IRISH-AUSTRALIAN ARTS AND EVENTS ROUNDUP
Stay up to date with Irish film, arts and cultural events happening across Australia with our Events Calendar here
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In our February issue, we announce exciting news regarding our inaugural Short Film Competition, an initiative to encourage more Irish-Australians to create films and put their work out there! We also update you on St Paddy’s Day events in your city and the chance to see the hit new Scottish film I SWEAR in cinemas for free.
As we write this month’s edition, Festival Director Enda Murray is making his way to Ireland for the Irish Film Institute (IFI)’s ‘Australian Dreams’ season and the always inspiring Galway Film Fleadh. His voyage was an unexpectedly long trip that reminded him of the old saying “Breakfast in Sydney, dinner in Dublin, baggage in Honolulu”).
This month’s roundup has been hijacked by Kneecap! – the sensational new Northern Irish, Irish language comedy that is breaking all records! It’s a big month for Irish cinema as the Galway Film Fleadh kicks off on the 9th with a screening of Kneecap, and will be running until the 14th. Reports out of the Fleadh will reveal some of the hottest upcoming Irish cinema. Sydney Film Festival has just kicked off with 6 Irish Films over 12 glorious days of cinema–including Australian/Irish boxing drama Kid Snow, the rude and riotous Kneecap, and the prize-winning doco The Flats. Spring may have sprung in Ireland but here in Sydney it’s like a wet Sunday in Belmullet as the rain keeps lashing down! Luckily we have some great suggestions for you with a new TV show featuring Andrew Scott and a great new doco on Ireland’s best loved trad act the Bothy Band. March was a huge month with St Patrick’s Day and the Oscars and now we’re looking forward to what April has in store! It’s the lucky month of March and everyone will be flocking to the pubs to grab a pint of Guinness. We provided a breakdown of St Patrick’s Day celebrations that we’ve found being held around Australia but don’t forget to also visit your local Irish pub. There were a couple of awards shows in Feb with Irish wins and 2 more IFF Q&As are on YouTube including our opening night Q&A for Lakelands. Hollywood’s awards season has started and Irish co-production ‘Poor Things’ has been receiving lots of attention, as well as ‘Oppenheimer’ star Cillian Murphy. Irish actors Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal and Barry Keoghan have also shared attention. We have a collection of Irish films being released in 2024 and 2 more of our Q&As are on YouTube. Another successful Irish Film Festival has finished and while the team have been busy wrapping up the festival and completing reports, there’s been mountains of Irish news – so much that we couldn’t possibly cover it all in this newsletter. We are delighted to announce our BEST FILM AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE SCREENING! 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. August 2024
The film screens for Melburnians this weekend at the Melbourne International Film Festival plus the Irish Film Festival is partnering with Dendy Cinemas with special ‘Próvaí Previews’ to launch the film around Australia. PLUS…we announce the dates for the 2024 Irish Film Festival; Oct 17 – Nov 3, with full city and dates breakdown below. All this plus our monthly wrap up of Irish movie news and for sports fans a wrap up of Irish achievements at the Olympics so far.July 2024
We’d like to introduce the best Irish magazine in Australia – Tinteán – and the ISA Community Appriciation Awards Finalists. We also have a new show on SBS, new music and a review of Kneecap.June 2024
There is also plenty of Irish content to stream with 2 TV shows on SBS OnDemand and a hit new Irish show Bodkin on Netflix. Sydneysiders can also enjoy Irish play Never Closer at Belvoir St Theatre and X Club gig featuring Irish DJ Shampain at Carriageworks. And the Irish Film Festival is launching its EOFY Donation Appeal!May 2024
We also have an IFTA Award wrap-up up with Cillian Murphy taking home another win for Oppenheimer and in Sydney the Irish Support Agency have announced that nominations are open for their Community Appreciation Awards.April 2024
We have a recap of the Oscar winners and the Irish Oscars (aka the IFTA Awards) have announced their nominations. We also have the last of the IFF23 Q&As on Youtube and there are some new Irish shows and movies available to steam. You can also find a Hollywood Reporter article on Why Ireland Is Thriving as a Film Hub which is worth a read.March 2024
February 2024
Save the date: Gaelic Club Céilí Band All-Stars concert at the Gasoline Pony on Friday, March 8th.December 2023
For many of us, the tragic passing of The Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan was a major milestone.
We have other cultural news and have put together an events diary for 2024 too.Opening Night Movie
Opening Night Movie:
LAKELANDS
Starring Éanna Hardwicke (Normal People) & Danielle Galligan (Kin, Shadow and Bone)
Galway Film Fleadh
Kerry International Film FestivalAugust 2023