Athenry MAD Festival 21st & 22nd September 2024
Welcome to the 8th Athenry MAD Community Arts Festival 2024
We would to acknowledge the following support for this years event by:
The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
and Galway County Council Community Support Scheme-Economic Development Grant.
Saturday 21st September
Our festival programme commences with the amazing Gliondar community Arts Group.
Come join us at the Athenry Community Hall for a free fun-filled 2 hour workshop of learning how to walk on stilts!
Gliondar will teach you the basics of stilt walking in a safe and supportive environment. Whether you're a beginner or have some experience this workshop is perfect for all skill levels.
Get ready to elevate your stilt walking game and impress your friends with your new s kills.
Don't miss out on this exciting opportunity to try something new and exciting!
Participants are advised to wear comfortable shoes, high socks & trousers for this workshop.
Tickets for the Stilt Walking workshop are available through Eventbrite.
Saturday 21st September 18+
Its Samba time in the Athenry Arts & Heritage Centre.
Join us for this free drumming workshop for adults.
The Athenry Music Schools Samba le Cheile is the ideal opportunity to meet new friends and learn a new skill whilst having fun.
The workshop commences at 12:00pm and is open to all adults over 18.
Samba le Cheile is an Equality, Diversity, Inclusion (EDI) event and we welcome everyone to come along and enjoy themselves in a safe and secure environment.
Everything is provided for your enjoyment, we just need YOU!!
if you wish to join Samba le Cheile, then click here.
It’s time to Samba with the Athenry Music School Community Samba Band for Adults.
The Market square is the place to be from 2:00pm as the Samba Beats
will be flowing through the medieval streets of Athenry.
Enjoy the foot tapping beats and experience some fun and maybe some dancing too.
If you like what you hear, then ask to become a member of the Athenry Samba Band.
This pop up performance is kindly supported by the The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Our teens are spoilt for choice with this years festival as Drama Facilitator Sharon Lynch presents a Youth Theatre Workshop Community Hall in Athenry from 2:00pm-4:00pm.
Tickets can be purchased through Eventbrite and space is limited to 12 participants.
This workshop is designed by Sharon to be engaging and interactive and all participants will explore themes that are relevant in their lives and for the times we live in.
Steve Scott
The highlight of this year's MAD Festival are the images from street photographer Steve Scott.
The collection will be located in keys areas throughout Athenry and will illustrate the rich history of the town through its community at the Car Boot Sale, Athenry sheep and Cattle Marts and the Steam Train resting in the station.
The Walking Tour Gallery is a selection of images curated by Steve and supported by the Athenry Arts & Heritage Centre.
A full collection will be made available through Social Media by the photographer after the event
Steve Scott is a passionate and experienced street and documentary photographer from Athenry.
His work has appeared in many exhibitions and has
been published in magazines throughout the world.
He started his journey in photography at the age of 16 when he borrowed his father's Canon SLR camera and started taking images of his daily surroundings.
Over the years, Steve has been experimenting with all kinds of photography genres until a few years ago where he discovered Street Photography.
Since then, Steve started experimenting with documentary photography which allowed him to go much deeper into the genre.
In as much he became part of his subject’s life which is the essence of the image.
21st September Athenry Arts & Heritage Centre
The Athenry MAD Festival has a foot tapping Saturday night treat for all you bluegrass and blues music fans.
Tonight's performance is by the legendary Piotr Kolodziejski.
Born in Elblag, Poland in1976, PK started playing guitar at the age of 13. Due to the post communistic reality of his country in the early 90's, he left the city with high unemployment and moved to Dublin. PK found his true calling in blues music which for him was a form of complaint to God. His instrument of choice was obviously an acoustic guitar.
Performing under his stage name of Slidin PK, Piotr will introduce the Junkyard Yard Orchestra, a new project for PK and he expands his blues sounds to incorporate the old time and traditional music of the Appalachian region.
Admission is free for tonight's performance but seating is strictly limited.
Doors open from 7:30pm.
Sunday 22nd September
Its a MAD Festival treat as we start our Sunday with Cruthu Studio and the amazing Elaine Cunningham.
Join Elaine and her crew as they introduce the children to the fabulous art of puppet making in the festival garden of the Athenry Arts & Heritage Centre.
This year Elaine will hold two workshops with the first at 12:30pm for the under 6 age group and then at 2:30pm for the under 10's.
Please note that parents/guardians must remain with their child throughout the workshop and a name and contact number will be taken on the day.
All materials are supplied for both events, just remember that the event is outside so please dress for the Irish weather.
Please arrive promptly for both workshops and they are very popular with parents and children alike.
The MAD Festival is going down memory lane as we take a musical journey to the days of disco in the Warwick Hotel, Galway.
Presented by showband musician Cha Talyor, we meet and greet Paul Concannon aka DJ Foz.
Paul was a DJ's at this time along with owner and fellow DJ 'Doc' O'Connor.
DJ Foz and Cha Taylor will present an afternoon of chat and music including the iconic sounds of the period.
This is a great opportunity to hear the music and remember a time where everybody met for a Saturday night in the great Warwick Hotel which was demolished in 2019.
After the Q & A, DJ Foz will spin some sounds for the audience to enjoy and maybe a request or two.
This event is free to attend however seating is restricted so please arrive early.
Saturday 5th October
The MAD festival is proud to present Tall Tales for a Small World with acclaimed Irish storyteller Orla McGovern.
Orla has curated a site specific event in the ambient setting of St. Mary's Church, the home of the Athenry Arts & Heritage Centre.
This free family event will captivate audiences of all ages to enjoy.
Interactive and engaging describes Orla's performance and maybe a song or two as well.
The event commences at 12:30pm but arrive early as there is limited seating.
Órla is a Storyteller, Writer, Performer and Facilitator living in Galway.
She is an award-winning storyteller and has told at the Cape Clear Festival, Yarn Festival at Mermaid Arts World Storytelling Café, Electric Picnic, Artists House Cobh, and numerous others.
She is the artistic director of ‘Moth & Butterfly’ a storytelling and improvisation collective based in the West.
The Athenry Arts & Heritage Centre is accessible for those with disabilities.
We are pleased to announce that Athenry Choir will perform in the festival garden of the Athenry Heritage Centre.
Join the amazing Moth & Butterfly in Athenry Library as they spin their tales and enchant the young and old. 
Children will be thrilled with the return of Drumadore to the Athenry MAD Festival. Enjoy a fun filled morning with the Drumadore team as they create magic rhythm's in the festival garden.
Meet local artist Elaine Cunningham and experience the thrill of making you very own puppets.
Meet local artist Maria Hitchox as she curates this great tote bag making workshop.
We are proud to present a meet the artist event with local sculpture Donnacha Cahill. 
The MAD Festival presents a pop up musical event outside the AIB in Athenry.
Recognised as one of the major poets of the 20th century, the Athenry MAD Festival will be presenting a panel discussion on the 10th anniversary of his death.
Aoibheann McCann lives in Galway where she performs, and writes fiction, non-fiction and the occasional poem. Her first novel Marina was published in 2018. She co-writes, produces, directs and acts in chart topping audio comedy Retreat! Aoibheann is currently working on her first collection of short fiction and a second series of Retreat.
Celeste Augé is the author of the poetry collections I Imagine Myself, Skip Diving, The Essential Guide to Flight and the collection of short stories Fireproof and Other Stories. Celeste’s poetry has been shortlisted for a Hennessy Award and her short story 'The Good Boat' won the Cúirt New Writing Prize for fiction. She lives in Connemara, in the West of Ireland.
Máire T. Robinson is a writer and workshop facilitator living in County Galway. She is the author of short story chapbook Your Mixtape Unravels My Heart (2013) and novel Skin, Paper, Stone (2015). Máire was awarded a bursary award from the Arts Council in 2020 to complete a folklore-inspired short story collection. Some of her recent short fiction has appeared in Southword, Trasna, and ROPES. 
Alan McMonagle lives in Galway. In 2015, he signed a two-book deal with Picador, and in 2017, Ithaca, his first novel was published and nominated for the Desmond Elliott Award for first novels, the Dublin literary Award and shortlisted for a Bord Gais Irish Book Award. He has published two collections of short stories (Psychotic Episodes, Arlen House, 2013 and Liar Liar, Wordsonthestreet, 2008), both of which were nominated for the Frank O'Connor Award. He also writes for radio and his plays, Oscar Night, People Walking On Water, Shirley Temple Killer Queen and Pink Moon have been produced and broadcast as part of RTE's Drama on One season. His second novel, Laura Cassidy's Walk Of Fame, was published in 2020. 
The Athenry MAD Festival is pleased to support local artist Tricia Fahy with her solo exhibition show in the Newpark Hotel. 
Join us for a magical night of music and craic with Aindrias de Staic and his band in the ambient setting of the Athenry Heritage Centre Festival Garden.
Its a musical start to our Sunday programme with Helen Gannon & Friends in the garden of the Athenry Heritage Centre.
Children will love this workshop presented Maria Hitchox.
Roll up, roll up, roll up for the Athenry MAD Festival Arts Extravaganza.
The planting begins – good things come to those who prepare, work and wait.
