EVENTS ROUND-UP
An evening of whisky tasting
There will be a whisky tasting at Thomas Connolly bar tonight, Thursday (7.30pm). This will be hosted by Martin Lawrence.
On the night, Martin will take participants through the history of Scotch Whisky, while sampling some outstanding whiskies, including Bowmore, Auchentoshan, Bunnahabhain and Glenlivet. Tickets are €25 for members and €30 for non-members. Early booking is advised as places for this event are strictly limited.
The event starts at 7.30pm.
Chamber Music Festival
The Sligo International Chamber Music Festival begins this Saturday. Performances take place at St Columba’s Church in Drumcliffe and at The Model. The festival presents a rich palette of music spanning the classical, romantic, modern and contemporary periods, featuring the work of composers Bach, Haydn, Brahms, Schumann, Beethoven, Debussy, Rhona Clarke, Dvorák and Janacek.
Also on show will be newly commissioned works by Irish composers Judith Ring for Dermot Dunne, Deirdre Gribbin for Malachy Robinson and Benedict Schlepper-Connolly for Fionnuala Moynihan. The festival runs until Monday.
Psychic night in the Radisson
A psychic night is on at the Radisson Blu Hotel and Spa, Ballincar, tomorrow, Friday (8pm).
Join psychic medium Fiona Stewart Williams for a night of communication from beyond the grave, illustrating in her very down to earth manner that the soul lives on. This will be a very special evening of spirit communication and psychic insights. Tickets are €25.
Fleetwood Mac tribute
This coming Sunday, Ireland’s premier tribute to the supergroup Fleetwood Mac, Mack Fleetwood, will be live at Anderson’s Grill & Bar.
Let this act bring you on a magical musical journey from the Peter Green blues era to the multi-platinum selling band that still tour today. Tickets are available for Mack Fleetwood at ticketweb. ie. Doors open at 10pm.
Kieran Quinn Theme Night
On Saturday week, May 7, Kieran Quinn and the Theme Night Ensemble return to a full capacity Hawk’s Well
Actors with Sligo Youth Theatre rehearse for their upcoming production, The Grimms Fairytales.
for the first time in over two years. This exciting theme promises a wide variety of music played by your favourite
Deacon Damien Kearns, Michael Dwyer, Padraig Dwyer at the Gleann School Reunion which was recently held in Castle Dargan.
Sligo musicians. Expect entertainment, joy and some magic moments as Kieran and the gang celebrate freedom. Kieran will collaborate with our huge community of wonderful musicians to bring together a great show.
Tickets are available from www.hawkswell.com or by calling 071 9161518.
Ox Mountain Honda 50 Run
This Sunday, May 1, a Honda 50 Run will take place in south Sligo.
The Ox Mountain Honda 50 Run will be held at Banada Abbey Hall at 12.30pm. Registration opens at 10am and closes at 12 noon on the day. All bikes and vintage cars are welcome.
Funds raised on the day are in aid of Crumlin Children’s Hospital in Dublin.
The High Kings in concert
Irish folk band The High Kings bring their Ireland and UK tour to the Sligo Park Hotel this Saturday.
This show was originally scheduled for January but all previously purchased tickets remain valid.
To book tickets for this event, visit www.ticketmaster. ie. The show begins at 8pm.
Patrick Kielty at Hawk’s Well
County Down comedian Patrick Kielty brings his new
stand-up show, Borderline, to the Hawk’s Well Theatre this Saturday.
Taking aim at Brexit, borders, protocols and politicians, Patrick tries to make sense of what a dis-United Kingdom and a dis-United Ireland means for the future of our islands. The show begins at 8pm.
Tickets can be purchased from www.hawkswell.com or calling 071 9161518.
Roisin O is at Anderson’s Live
Roisin O is in Anderson’s next week as part of her biggest Irish tour to date.
The tour is taking place to coincide with the release of her new album, Corageous, which will be released tomorrow, Friday.
Roisin is in Anderson’s Grill & Bar on Saturday, May 7. Doors open at 9pm.
Tickets can be purchased from www.ticketweb.ie.
Youth Theatre production
Sligo Youth Theatre is returning to the stage with their presentation of The Grimms’ Fairytales.
The group will perform for two nights at The Factory Performance Space in Quay Street this Saturday and Sunday.
The show will be anything but grim, with fun retellings of classic stories you thought you knew so well which include witches who may or may not be wicked, fairy godfathers, princes with charm, wolves, goblins and boys who want to stop crying. Saturday’s show begins at 8pm. On Sunday there will be a matinee performance at 2pm and then an evening show at 8pm.
Tickets are available from www.eventbrite.ie.
Kevin Burke at Coleman Centre
Kevin Burke will perform in concert at The Coleman Music Centre, Gurteen, this Saturday week, at 8.30pm.
Tickets for this Kevin Burke concert are now available. Call 071 9182599 or book online at www.colemanirishmusic.com.
A Greenland Story
On Saturday week, May 7, The Model will host a screening of A Greenland Story.
The documentary reveals a country and people at a crossroads between tradition and modernity.
With no roads connecting its coastal communities, a boat and its Irish crew move quietly in the background giving rare access to remote villages up into the Arctic Circle. In near 24-hour daylight, sailing by vast icebergs and sharing midnight encounters with humpback whales, we are invited into homes and communities along the way. Tickets are available from www.themodel.ie. Sales from the event will go to the Ukrainian Red Cross and Sligo Bay RNLI.
Claire Carpenter with her partner Ross and children Luke, Anna and Zach.
A SLIGO couple preparing for their summer wedding have had their lives turned upside down when one of them, Claire Carpenter (34), suffered a severe stroke eleven weeks ago, on February 10.
Her partner, Ross Mannion, a former player and coach with Connacht Rugby, just five days ago, created a GoFundMe page to raise much need money to help Claire, the mother of their three children, Luke, Anna and Zach, to live an independent life. As this paper was going to press yesterday, the fund stood at a remarkable €45,568, in itself an indication of how keen people are to help Claire, Ross and their family.
Ross speaks movingly about the
rollercoaster the family has been through since early February: “What had been a bad headache during the day suddenly changed when the love of my life, Claire 34, collapsed onto the floor beside our three very scared, children, Luke 14, Anna 10 and Zach 7.
“In a heartbeat, all power on her left-hand side had evaporated. After a short period, when the paramedics’ arrived at our family home the diagnosis was not good.
“Claire was rushed to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, where she underwent two lifesaving surgeries.” However, Claire has no power along the entire left side of her body. “Everyone knows that Claire is resilient, grounded, wise, and determined.
“But the life journey ahead of her, and us as a family, is now uncharted, lonely and scary. For example, instead of doing up the house for the summer wedding, we will need to adapt the layout for Claire’s reduced function and mobility.
“Instead of arranging wedding cars, we need a vehicle that accommodates a wheelchair. We may not need a bridesmaid for the day, but we know we need a long-term care assistant,” says.
If you wish to contribute, search for ‘Help Claire (35) regain independence after a stroke’ and it will bring you to the page.
THE announcement on Monday of 75 new jobs by Sligo firm Amcor has received widespread welcome from business and political leaders.
The jobs are being created with the expansion of Amcor’s healthcare packaging capabilities in Europe.
Amcor, which develops and produces responsible packaging solutions, is establishing new thermoforming capabilities for medical packaging which is expected to double the revenue of its Sligo site, increase the site’s footprint, and create approximately 75 new jobs at its current plant based at Finisklin, Sligo.
The multi-million investment will mean it becomes a one-stop shop for converted healthcare 2022 onwards through packaging. www.amcor.com/ Tánaiste and Minister work-with-us. for Enterprise Trade Interested candidates and Development Leo can also express their Varadkar said it was a interest by emailing “really significant expansion” afsligo.careers@amcor. which will create 75 com. new jobs for Sligo”. Through this investment, This investment, he the Sligo site will said, is “a real vote of confidence feature Class 7 cleanroom in Sligo, the strong manufacturing environments talent pool we have in the and state-of-the art area and the existing team thermoforming operations, at the facility”. fully certified to ISO The creation of the new 13485 standards and meeting jobs will include roles the highest regulatory such as machine operators, requirements. manufacturing technicians, Amcor will also create team leads and a full design studio to experts in engineering support product development, (project, process, design), enabling customers maintenance, quality to tap into local and global assurance, sales and supply expertise and resources chain field. across the company’s Jobs will be advertised growing network of global in phases from mid-April innovation centres and thermoforming facilities in Mankato (US) and Puerto Rico.
According to Market Data Forecast, the European medical device segment, which relies on this type of packaging, is expected to grow at annual rate of more than 4%, reaching $171 billion by 2027.
The Cathaoirleach of Sligo County Council, Cllr Paul Taylor welcomed the news: “Amcor is acknowledged as a global leader in a range of areas, including packaging, pharmaceutical, home and persona-care products.”
Cllr Taylor added: “I concur with the Tanaiste’s comments that this announcement is very significant news for Sligo and the north-west.”