Michael Moloney to perform at Mayo Cruinniú na nÓg festivities

TO mark Cruinniú na nÓg 2022, Ireland’s national day of celebrating children’s creativity on Saturday, June 11, the Linenhall Arts Centre in Castlebar has devised a thoroughly engaging programme of workshops for children and young people to delve into their artistic capabilities.

This year, it’s all linked to our wonderful waterways. And wrapping up this celebration of young creativity on a high note is an all ages concert with Ballina singer-songwriter Michael Moloney.

Kicking off proceedings at 10 a.m. is ‘Fly n Fish’, aimed at children aged 4 to 8 years, which will be facilitated by the Linenhall’s community artists, Daniel and Isaac. In this interactive workshop children will create colourful and expressive artwork inspired by angling flies and fish.

Artist Alice Dixon introduces young people to the style and technique of abstract painting, ‘Colour My World’, with a twist at 11 a.m. Dedicated to children aged 11 to 16, in this visual art workshop participants will focus on the incredible rivers here in Mayo, working with glow in the dark paint to give their pieces an extraordinary lease of life.

The neon artwork created will be displayed in the black box auditorium during the all ages concert with Michael Moloney that evening.

A concertina book workshop titled ‘Our Castlebar River’, for those aged 8 to 11 with artist and illustrator Melanie Whelan at 2.30 p.m., will explore our knowledge, memories and experiences of local rivers and lakes. Attendees will design new artwork using a variety of materials including ordnance survey maps and with techniques used by comic book artists and visual communicators. The motto being: together we can piece together our local waterways.

The grand finale, a concert with the remarkable talent that is Michael Moloney at 6 p.m., tops off this special day.

Since his sensational Late Late Toy Show performance in 2020, Michael has recorded at Windmill Lane Recording Studios in Dublin, and was signed to major record label Universal Music. He has performed at Sea Sessions, opening for Moncrieff and has the support of Irish superstar Dermot Kennedy.

All events on Saturday, June 11, are free, but spaces are limited so booking is essential. Please contact the Linenhall’s box office at (094) 9023733 or see www.thelinenhall.com for further details.

Funding from Creative Ireland Mayo is gratefully acknowledged.