Banter at Cruinniú na Cásca (160, Apr 2017)

Cruinniú na Cásca is a large-scale free festival of creativity which will be held in Dublin and across the country on Easter Monday (April 17). Organised by RTE in association with Creative Ireland, it aims to “celebrate culture and creativity in contemporary Irish society through a rich variety of live music and dance, coding, theatre, art and music workshops, talks and tastings, readings and screenings, special events and more”.

As part of the event, Banter will be hosting four sessions in The Printworks in Dublin Castle about the great GAA novel, the role of critics, the demon drink and an one-on-one interview with someone we’ve been trying to do an one-on-one interview with for some time. Here are the details of the individual discussions – admission is free, but tickets should be booked in advance using the links below.

Where is the great GAA novel? (11am-noon)

We’ve had reams of factual books on the sports but, apart from the odd reference to togging out for a match or heading to a training session or using the parish pitch as backdrop, Gaelic games rarely turn up in fiction. It’s a rum one, especially given the place which the games have in our national culture. Our senior hurling panel scratch their heads to consider why this is so and dream up just what the great GAA novel might look like. With Michael Moynihan (sportswriter, The Irish Examiner), Rachael English (novelist and presenter of RTE Radio One’s Morning Ireland), Eimear Ryan(writer and co-editor Banshee literary journal) and Kieran Cunningham (chief sportswriter, Irish Daily Star). Tickets can be booked here.

Everyone’s a critic (1-2pm)

The days of a thumbs up or down from a critic to decide the fate of a new work or project are coming to a close. Between publications cutting back on the number of professional reviewers and the ability of everyone to be a critic online and on social media, the critic is quickly becoming a relic of the past. Yet is there still a need for someone to excercise those critical facilities and provide more than just a listicle or a tweeted review? Where do we find these critics in 2017 and how do they get paid? And will arts and culture organisations miss the critic when he or she leaves their free seat for the last time? With Cristín Leach (art critic, Sunday Times Ireland), Ian Maleney (writer and critic for The Wire, The Quietus, The Irish Times and Fallow Media), Graham McLaren (director of the Abbey Theatre) and Nadine O’Regan (arts editor, Sunday Business Post). Tickets can be booked here.

The demon drink (3-4pm)

A discussion on the part which drink plays in Irish culture and what the depiction of alcohol tell is about ourselves. And does the relationship between drink and the arts inform and influence a dependency culture when it comes to sponsorship and funding? With Tara Flynn (actress, comedian and writer), Dave Lordan (writer, poet and dramatist) and Derek O’Connor (RTE.ie Culture editor). Tickets can be booked here.

Fachtna O’Ceallaigh: a life in music (5-6pm)

Fachtna O’Ceallaigh began his career writing about music for The Evening Press, but soon found his way to the other side of the fence. Over his career, the Dubliner has managed Clannadthe Boomtown RatsBananaramathe Bothy BandDonal LunnyMorrissey (for seven eventful weeks), EamonRicky Gervais (when he was in Seona Dancing), Dread Broadcasting Corporation and, currently, Hare Squead. He’s also been a DJ on the national airwaves and looked after U2’s Mother Records for a spell. A Banter conversation at Criunniú with one of the few no-nonsense, straight shooting managers in the game who stil has loads to say and do. Tickets can be booked here.