for – The Tears Welled – part of the Eadar Cluitch Series for BBC Alba in Scotland.She has recently been nominated for a BAFTA Award for her direction on Wallander starring Kenneth Branagh.

Full details about all Fingal Film Festival Events from www.fingalfilmfest.com

NOTE: Can all participants please bring a copy of a recent daily newspaper with them – preferably a national paper – The Irish Times/The Times/The Irish Independent/The Independent/Mirror/Mail etc - and a paper and pen to write and take notes.

Martin Mc Cann Actors Master Class

IFTA 2011 winner Martin Mc Cann of Killing Bono, Clash of the Titans and HBO's The Pacific, to name but a few, presents this Actors Masterclass.

Martin’s credits include the stage production part of the Artful Dodger in Oliver Twist. He also got leads in the productions of Bugsy Malone and The Crucible.
Popular in Northern Ireland for various sketches (including the trendy priest) in the Northern Ireland television comedy series Dry Your Eyes. He had a feature role in a short film by Simon Fitzmaurice called The Sound of People. He followed that up with his feature film debut (as Jimmy Riley) in the romantic drama Closing the Ring (2007) directed by Richard Attenborough. Attenborough cast McCann in the film after seeing him in a stage production of A Clockwork Orange. He also had a role in the film My Boy Jack (as Guardsman Bowe), about Rudyard Kipling and his son who was killed in World War I, with David Haig (Kipling), Daniel Radcliffe (Jack), Kim Cattrall (Caroline 'Carrie' Kipling), and Carey Mulligan (Elsie 'Bird' Kipling).

McCann plays Corporal R. V. Burgin in the mini-series The Pacific, produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, which aired in March 2010. Attenborough called Spielberg and recommended McCann for a part in the mini-series, even sending along scenes from his film for Spielberg to view.
In early 2010 he was shooting in Belfast for the music-comedy Killing Bono, a film released in April 2011 about the life of one of Bono's classmates who tries to make it in the music business, only to have his failures and frustrations magnified by the continued rise of U2. McCann plays the supporting role of Bono. In 2011 McCann completed a principle role in the Oscar winning director Terry George's Whole Lotta Sole and is currently working on a twelve part mini-series drama chronicling the building of the Titanic and the story about the ship before it left on its maiden voyage.

In February 2011, Martin won the 2011 Irish Film and Television Academy Award for lead actor in a feature film. McCann was awarded this for his performance as Occi Byrne in Swansong produced by Zanzibar films. Martin McCann also appears in Shadow Dancer which is set to be released in 2012. Shadow Dancer is directed by the Oscar Winning director James Marsh and stars Clive Owen.

NOTE: Can all participants please bring a short piece of dialogue from any script or their favourite film. Learnt off would be great or on paper for reading out.

Full details about all Fingal Film Festival Events from www.fingalfilmfest.com

Born in London, Cathy Henderson grew up in Northern Ireland before moving to Paris and then to Dublin to study at NCAD from where she graduated with a Masters of Fine Art in 1993. She has since exhibited in the UK, Ireland, France and Canada.

This current body of work was made over the last two or three years all around the Irish coast. “The most dynamic and resilient influence on my landscape work is the place where land meets the sea. My aim with these pictures is to capture the transience of the coastal view, the sense of shifting skies and the constantly fluctuating mood of weather.” Cathy Henderson

In addition to her continued fascination with landscape, Cathy also focuses much time on portraiture and figurative work. In 2007 she worked as Artist in Residence in Dublin City Council and in 2009 at St James’s Hospital, Dublin. These residencies resulted in two large scale bodies of work which documented cleansing, maintenance and technical support personnel. In 2010 she joined the Blackchurch Print Studio and in the same year she received an Arts Council Artist in the Community award to fund a visual art project with a group of long-term prisoners. She was recently awarded a commission, jointly with Robert Ballagh, to design a commemorative artwork to celebrate the centenary of the 1913 Lockout and the establishment of the ITGWU. Her work is in numerous private and public collections including the Ulster Museum, ESB and Queens University Belfast.

View Exhibition Video here ... 

Dave West was born in Penclawdd, South Wales and grew up in Swansea City. He graduated from the Carmarthenshire College of Art & Design and is now settled in Balbriggan, North County Dublin. This new body of work has been in progress for the past three years and has progressed to an investigation into the relationships between place, atmosphere, light and the moods or feelings they can evoke.

Dave has held nine solo shows to date including two with the Blue Leaf Gallery. He has exhibited with Eigse Arts Festival, the Royal Hibernian Academy, the Royal Ulster Academy, and in the U.K. with the Royal Society of Marine Artists and the New English Art Club. His work is featured in numerous private and public collections including the Office of Public Works, Texaco Corp. and BP. In 2007 Fingal County Council purchased a series of seven paintings for display in their newly refurbished Balbriggan Library. He is also currently studying towards a BA (hons) in the History of Art.

DAVE WEST IN CONVERSATION
Dave will discuss the exhibition and his art practice with Ian Fleming - artist, lecturer at University of Ulster, and Director of Creative Exchange Studios, on 10 March 2012 at 2.30pm. This is a free event and all are welcome.


View Exhibition Video here ... 

Using a combination of pen and ink, along with a mixture of mediums and textures, artist Genevieve Harden will guide and encourage students in experimenting and creating alternative self portraits.

Book now through Draíocht’s Box Office on 01-8852622. For more info email emer@draiocht.ie

Draíocht has a number of Access Places available on all its courses. If you would like to nominate someone to participate who may not have the fee, please contact Emer McGowan on 01-8098027 or email emer@draiocht.ie in confidence. Draíocht is committed, within its resources, to access to the arts for all.

Focusing on still life, artist Allyson Keehan will lead this class in exploring oil painting techniques. Composition, observation, perspective and colour theory will all be taught as students develop an understanding of oil painting and work with related mediums. Draíocht will provide initial materials and students will then be required to purchase materials of their own (a list will be provided). All levels are welcome and elements of this course could also be suitable to students preparing portfolios.

Book now through Draíocht’s Box Office on 01-8852622. For more info email emer@draiocht.ie

Draíocht has a number of Access Places available on all its courses. If you would like to nominate someone to participate who may not have the fee, please contact Emer McGowan on 01-8098027 or email emer@draiocht.ie in confidence. Draíocht is committed, within its resources, to access to the arts for all.

Draíocht’s Artist in Residence Deirdre Byrne will lead this course looking at examples of different drawing styles used by a variety of artists. This course will explore mark making and tone, amongst other elements of drawing, and will have a focus on landscapes. Students will work towards creating their own finished pieces.

PLEASE NOTE: No class on Monday 19^th March

Book now through Draíocht’s Box Office on 01-8852622. For more info email emer@draiocht.ie

Draíocht has a number of Access Places available on all its courses. If you would like to nominate someone to participate who may not have the fee, please contact Emer McGowan on 01-8098027 or email emer@draiocht.ie in confidence. Draíocht is committed, within its resources, to access to the arts for all.

D15 Youth Theatre will shortly be entering into its second term of its first year. Working with Eimear Morrissey, Mark Rogers and Ann Ryan, this talented group of 13-18 year olds meet in Draíocht every Tuesday evening and work on many elements of theatre from improvisation to Stanislavski technique to dance. From March the group will begin to work towards a piece of theatre that will explore what they have learned over the course of the term. If you would like to find out more about Youth Theatre, what it is and how to get involved next year please contact sarah@draiocht.ie or log on to the D15 Youth Theatre Facebook page for updates.