Written by Belfast playwright Marie Jones, ‘A Night In November’ stars award-winning actor William Lyons as Kenneth McAlister, a working-class Protestant, during a fateful night in November, 1993 in Belfast when the Republic of Ireland soccer team plays against Northern Ireland in a World Cup qualifier. As the game progresses, Kenneth finds himself watching the crowd more than the football — and exposing his Anti-Catholic bigotry.

Thought provoking and hilarious, this play has wowed audiences all around the world and is one of the best pieces of theatre written in Ireland in the past 30 years.

In 2009 William Lyons won the best actor award at the All-Ireland Drama Festival in Athlone and prior to the final had won 7 best actor awards on the festival circuit

Tom French is one of the most interesting poets to emerge in Ireland in the last few years. He was born in Kilkenny in 1966 and raised across the border in Tipperary. He received a bursary in literature from An Chomhairle Ealaíon/The Arts Council, Ireland in 1999, and his fi rst collection ‘Touching the Bones’ (Gallery Press, 2001) was awarded the Forward Prize for First Collection 2002. His second collection ‘The Fire Step’ was published in October 2009. Tom will read from both collections tonight – the general theme is ‘The Things That Leave Us Breathless and Horizontal’.

LEANNE O’SULLIVAN

Leanne O’Sullivan was born in 1983, and comes from the Beara peninsula in West Cork. She received an MA in English from University College, Cork in 2006. The winner of several of Ireland’s poetry competitions, including the Seacat, Davoren Hanna and RTE Rattlebag Poetry Slam, she has published two collections, both from Bloodaxe, ‘Waiting for My Clothes’ (2004) and ‘Cailleach: The Hag of Beara’ (2009). She is the recipient of the 2009 Ireland Chair of Poetry bursary.

“What is remarkable about Leanne O’Sullivan is not that she is so young but that she dares to write about exactly what it is to be young. A teenaged Virgil, she guides us down some of the more hellish corridors of adolescence with a voice that is strong and true. For that alone, she deserves our full attention.” American Poet, Billy Collins

SÉAMUS GOODMAN …CAOMHNÓIR CEOIL

Protestant Minister, piper, Gaelic scholar and Trinity College professor; James Goodman, straddled two very different cultures in 19th century Ireland but it is the vast collection of tunes he transcribed from piper, Thomas Kennedy which James Goodman will be remembered for. Over120 years since his death, the extensive collection of traditional tunes he collected are still being consulted, read and studied by musicians and scholars today.

Produced by Dingle production company Sibeal Teo, this is the defi nitive fi lm on Canon Goodman and is an excellent introduction to his life and work. Filmed in and around Skibbereen, West Kerry and Dublin it contains insightful interviews and superb performances by Laoise Kelly, Steve Cooney, Mick O Brien, and Peter Browne among others.
This film is presented by Skibbereen Historical Society and will be introduced by local historian Jim Byrne. Jim now resides in the rectory in which Canon Goodman lived.

Join us again this year in the atmospheric grounds of Abbeystrewery Church for our outdoor movie night! This year we are delighted to have David Puttnam to introduce his classic 1983 movie, Local Hero. Peter Riegert is Mac, the Houston businessman flown to the fictional Highlands fishing village of Ferness to negotiate a deal with the locals to buy their land – land wanted by his eccentric boss (Burt Lancaster) to use as a North Sea oil base. Having found more friends within this tiny population than a lifetime in the big city, and captivated by the beautiful beachside surroundings, Mac soon fi nds himself not wanting to leave. The villagers, meanwhile, have more than a few surprises tucked up their sleeves.

This story is about capitalism at work, one of many expectations to be turned on its head as the tale unfolds!
* Sincere thanks to David Puttnam for his permission to screen Local Hero tonight.
* Proceeds from this evening’s events will go to charity.
* Remember to wrap up warm – bring a warm jacket and a hot fl ask – summer nights can be chilly!

In this exciting two-man show, where travel is an illusion and a pint of plain is your only man, the comic world of Flann O’Brien is prised open by DCU Chemistry Professor Dermot Diamond and actor Fergus Cronin.

11 of the best up coming acts from all over Cork and beyond will be performing at different times in the bars and hostelries of the town – everything from funky Traditional to groovy Country and good old fashioned Rock’n'Roll will have the town buzzing for the whole weekend.

Acts include The Céilí All Stars, Toy Soldier, The Taxmen, Stuart Wilde and Slow Motion Heroes to name but a few. So make sure you check out the fantastic pre-festival buzz in the town on Friday night or chill out on the Sunday with laid back music and sizzling summer barbeques.

Full details of this event are available on the website www.corkxsw.com, the box office in Skibbereen or look for the leaflets and posters in participating outlets in the town.