South Galway

KINVARA’S Courthouse is the venue for KAVA’s postcard show, an eagerly-anticipated exhibition.  The show will run for the first two weekends in December and will be open from the Friday to Sunday on both weekends. The artwork is anonymously displayed and all works are for sale for €30. When the artwork is collected by the purchaser, only then will the artist be revealed. Having proven to be great fun and an ideal way to shop local, and find a unique Christmas present for someone special, KAVA is delighted to be able to put on the show again this year. Later opening times are in place to facilitate those who would like to come along after work: Friday, December 2, 3pm – 8pm Saturday, December 3, 3pm – 8pm Sunday, December 4, 12pm – 6pm Friday, December 9, 3pm – 8pm Saturday, December 10, 3pm – 8pm Sunday, December 11, 12pm – 6pm

GORT Community School (CS) is the only Irish school to feature in a prestigious shortlist of top global educational facilities.  The school has made the Top 10 shortlist for the new $250,000 World’s Best School Prizes, launched this year by T4 Education in partnership with Accenture and American Express. Gort Community School, was named in the ‘Supporting Healthy Lives’ category. Brian Crossan Principal said the school values a rounded education. “Of course, academics is very important in our school and every year our students excel in their exams,” he said. “But of equal, if not more importance, is that our students are happy and healthy. We work hard to ensure that we have the structures, procedures and supports in place to cater to this aspect of our students lives in GCS. And we are very supportive of any initiatives that our enthusiastic, creative and dedicated staff undertake in this regard also.”  Vikas Pota, Founder of T4 Education and the World’s Best School …

A BEAGH native is getting set to return from the West coast of America to launch his debut album at a homecoming gig in Gort next month.  Vincey Keehan has been living in the US for more than four decades and his debut album, Great Highway, includes 14 tracks evoking memories of Ireland, as well as cherished family and friends.  Now an adopted San Franciscan living in the Sunset District with his wife, Missy, Vincey is a multi-instrumentalist and a veteran of the city’s thriving music scene. After a rapturous reception for the album in the US, Vincey is set for a homecoming in November and an Irish launch for Great Highway.  The new album features Vincey’s family and friends in music and includes ‘The Lovely Woodlands of Clare’. The piece is a moving tribute to his sister Mary whose daughter, Eimear, a talented musician, passed away in a tragic accident in France when she was just 21. Vincey was …

AN EVENING of painting and poetry is in store at the Courthouse, Kinvara, as artist Belinda Duetinger launches a new exhibition on Friday, October 28. The show, entitled ‘Der kleine Laden um die Ecke’ or ‘Little shop around the corner’ will showcase what Belinda described as a snapshot of her art, “dreamy watercolour landscapes, delicate florals, nature in all shapes and forms are featured next to surreal oil and acrylic paintings”. “I always try to see the beauty in things,” said Belinda. “We should never lose sight of what the world has to offer, that amongst all the bad news, rising costs, housing crisis, greed, environmental issues, our own personal struggles, there is so much to live for.” The launch will feature the poetry of Belinda’s husband, Nathy Gillard, a Mayo native, who will do a reading on the night.  Belinda, a Kinvara Area Visual Arts (KAVA) member graduated from GMIT in 2009 with a BA in Fine Art. She …

WAKING up to the beauty of nature is the theme of a new exhibition that will open in Kinvara next week.  The show by artist Nicole O’Donnell is entitled ‘Awakening’ and will run at the Courthouse, in conjunction with Kinvara Area Visual Arts (KAVA) from October 20 to 26. Nicole is a Galway-based artist who has a Masters Degree in Creative Practice and an Honours BA in Contemporary Art, from the School of Design and Creative Arts, at the Atlantic Technological University (ATU).  “As a visual artist who grew up in the West of Ireland, my practice is influenced by the wilderness of the Irish landscape, daily observations and the natural world to create imaginative landscape paintings that deal with themes of experience of place, memory and are inspired by the endless complexity found in nature,” Nicole explained. She added that her solo show, ‘Awakening’, “means “an act or moment of becoming suddenly aware of something”. “This collection of works …

TO mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Gort Cancer Support is holding a Breast Health Information Evening.  The event takes place in Gort Cancer Support’s Studio in Garrabeg, Gort (H91 WFP8) this Thursday, October 13, from 5pm to 9pm. A series of guest speakers will cover a range of topics including the possible symptoms of breast cancer, the importance of self-examination, areola restorative tattoos, the BRCA (breast cancer) gene, as well as post-mastectomy lingerie, swimwear and protheses. Those intending to visit can come along to one talk or listen to them all. Everyone is welcome. Refreshments will be served. More details are available on 086-1724500. More information is available on Gort Cancer Support Centre’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.

TEXTILES inspired by summer days in the South of Italy will bring some welcome sunshine to Kinvara this month, in a new exhibition at the Courthouse. Kinvara Area Visual Arts (KAVA) presents ‘Vitae Rurale’ by Isabella Florio. This ten-day exhibition will open on Friday next, October 7.  Isabella is an Italian designer and textile artist who completed her honours BA in Design at the Atlantic Technological University (ATU) earlier this year. She first became interested in art and design as a young child, a hobby she also enjoyed throughout her teenage years. After secondary school, she chose to pursue a creative career, moving to Dublin in 2016 to join The Grafton Academy, where she studied Fashion Design for over a year. Here, Isabella gained skills in pattern drafting and garment construction. After deciding to expand her knowledge and explore a new avenue of education, she enrolled in ATU to study Fashion and Textile Design. Her work there was centred around …

THE beautiful land and seascapes of south Galway provide the inspiration for an exhibition of paintings at the old Courthouse in Kinvara running this week. KAVA (Kinvara & Area Visual Artists) is presenting a solo exhibition of Mavis Gormally’s paintings entitled, Path to Home, that will be available to view up to Sunday, July 24. Mavis is showing over 40 paintings depicting the idyllic landscapes, heritage sites and seascape scenes of Gort, Kinvara, and the surrounding area. Among her subjects Mavis has captured Thor Ballylee, The Gort River Walk, Coole Park, and the Pier in Kinvara. Since before moving from NYC to Ireland in 2003, Mavis has shared her knowledge and love for art. A fine artist and painting tutor, Mavis enjoys sharing her passion for art through teaching painting in the locality. She currently tutors pre-teens, teenagers, and adults in her home studio as well as clients of the Gort Cancer Support Centre in Holly Blue House.  The artist …