August 2023

Irish-Australian Arts News
August 2023

What a huge few weeks it’s been for the Irish community in Australia. 

The passing of one of Ireland and the world’s finest artists Sinéad O’Connor sent a ripple of shock and mourning across the globe, while we also witnessed a surge of support for our own Girls in Green during their time Down Under for the Women’s World Cup.

We recently announced the dates for this year’s Irish Film Festival, with Irish stories and talent on screen continuing to shine in Australia thanks to SBS.
And check out our calendar for all the other exciting events happening over the coming weeks and months. 

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Nothing Compares to Sinéad 

The world went into mourning last week over the tragic loss one of Ireland and the world’s most incredible artists and activists, Sinéad O’Connor, with deep heartfelt tributes to the impact she has had on so many continuing.  

When we shared in an earlier enews and on our socials that the fascinating documentary about Sinéad, ‘Nothing Compares’ – which also delves into the complex history of women and the impact of the church in Ireland – was showing on SBS Australia OnDemand (their free online streaming service), we were blown away by the response, and rightly so.

It’s still showing, so if you haven’t watched it yet we’d highly recommend it. 

Her story, voice + music will stay with us forever.

RIP Sinéad ♧

WATCH ‘NOTHING COMPARES’

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IFF 2023 – Save the Date

The Festival is back bigger than ever from October 5 to
November 5, with special screenings taking place in 5 capital cities and streaming online across Australia.  

With Irish productions and talent proving extremely popular across the globe, we are looking forward to announcing our carefully selected program of movies and documentaries that reflect a new Ireland in 2023 whilst sharing stories that need to be heard.

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you’ll be moved in ways only Irish stories can move us.

Keep an eye on your inbox and on socials for news and share the Facebook Event with friends and family!

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FIFA Women’s World Cup

The Girls in Green put up a big fight in their opening game at the World Cup against the Matildas. After an excellent game, having some amazing goal scoring opportunities and making some great defensive manoeuvers, they unfortunately lost 1-0.

Their second match was against Canada where Katie McCabe goes down in history as being the first goalscorer for Ireland at the Women’s World Cup. It was a beautiful goal, scored directly from a corner within the first 5 minutes of the game. They put up a brilliant fight, but sadly lost 2-1. 

Ireland’s final game was a clean sheet, drawing 0-0 with Nigeria. They once again put up a good fight, with a couple of strong shots to goal and a magnificent save by Courtney Brosnan to keep the scores level.

It was such a buzz to have the ‘Girls in Green’ play here for the World Cup while witnessing such huge turnouts of Irish support both at the stadiums and viewing parties across the country. The girls definitely did Ireland proud and we look forward to seeing their next achievement.

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Who / What / When

• There’s so much happening across the Irish Community in Australia in the coming weeks and months – see what’s on where and when here:
  https://irishfilmfestival.com.au/aug23-event-diary/
   
• Irish actor Aiden Turner (‘The Hobbit’) stars in the British drama ‘Being Human’ now showing on SBS. The show focuses on a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost learning to live together in a Bristol sharehouse. Read about the show here or watch here.                                                                                    
• SBS is also currently broadcasting the gritty Irish gangland war drama ‘Kin’. Set in Dublin, new episodes are shown weekly. Catch the first episode here.
                    
• The Great House Revival’ is also now showing on SBS OnDemand. A home renovation show set in Ireland and hosted by Irish architect, Hugh Wallace. Watch here.
   
• Take a look at how Tourism Ireland worked with the stars of ‘Derry Girls’ for their Women’s World Cup campaign here.