This week is Temple Bar Trad Fest and the streets of Temple Bar are going to be filled with the sound of pipe bands, ceili dancing, and even a parade! At The Ark we’re looking forward to presenting two special concerts this Saturday.

Traditional singers Maighread and Triona Ni Dhomhnaill,

Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh

and Moya Brennan

will be performing in a special concert at 2pm drawing on their wonderful store of songs from the Donegal Gaeltacht.


Then at 4pm we have a live traditional music concert with Fionnuar, winners of the prestigious Siansa Gael Linn competition in 2008. We’re really looking forward to hearing them perform in The Ark.

Both concerts are now sold out but there are still tickets available for The Giant Blue Hand, The Ark's exciting new theatre production which runs from 10 February to 22 March.

We had some great news this week – Costume Designer Niamh Lunny has been nominated for the Irish Times Theatre Award for Costume Design for Beware of The Storybook Wolves, a world premiere production commissioned by The Ark in 2008. All of us at The Ark would like to offer our congratulations to Niamh, and wish her the best of luck at the awards.


This year costume designer Gaby Rooney is working on the world premiere of The Giant Blue Hand which opens at The Ark this February. Gaby has worked on many film, television and theatre projects and we can’t wait to see what exciting ideas he has planned for this production!

For more information about this production please call Jeanine MacQuarrie, Box Office Manager on 01.6707788

All the staff here at The Ark are settling back after our lovely Christmas break and we’re really looking forward to all the exciting programmes that will be going on at The Ark in 2009.

It’s all go here as our production crew are busy building the set for our upcoming production The Giant Blue Hand. Rehearsals for the play start next week, and we have an incredible cast for the show, including Catherine Walker, Don Wycherley and Cindy Cummings.

We can’t wait to hear traditional singers Maighread and Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and Moya Brennan who will be performing at The Ark during Temple Bar Trad Fest on Saturday 31 January. There are only a handful of tickets left for this Lullaby concert, so don’t miss this chance to hear some of Ireland’s most renowned traditional singers. Fionnuar, winners of the prestigious Siansa Gael Linn 2008 competition, will also perform in our Young People’s Concert which is already fully booked!

Don’t forget to keep reading our blog to find out more about what’s going on at The Ark this year!