Amy Gillen to perform in Allingham 2016

The next performer we can confirm for our Allingham Saturday Night Concert is wonderfully talented local flautist Amy Gillen. Amy will perform both classical and Irish pieces on the Abbey stage for the Allingham concert. Currently the co-principal flute in the Royal Irish Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra, Amy is just about to begin her third year in her degree, so we're very lucky that she will have the time to make an appearance at Allingham 2016! 

Amy's credentials and achievements are almost too numerous to mention. She has played in the Donegal Youth Orchestra, the Donegal Chamber Orchestra and performed solo in the National Concert Hall. Over her career she has won multiple prizes in féiseanna across the country, including the RTE Lyric FM Senior Bursary Award at this year's Sligo Féis Ceoil and the award for most promising musician under-21 in the Clandeboye Festival, Belfast, in 2015. In addition, she is on the board of directors  for the Irish Association of Youth Orchestras, and was recently presented with a Gemeinhardt Piccolo Sir James and Lady Leanne Galway! 

We look forward to having such an accomplished local talent taking part in the Allingham Saturday Night Concert.

Kieran Quinn & Seamie O'Dowd to perform in Allingham Concert

The first artist confirmed for the Allingham Saturday Night Concert on November 5th is the wonderful pianist-composer (and ex-Sligo football player!) Kieran Quinn. Kieran will be performing songs from his latest album 'The Next One', and will be accompanied by the Seamie O'Dowd, a musician who is no stranger to Ballyshannon.

Here's a track from his new album 'The Next One'. 
https://youtu.be/xP9dYUms8Qw

Documentary at Allingham with Jamie D'Alton and Garry Keane

Allingham 2016 are delighted to announce that two of Ireland's foremost documentary film-makers Jamie D'Alton and Garry Keane (both with Ballyshannon connections!) will present a screening of the highly successful documentary 'Toughest Place To Be', and will then take part in a Q&A at this year's festival.

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'Toughest Place To Be' follows a Dublin street cleaner as he travels to the Philipines to work as a street sweeper in a crowded, impoverished suburb of Manila. The film's producer D'Alton and director Keane will be on hand to answer any questions about this challenging production, first broadcast on RTÉ in April. The film received such high ratings that RTÉ have commissioned two more episodes to be broadcast later this year. 

“this determinedly observational film stays in the mind - long after the credits roll”

— The Irish Times

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This is an excellent opportunity to meet and chat with two people at the forefront of Irish documentary film-making. 

Jamie D'Alton

Jamie D'Alton is the joint managing director of the IFTA award winning Motive Television production company, and is one of Ireland's most experienced documentary producers, perhaps most recently well-known for the Conor McGregor documentary series 'The Notorious'.

www.motive.ie

Garry Keane

Garry Keane won the Best Director IFTA for his documentary on Sligo-based poet Dermot Healy, 'The Writing in the Sky'. Garry hails from Ballyshannon and still lives in Donegal, but his work takes him around the world regularly, working as cinematographer, producer and director. 

Garry Keane on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user6198108

Special Allingham Arts 1916-2016 Event!

On October 15th, the Allingham Arts Festival will bring an extra-special event to Ballyshannon - 'The 10 Dark Secrets of 1916' by Paddy Cullivan. 

How did the lawyer who prosecuted the 1916 leaders end up in one of the highest positions in the Free State? Why were 280,000 women denied the vital Treaty Election Vote of 1922? What made 2 million Irish People turn from hating 1916 to supporting the War of Independence? What dark secret made Michael Collins sign the Treaty, and why is his assassination even stranger and more covered-up than JFK’s? All these questions and more will be dealt with in the show to end all 1916 shows…

Paddy Cullivan of 'Callan’s Kicks', 'The Late Late Show', 'Leviathan' and 'Kilkenomics' brings you an audiovisual spectacular on the 100th Anniversary of the Easter Rising. Using satire, Imagery, historical insight and song, Paddy reveals the 10 strangest things (and Darkest Secrets) that happened during our Rising, Revolution and Counter-Revolution (Civil War). He also draws parallels with those events’ effects on modern Ireland, drawing out the fundamental changes that need to happen, no matter what Government we end up with.

www.paddycullivan.com

Attention Songwriters! The Allingham Songwriting Contest is now open!

The Allingham Festival Songwriting Contest is back, offering songwriters the opportunity to win €1000!

Songwriters are invited to submit their entries using our online entry system or by CD. We welcome music of all styles. The deadline for entries is September 30th. A shortlist of entrants will then be invited to perform in our live final which will be held on Friday November 4th 2016.

The winner on the night will walk away €1000 richer, and will also be invited to perform again in our Saturday night concert the following evening. 

Visit allinghamfestival.com/songwriting for more info and for a list of rules. 

Here's a video of the 2015 winner Niamh Mc Kinney performing her song 'Down Near the Sea' in last year's live final, introduced by John Meehan, with judges Cathy Jordan, Ian Smith and Chanel Mc Guinness.