Tullamore Artist To Launch ‘Timescape’ Art Exhibition

Maura Fahy at work in her studio

By Justin Kelly

Tullamore artist Maura Fahy will launch her most recent exhibition of paintings this Friday, April 17 at Áras an Chontae in Tullamore. Entitled ‘Timescape’, the exhibition shed slight on Maura’s exploration of her childhood fascination with the dandelion flower. “It was its shape, softness and its magical ability to disappear in a second that fascinated me,” Maura said.

Speaking ahead of the event, Maura revealed, “The dandelion flower created many playful moments for me as a child; using it as a clock to tell the time and watching it drift away in the wind. When blowing the ‘clocks’ and spreading their life for miles around, I felt that I was actively creating nature.”

Maura has recently started to experiment with the application of various techniques to enhance her paintings: “In the recent past, I’ve spent time experimenting and I hope this will enhance the visual impact of my work in order to express a sense of mystery,” the painter explained. “The use of the dandelion has always featured in my paintings as a final layer, but occasionally I have dedicated paintings to the theme of dandelions”, she added.

“A mystery makes the viewer more curious and invites them to look deeper into the painting,” Maura stated. “Colour has always been a major part of my work. In this series, I plan to develop my use of colour further to give more vibrancy to my pieces. This will, in turn, give more energy and movement to the work and hopefully provoke an emotional response from the viewer,” she concluded.

The exhibition will be officially launched at 6:30pm on Friday, April 17 at Áras an Chontae, Tullamore, by renowned author Geraldine O’Neill. All are welcome to attend.

For more information on Maura Fahy visit www.papillonartstudio.com.

Collection Of Choirs Unite For 'Special' Tullamore Concert

By Justin Kelly

A unique collaboration of young choirs will gather for one special concert at The Church of the Assumption in Tullamore on Sunday, April 26 at 7:30pm. The event, organised by the Association of Irish Choirs in conjunction with Music Generation Offaly/Westmeath, will welcome renowned conductor Greg Beardsell and his Irish Youth Chamber Choir, as well as a number of local school choirs. It will be one of just three performances of its kind taking place nationwide.

Beardsell has worked extensively in Ireland and the UK with the BBC Symphony Chorus, the London Bach Choir and the National Youth Orchestras of Ireland and Ulster. The young choral participants from Music Generation Offaly/Westmeath will get the opportunity to learn from the acclaimed conductor at a series of workshops due to take place prior to the event.

Three Offaly schools will be among the participating choirs on April 26, and they are Rath NS from Birr, Ard Scoil Chiarain, Clara, and Scoil Naomh Cormac of Kilcormac. They will be joined by other school choirs on the night from Athlone and Moate.

Joining these secondary schools and the Irish Youth Chamber Choir in their performance will be the award winning Tullamore Academy Chamber Choir led by Ciaran Brady. “This will be a special opportunity to hear some amazing and inspiring young voices raise the roof in the Midlands,” a statement from the Offaly Arts Office at Offaly County Council read. “It is a concert not to be missed,” it claimed.

Tickets for this unique concert are priced at just €10/€7 and can be ordered on www.uch.ie or 061-331549. They will also be available to purchase at the door on the night. For more information, visit www.aoic.ie

Help Build Tullamore Rugby Club’s New Development By Becoming 'Gold' Supporter

By Justin Kelly

Tullamore Rugby Club have rallied after being denied funding for a new development last year to harness the power of community spirit in continuing the building of new dressing room facilities at their clubhouse.

A huge increase in player participation, especially through the further development of youth and women’s teams at the club, has put an adverse demand on the club’s existing facilities, creating the need for updated dressing room, shower and eco-friendly water harvesting amenities. Despite the club executive receiving approval for this construction work, their subsequent application for funding to the National Lottery in 2014 was unsuccessful.

However, following offers of voluntary support in respect of the building work, the club executive decided at their January meeting to proceed with the works. The work will be carried out by direct labour and club volunteers. In order to raise the funds necessary for materials, the club has devised a plan to offer supporters a Gold Supporter Package at a reduced rate of €350, a sum that will be pumped directly into the new development. “We just need the funds to buy the materials – the volunteers will carry out the work for free,” a club official remarked.

A club statement from the Gold Supporter Package co-ordinator Paddy Galvin read: “As you read through your invitation to become a gold member you’ll see that something really wonderful is currently happening in Tullamore Rugby Club. And the wonderful thing is that more and more volunteers are coming forward to offer their expertise and services for free to help us build new showers and dressing rooms for our rapidly growing club.”

By becoming a gold member on the new scheme, these investors will receive a personal option on home and international tickets for two years, bar vouchers to the value of €50 for two years, a dinner option for two people at every home game for two years, while their name will also be displayed for all the players to see on the dressing room sponsors board. They will also be entered into every club lotto draw for an entire year.

The project will co-ordinated by a committee chaired by club chairman Billy Fryday. This committee will coordinate the funding, volunteers and work to ensure that the project is brought to a successful completion. If you’d like to donate, you can pay the €350 in full or in instalments, you can contact Paddy Galvin on 087-6696911, and he will arrange the rest, including your package of benefits.

“If you become a gold member you’ll play a leading role in helping the club complete these essential works, furthering the development of all levels of rugby in the club, from under-6 upwards,” the statement said.

New Bar & Nightclub To Open In Tullamore This Summer

O'Connor Square, Tullamore

By Justin Kelly

A new nightclub and bar venture will open in Tullamore this summer, resulting in the creation of more than 30 jobs. Located at Woodchester House in O’Connor Square, Tullamore, the Phoenix bar and Coppers nightclub have now received the green light after planning permission was granted by An Bord Pleanála last month.

The joint venture is the brainchild of Eddie Brady, his father Eamonn, and wife Elena. “This is very much a family venture,” Eddie explained to InOffaly this week. “We have interests in several properties in the Midlands, mostly in the pub and club trade, including Coppers nightclub in Portlaoise.”

Eddie also ran Coppers nightclub in Athlone until 2013 when he sold that business to concentrate on branching into the Tullamore nightlife scene. “We have been using the name Coppers since establishing the Portlaoise venue in 2007,” Eddie explained. The Killeigh man is well aware of their famous namesake in the shape of Copper Face Jacks in Dublin, but insists that his nightclubs “very much do their own thing.”

Coppers will be using the entire ground floor of the former bank building in O’Connor Square, and works will begin in the coming weeks to extend to the rear of the premises, almost doubling the size of the existing space to incorporate the bar, nightclub, and large smoking area. 

It is currently in its tendering phase of planning, but Eddie aims to keep jobs local during the building process. “We will be concentrating on the building phase for the next few months before looking to hire staff for our venue,” he remarked.

As an Offaly man himself, Eddie would like to think that most of the 30-strong staff employed by Coppers and Phoenix will be locals. “Initially we will be employing upwards of 30 people but we would of course like to expand on this if we move towards serving food in the future.”

Coppers and Phoenix have secured a prime location in Tullamore, and Eddie admits that his family “fell in love” with Woodchester House when they were viewing properties in the town a number of years ago.  “There is almost a rebirth of the square in recent years with new places like Robbins, Bake and Eddie Rockets opening there,” he explained.  “Hopefully our pub and club will nestle in here nicely and add to this regeneration.” 

Eddie is aiming for further success with Coppers Tullamore, adding to the continuing success of his other Midland ventures. “I would like to believe we will establish ourselves as the premier venue in Offaly just like our sister venue is the premier spot in Laois.”

The Phoenix bar, which was named after a social media appeal for name submissions, will operate as a “friendly and cosy traditional bar with a twist,” according to Eddie, and it will be open seven days a week. After some appeals from potential patrons on social media to make Coppers an over 21s or 25s nightclub, Eddie revealed to InOffaly that he will in fact “be aiming for a more mature audience.” “That’s all I can divulge at the moment,” he said.

The newest nightclub owners in Offaly are also aiming to support local beer brewers, having already been in contact with craft beer producers in the locality. “I am happy to say that we will definitely be stocking craft beers. We invite all craft breweries, both local and national, to get in touch with us. This is one industry we won’t be shy about getting behind, particularly if they are local enterprises,” Eddie explained.

Eddie is remaining tight lipped about the opening of both Coppers and the Phoenix bar, but vows to be open for business “sometime” this summer. “I’m sorry I can't be more specific than that at the moment,” Eddie said, “but we won’t be rushing things; we want to provide a top class place from the get go.” 

The plans for opening night are also “classified information,” according to Brady, but “I’m sure we won’t disappoint,” he promised.