Fill up your event diaries with Willie Moone’s entertainment listings – from necessary art and culture to local community events.
Arts & Culture
– Lisa O’Neill plays ICC Hammersmith on Friday August 2nd.
– In ‘Remember Tonight’, ‘a young man brings home a stranger who was beaten up on the street. His desperate attempt to help the person in need leads him to discover wounds he wasn’t meant to deal with.’ Running at Camden IC from Friday August 2nd to Saturday August 3rd as part of Camden Fringe.
-In Faeries, ‘Two childhood friends reconnect after they return to their rural Irish hometown to vote in the unprecedented 2015 same-sex marriage referendum.’ Running at the Cockpit Theatre, Gateforth Street, NW8 8EH on Saturday August 3rd as part of Camden Fringe.
– ‘Rap History of the World’ is ‘a quick summary of everything ever: The Big Bang, formation of matter, energy, life, evolution, civilization, science, industry, empire, war, economics, modernity and all that.’ At Camden IC on Monday August 5th, Monday August 12th and Friday August 16th as part of Camden Fringe.
– London’s Irish is a ‘night full of the best Irish comics’ at the Top Secret Comedy Club, 170 Drury Lane, WC2B 5PD on Wednesday August 7th. John Meagher, Peter Flanaghan and Matthew McAloone are on the bill.
– Rehearsed Reading of ‘The Secret Child’, ‘the true story of a young boy born an “unfortunate” onto the rough streets of 1950’s Dublin and raised as secret child in a home for unmarried mothers’, at the Kennedy Hall in Camden IC on Friday August 9th at 2:20pm.
– Andrew Scott stars in Noel Coward’s ‘Present Laughter’, running at the Old Vic, The Cut, SE1 8NB until Saturday August 10th.
– Sean Scully’s exhibition ‘Sea Star’ runs at the National Gallery until Sunday August 11th.
– ‘Two and a Half Irishmen’ is ‘an hour of stand-up from 3 award-winning (mostly) Irish acts’ at the Albany, 240 Great Portland Street, W1W 5QU from Sunday August 11th to Wednesday August 14th as part of Camden Fringe. Peter Kelly, Jack O’Cairealláin and John D Foley are on the bill.
– Vittorio Angelone, ‘an Irish Italian comedian from Belfast who is trying very hard to get used to English people and life in London’, plays BrewDog Dalston, 33-35 Stoke Newington Road, N16 8BJ on Thursday August 22nd.
– Camden IC hold their next Celtic Craic evening on Thursday August 29th – ‘a monthly night of live music, theatre, poetry and much more showcasing the best of both established and emerging Irish Arts talent in London. We are always looking for actors and performers to join us in this fast-moving series of Craics.’
– Irish Music lessons at South London Irish Centre, 138-140 Hartfield Road, SW19 3TG starting in September.
– The Irish Pensioners Choir meets every second Monday from 12 – 2pm at Camden IC; rehearsals start again in September, so dates are the 2nd, 16th and 30th. ‘The choir learns Irish songs, socialises and keeps alive the traditions of the older Irish generation. For more information, please contact Alice Kennedy on 07849 235826 or Nora on 0207 428 0471.’ Here’s their recent rendition of ‘The Mountains of Mourne’ and ‘The Green Glens of Antrim’.
– Gaelic Voices, London’s new Irish language choir, starts a new term on Thursday September 5th and is looking for new members. ‘No auditions and no need to speak Irish.’
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– Nathan Carter plays the Beck Theatre, Grange Road, Hayes, UB3 2UE on Thursday September 5th and Friday September 6th.
– London Folk Festival at Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regent’s Park Road, NW1 7AY on Saturday September 7th. ‘A day of music, dance, workshops and singarounds’.
Sports
– The Republic of Ireland Soccer Supporters Club hold their AGM in the Claddagh Ring, 10 Church Road, NW4 4EA on Thursday August 8th.
– London Irish RFC are running rugby camps for U7-U14 age groups during August.
– It’s Irish Night at Kempton Park Racecourse on Wednesday August 14th. ‘Enjoy a summer evening of floodlit all weather racing and entertainment. Gates open at 4:10pm. First race on the all-weather track is 5:40pm; the last is 8:40pm. Pre-booked tickets are £15 until midnight the day before the meeting. Kids go free. After the racing, there will be a Parade Ring concert from the fabulous Wild Murphy’s.’
– Guinness World Record Match at Hazelwood, Hazelwood Drive, Sunbury-on-Thames TW16 on Sunday August 25th and into the Monday. ‘SOHK and Wooden Spoon will be attempting to break the Guinness World Record for the longest EVER match of rugby union AND to raise £100,000 for our life changing programmes!’
Education
– In ‘The Fringes of Kensington 2: Artists and Other Incomers’, Pete Smith explores how a whole range of incomers: from bohemian artists to Royal Academicians, and from Irish immigrants to the Windrush generation, have transformed the district, at the Guildhall Library, Aldermanbury, EC2V 7HH on Wednesday August 7th.
– The Migration Museum Project conducts a Migration Walking Tour through Lambeth on Saturday September 7th as part of the Lambeth Heritage Festival. ‘We will draw attention to the intersecting stories that are woven into Lambeth’s rich history. From Venetian glassblowers to Irish railwaymen, many people have called Lambeth home and as we make our way from central Brixton to Lambeth Bridge, there are clues everywhere as to their presence.’
Community & Charities
– Children With Cancer UK fundraiser at South London Irish Centre, 138-140 Hartfield Road, SW19 3TG on Friday August 2nd.
– Grand Opening of St. Raphael’s Edible Garden, 162 Pitfield Way, NW10 0PW on Saturday August 3rd from 11am -3pm. ‘A community-based growing project that offers volunteering and learning opportunities for people of all ages, whilst providing fresh fruit, vegetables and eggs for Sufra’s Food Bank and Community Kitchen.
– The Pop-Up Gaeltacht crew will be practising their cúpla focail at the Queen Mary’s Rose Garden in Regent’s Park NW1 4NR on Sunday August 18th. ‘Bring a blanket, food and drink. All levels welcome.’
– Crawley Irish Festival, the only Irish Summer Festival south of London, takes place on Sunday August 25th, in the grounds of the Hawth Theatre. ‘The festival showcases some fabulous musical talent across Britain and Ireland on three live entertainment stages highlighting modern and traditional Irish music and open dance competitions. The headline act is Don Mescall & Band; other acts lined up include Track Dogs, Reel Strings, Celtic Crunch, Brogue, Irish Mist, Blackstairs Rebel, Chris O’Malley & Friends and Straw Dogs. Keep an eye out for a Spangly Jacket and say hello if you see one. l
– London To Ballaghaderreen (L2B) Bike Ride to raise money for Motor Neurone Disease Ireland and Alzheimers Society. ‘At the moment 2 Girls and 15 Lads and 4 Support Staff will leave from The Claddagh Ring on Monday September 30th and hope to be cycling into Ballaghaderreen Town on Saturday October 5th, where we are goin’ to have one hell of a final fundraising party. Please Support the Team in any way you can’.
Meetings & Networks
– The Ireland Funds London Young Leaders Summer Social at Homeboy Bar, 108 Essex Road, N1 8LX on Thursday August 8th.
– London Irish Network, ‘a multi-activities social club, open to all Irish people, those of Irish descent and those with Irish interests’, hold a Club Night on the second Saturday of the month (which means this month it’ll be on the 10th), at the Skinners Arms, 114 Judd Street, WC1H 9NT.
– Chartered Accountants Ireland London Society hold Thirsty Thursday drinks and networking at the Porterhouse, 21-22 Maiden Lane, WC2E 7NA on Thursday August 15th.
