The Hurler – 5-7 March: The Hurler is being performed in the Garter Lane Arts Centre in Waterford city. This one-man show is based on the award-winning web series The Hurler and sees Gar Champion in person for the very first time in the world premiere of the show. Gar is disgraced after becoming the first hurler to be banned from the game for failing a performance-enhancing drugs test. He takes a job coaching a new hurling team of misfits in Brooklyn to pay back a debt, where he also runs into an old friend. Tickets range from €12.50 to €15. For tickets and more information see www.garterlane.ie.
Many Young Men of Twenty – 5-7 March: The Virginians will perform John B Keane’s Many Young Men of Twenty in the Ramor Theatre, Cavan. John B deals with the mass exodus of young men and women from Ireland to England, especially in the 1950s and 1960s. These young people experienced a sadness as they left, leaving their parents behind. This play has some light-hearted moments too and includes songs that suggest happier times and people who knew how to laugh. Tickets range from €14 to €16. For tickets and more information see www.ramortheatre.com.
Des Bishop, Mia Mamma – 5-7 March: Des Bishop returns for a hometown show to the Everyman Theatre, Cork with a show inspired by the star of his life, his mother, who passed away in March 2019. The show is about motherhood and sacrifice, anxiety and grief, the mistakes you make in the mother-son relationship and the difficult road to forgiveness. Lastly, the show is about loss, grief and the disruption that comes with it. Des previously wrote a show about his father being sick in 2010. General admission tickets cost €27. For tickets and more information see www.everymancork.com.
Mick O’Dea Exhibition – 6 March until 18 April: Mick O’Dea was born in Ennis, Co Clare, in 1958 and studied art across the world. He then lectured at the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) in Dublin for 16 years and participated in a range of artists residencies. An exhibition of his work will be displayed in the Source Arts Centre, Thurles, Co Tipperary. The works range from 2010 to present and are a selection of painting on the War of Independence, including some large-scale newly created pieces and some which have not yet been exhibited. Mick worked with historic photographs to bring the characters to life on the canvas. Admission is free. For more information see www.thesourceartscentre.ie.
Military Wives – out 6 March: This film was inspired by the wide-spread popularity of military wives choirs and stars Kristin Scott Thomas and Sharon Horgan. The story celebrates a group of misfit women who form a choir on a military base with their partners away serving in Afghanistan. The women will help each other overcome their fear for loved ones in combat. Bounds of friendship form as music transforms their lives and they find themselves at the centre of a media sensation and global movement. This film is rated 12A.
Connacht
Galway: Ballinasloe, Shearwater Hotel, 15th March, (4.30-7.30pm), Michael Collins, (7.45-10) Andy Feery (10-12) Michael Collins
Mayo: Claremorris, McWilliam Park, 8th March, Johnny Mullen
Sligo: Enniscrone, Diamond Coast Hotel, 6th March, Gerry Guthrie & Jimmy Buckley, 7th March, Gerry Guthrie & Barry & Dominic Kirwan, 8th March, (afternoon) Gerry Guthrie & Sandy Kelly
Leinster
Kildare: Celbridge, Celbridge Manor Hotel, 13th March, Robert Mizzell & Liam Mannering & Maria, 14th March, Limelite & Gerry Guthrie, 15th March (2pm) Philip English
Kilkenny: Slieverue, The Rhu Glenn, 7th March, Declan Nerney
Kilkenny: Pilltown, Pilltown GAA complex, 8th March, Mary Prendergast
Westmeath: Moate, The Well, 5th March, Checkers, 7th March, Paul Kelly, 8th March, Dermot McConnell
Munster
Cork: Mallow, The Hazel Tree, 6th March, Declan Nerney
Cork: Glanmire, Vienna Woods, 11th March, Patrick O’Sullivan
Kerry: Castleisland, Riverisland Hotel, 20th March, Fundraiser for Air Ambulance with Mike Condon
Limerick: Kilmallock, Bulgaden Castle, 11th March, John Hogan
Limerick: Adare, Woodlands House Hotel, 8th March, Jimmy Buckley
Tipperary: Roscrea, Racket Hall, 7th March, John McNicholl
Ulster
Cavan: Cavan, Hotel Kilmore, 7th March, Cliona Hagan
Derry: Coleraine, Bushtown House, 9th March, Eunice Moran
Donegal: Bundoran, Allingham Arms, 7th March, Patrick Feeney & Eamon Jackson
Down: Newry, Mourne Country, 7th March, Jimmy Buckley
Tyrone: Moy, The Ryandale, 7th March, Ciaran Rosney
Tyrone: Omagh, The Silverbirch, 6th March, Michael English