The Le Cheile Arts & Music Festival presents an interesting mix of literature and history at the start of the festival's Arts programme at Oldcastle Library on Thursday 28th July.

The theme for the evening is Irish emigration to Australia which will feature presentations by Irish/Australian author Monica McInerney and Kells based historian Danny Cusack.

"It's a Long Way from Clare to Here" is the title of Ms McInerney's contribution. The "Clare" connection is both Clare, South Australia where she was born and raised and also County Clare, the home place of her McInerney and Hogan ancestors. Five of her nine novels (one of which is set in Meath) feature modern-day Irish women going to Australia and vice versa, exploring through fiction all the challenges and opportunities that changing countries can offer.

Moving from the literary to the historical, historian Danny Cusack who is also Australian born, will talk about Irish emigration to Australia with particular reference to the Oldcastle area. He is going to talk about the Orphan Girls to Australia scheme during the Great Famine with particular reference to the 19 or so girls who left from the Oldcastle workhouse as well as one or two interesting individuals from around Oldcastle who ended up in Australia.

To complement the talks there will an exhibition on the subject of early Irish emigration to Australia. This exhibition was originally created in 1988 as part of the Australian Bicentenary celebrations and was "rediscovered" in Oldcastle earlier this year.

The evening has been organised in conjunction with the Moylagh Historical Society and Meath County Council Arts Office with extra special help from Oldcastle Library.

The Exhibition will be open from 7pm and the talks start at 7.30pm sharp.

Admission is free and everyone is welcome.

On Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st July the Arts & Crafts Market will be open on the main square in Oldcastle. The market includes a collection of crafts, pottery, knitwear, art, wood carving and an assortment of surprises.
Surprises ? Well, here's a hint, there's BBQ flavoured popcorn, archery, a CD & record stall, bungee trampolines and more...

Childrens craft workshops on the half hour throughout Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5pm.
With the Le Cheile arts group; Face painting, lantern making, street painting, masks & mobiles.

Popping up throughout the day will be street entertainers including Mick Eile and crew with their stilt walking, fire breating act (it's tiring work so Mick will probably need to take a nap on his bed of nails periodically)

Top class Buskers all over the streets from noon to 6pm, including Dave Clarke, Lars McEvoy, Suzanne Blue, Gavin Mulhall & The Slow Eureka Band, Dave Morrisey and lots more

Last years live art performance was hailed one of the many highlights of the festival and this year we aim to do it even bigger and better.

On Saturday 30th July from 2pm to 6pm in The Fincourt, Corina Thornton from the FreeArt Society will perform her Live Art show accompanied by live music from Dem Fools and Oldcastle's own Gillian Tuite.

Due to circustances beyond our control, this event will not now take placed as planned. The show has been replaced with a comedy event, details of which can be found below.

KettleDrum Theatre presents Wheels a Comic Strip tale a self-penned new production, directed by Carmel McCreagh.

A pacey, two hander. A rollercoaster full of twists and turns.

Mikey, the boy with a past, who loves drawing comics: "I put my whole life into those comics".
Now clean living, he's found a new buzz: fast cars… Mikey loves his Subaru Impreza.
Sheena was bored, her life was boring, her parents annoyed her. Then she met Mikey "and everything was faster, funnier, more excitin'; that's what I was looking for".

Their relationship is full of twists and turns and danger....but for whom?
Sheena played by Sarah Gallagher, Mikey played by Deano Brown

Viewer Comments

Fantastic play, two wonderful performances, well done! - John Hurley, Australia
...the script was so funny, fast and catchy. I loved every minute of it. - Dessiree Kennedy, Dublin
...I love the pace of it. It's so funny and I love how the actors use the audience. Leah Hewson, Wicklow
This is every relationship at some time or other. We all laughed at the play because we recognized ourselves at certain points along the way. A clever script. We loved it. - Martin & Denise Noone

The Show will be presented on Saturday 30th in Tommy Farrellys at 5:30pm and on Sunday 31st at 6pm in The Fincourt
Addmission is free but a collection will be made after each show to reward the players for their time and there talent. You like it, you pay for it. Fair ? Suggested donation per person is €5

Note: The show contains some adult references and strong language

Joey Macken is a young and talented upstart; Joey has been making a name for himself in comedy circles and with his baby face and unique musical comedy act, he's sure to bring a refreshing edge to the evenings proceedings.

Joey has that extra gift of being a talented musician, so his musical comedy sets him apart from your average joe stand-up. Joey's a sound lad and has a fantastic set. He came 3rd in the 2010 Comedy Dublin Competition, so be sure to check him out.

Joey brings his show to Tommy Farrellys bar on Saturday 30th at 5:30pm and on Sunday 31st at 6pm in The Fincourt

Admission is FREE !

Note: This show replaces the previously advertised production of 'Wheels: A comic Book Tale'

Starting on July 25th, the Gilsons school in Oldcastle will again host the annual Le Cheile Arts Exhibition. Last year was possibly the biggest ever exhibition under one roof in Oldcastle as more than 250 original pieces of art were on display... and this year we will be continuing the trend.

Artists exhibiting their work include:

Patrick Morris from Navan. Patrick has been a renowned sculpture and artist for over twenty years. Some of his sculptures can be seen throughout Kells, as permanent fixtures.
Patrick has exhibited with Le Cheile in the past. Please see our Gallery Page for some examples of his work.

Corina Thornton, founder of the Free Art Society.net in Mullingar.

Free Art Society A collective of artists displaying a variety of painted and sculpture work.

Glen Tyler and Samantha Tibbett, are both Westmeath based artists. Sam is an artist of some renown and has recently presented president Mary McAleese with a piece of her work. Glen is currently working on a new collection after a sell out exhibition in Mullingar.

Martha Pranckuviene and Tuesday Rudolph are from The Tattoo Shop in Ardee. Martha and Tuesday have both put their tattoo guns on the shelf for a short while in order to to lift a paint brush and create a collection of work to be displayed at the Le Cheile Arts Exhibition. With their inate attention to detail, it promises be a collection not to be missed.

Local artist room

Martha from Castlepollard. Martha is a Polish artist who has lived in Ireland for the last number of years. Her work is bold and striking and leaves a lasting impression.

Annie Morton currently lives in Castlepollard. Annie's work varies from art on canvas to body art and even live art performances, she has exhibited across the country including displays at many other festivals including Festival of Fires and Helium Festival.

The exhibition will run for one week, doors open each day at noon until 6pm.