Galway Advertiser 1998/1998_07_09/GA_09071998_E1_016.pdf 

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C o m m e n t & Letters

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Burn, baby, burn?
Dear Editor, Most people's reaction to the burning of Catholic churches in the North last weekend was one of shock and horror. However, you can image my reaction when, being in Portadown last Saturday and Sunday, I was told of the distribution of the enclosed leaflet outside the headquarters of the Portadown Loyal Orange Lodge No 1 before their parade to a religious service. Yours sincerely, Hugh McTague Editor's Note: The leaflet - a single sheet of A4-size paper shows the photograph that was reproduced in many weekend newspapers of the British prime minister Tony Blair standing together with a priest in the burned-out ruin of one of the Catholic churches destroyed. On the sheet are three quota tions: "But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their alters [sic], and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.'' Deuteronomy 7.5; "And the kings of the earth, who have committed forni cation and lived deliriously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning.'' Revelation 18.9; "And again they said, alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever." Revelation 19 J . Misuse of the Bible is, of course, a fine art among the less tolerant citi zens of Northern Ireland. However, the 60s Black militant Bobby Seale put the same message in more down-to-earth lan guage: Burn, baby, burn. So much for ecumenism.

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hat's the message I want to give to everybody coaming to this year's festival - it's our 21st birthday and t h i s i s going to be 'Gatway's biggest party'.'' The words are Ted T a r t o a ' s . and as he's the artis tic director of Galway Arts Festival, we're taking them as an open invitation to the people of Galway, and anybody else who's lucky enough to find themselves in our city during the next three weeks, to get down and party like a wolverine. Scream at the Circus of Horrors, go a bit daft with Peepolukus, go a bit deaf with the Kodo Drummers, stay up late with the Swingle Singers, celebrate Lughnasa with Bloodstone and take a turn with GYT's Macbeth, sing-a-long-a-lot with the Saw Doctors, get splashed by the waves of the Titantic, fall about at Footsbarn, rock me Amadeus with Nola Rae, and dance like a dervish at the GPO's Armageddon ('what can a poor boy do?') post-apocalyptic party. Sounds like the kind of party Lou Reed, the elegantly wasted singer/songwriter and former Velvet Underground frontman, might enjoy. Which reminds us. This year the Galway Film Fleadh (July 7-12th) celebrates its 10th anniversary, and this week the crowds are already packing into the Town Hall and Galway Omniplex to sample the exceptional programme of Irish, European and International cinema, taking in over 60 features films dazzling the eyes of film fans from all over Ireland and parts beyond.And you can catch a glimpse (a celluloid glimpse, but hey...) of Lou tonight at 11.30 in the Town Hall when a recent documentary called 'Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart' is screened.

Dear Editor, As artistic director of Punchbag Theatre Co in 1992 and producer of the world pre miere production of Patricia Burke Brogan's play Eclipsed in that year, I am compelled to respond to an article that appeared in the Galway Advertiser on June 11, more than six years later, entitled 'This is not a documentary; it is a play", in which Ms Brogan claimed that we 'hijacked' her play. On behalf of the 20 plus people - actors, designers, technical crew, director, stage management and producing team - who worked for more than a year of their lives on very little income to convert Eclipsed, which was a new play by a first time play wright, from words on a page into an award winning production at the Edinburgh Theatre Festival, I refute Ms Brogan's claim that we 'co-opted' this play to serve other intentions. 1 think anybody who saw Punchbag

Punchbag takes exception to comment by playwright
Theatre Co's production of Eclipsed in 1992 would probaby share the sentiment that what they saw was honest, powerful and true. We all believed that this was an important story that had to be told, and that is the only reason we worked literally night and day to make it a success. There is no doubt that through the peri od of development, rehearsal and produc tion there was discussion, argument and disagreement between all the principal people involved - playwright, director, actors, producer - in making the produc tion of Eclipsed the best it could be, but this is only natural and healthy in any the atre production, and especially the world premier of a new play. At the time Ms Brogan, while not get ting her way on every point, certainly appeared to enjoy all the success of the production, and conveyed to the rest of us that she was very happy and proud of what was being produced.

Theatre is a collaborative artform. It is not painting, or writing, or sculpting, which are all individual artforms. Theatre is an artform involving many artists with many skills, from the playwright to the person who paints the set. It is possible that Ms Brogan, who as a first time play wright, was not familiar with the process that makes theatre such a challenging and powerful artform. It is ironic to see in all the publicity for the recent production of Eclipsed at Galway's Town Hall Theatre, dubbed as the 'author's cut', that the producers and playwright were more than willing to use quotes from reviews that our production earned in 1992 to promote this production six years later. Yours sincerely, Sean Killian Evers Artistic Director of Punchbag Theatre Co in 1992

War power in the skies above Galway
Dear Editor, While walking with my dogs on the Claddagh green on Sunday, I was forced to witness the deafening display of war power in the shape of fast and furious jets above me in the skies, as many people were flocking together to watch this 'entertain ment'. My bones vibrated from the roaring and my whole being shud dered at the sight of fire and smoke being ejected into the air, - shaking loose memories and tears. Here is some of my story to show the work and effects of those machines. I came to Ireland - a neutral country! - over 25 years ago from my homeland Germany, where I grew up after the sec ond world war in the midst of the devastation still vibrant among the people and ruins. My own family had been deeply wounded and devastated - many relatives had either been killed or were deeply affected by their experiences. A lot of the pain was not, could not, be dealt with and was thereby passed on to me and my generation, too. My mother had lost her beloved fiance, her home, and then three children before my birth. My father had lost his father, without ever seeing him, and his home in the first world war, and all but one other fellow student/friend from his leaving cert class during the second world war. He seldom spoke about it, and when he did it was - even still during my childhood and adolescence - with sorrow and later with anger at there-armamentof Germany. He told us about some of his 'service' as part of enforced Hitler Youth activities: making bombs and grenades in a war factory,where an older man beside him on the conveyor-belt, who had lost one leg in the second world war, was warning him sadly, "You are going to have some 'fun' with those yokes yet...". Peace efforts, peace talks, peace stickers on cars in Ireland in 1998, calls for disarmament for some - and simultaneously thrills and entertainment by war machines; displays of skilled masculine posturings to have 'fun' with. Image - all the beautiful and heal ing things that could be done with money spent on war prepara tions. As the song says, "When will we ever leam...?" Name and address with editor.

G a l w a y A r t s Festival's B i g D a y - t h e s u c cessor to Slane

he couple of weeks will be punctuated by two massive, open-air spectacles. First up on July 11 is The Big Day Out, featuring some of the biggest con temporary bands on the current scene, from the dryly ironic Jarvis Cocker and Pulp and Garbage (post-modernist, you see, because the music is anything but) to New York bad Beastie Boys, moody Ian Brown, Comershop and Junkster. It used to be Slane, but this year Galway is very definitely the magnet for summer music. And then there's the 1998 Macnas parade. Carnival of Fools, which will flood the streets of Galway on Sunday July 19. There's something very appropriate about this year's parade, because the Carnival of Fools is a medieval tradition that saw the ordi nary and everyday turned on its head, with the King of the Fools leading his topsy turvy subjects on wild progress on and down the town.

How a b o u t making g r o u n d s of Merlin Park Into The Noel Browne ParkP
D e a r Editor,

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Take a w a l k o n t h e w i l d side

he Carnival of Fools is traditionally a day when anything can happen and usu ally does. It is a day when the entire population is granted the liberty to wag the tongue (and anything else they may feel like wagging) at respectable soci ety, kick over tradition, celebrate buffoons and fools instead of wise men and kings, and generally misbehave themselves under the kindly eye of their appointed Lord of Misrule, the King of the Fools. We'll leave the final word to Ted Turton, the master of ceremonies for Gatway's annual gala: "We're delighted to be celebrating our coming of age, but just because we're 21 doesn't mean we're not still shocking, outrageous, challenging and provoca tive. Age-wise we're 21, but in spirit - where it counts - we're still brash and explo sive and walking on the edge." Whatever about the edge, take a walk on the wild side these next two weeks. We at the Galway Advertiser certainly intend to. Catch you around! Ireland's biggest and most exciting arts festival celebrates its 21st anniversary from July 11 to 26. And then....it's Galway Races!

The land on which Merlin Park Hospital is located was secured to provide a tuberculosis hospital for the people of Galway and the west. The building of the hospital was made possible by a far thinking individual who devoted his life to the improvement of people's health and welfare. Tuberculosis is no longer as significant a health concern, but the welfare of many is being eroded by rhe numerous stresses and demands of mod ern society. Spending time in a quiet, natural environment surrounded by trees, bird song and open, green spaces is a luxury not easily available to the people of Galway, but relaxing in such environ ments, as we all know, enhances and strengthens feelings of well-being. Merlin Park grounds is the most significant green space currently available to the people of Galway. Are there far thinking individuals among our city councillors and planning department officials with the ability to secure and maintain these grounds as a public park for the people of Galway? Wouldn't it be afittingtribute to the man who made such an impact on our health and welfare, to name it The Noel Browne Peoples Park? Yours sincerely
Mary Murphy

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