JOHN FORD IRELAND SYMPOSIUM 7-10 June

EVENT DATE:

JOHN FORD IRELAND SYMPOSIUM held over the weekend of 7-10 June will celebrate the work and legacy of one of the most influential directors the world has seen – the legendary John Ford. Ford as an Irish American, is a true representative of the Irish diaspora and can be considered one of Ireland’s greatest emigrant sons.

The Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA), in association with the John Ford Estate and the Irish Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, established ‘JOHN FORD IRELAND’, celebrating the work and legacy of John Ford, in December 2011.

The Irish Film & Television Academy will through JOHN FORD IRELAND, will lay the foundations for honouring, examining and learning from the work and legacy of legendary filmmaker John Ford, who is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation.

For more details click http://www.johnfordireland.org/

John Ford is responsible for creating some of the most enduring films in cinematic history – inspiring, engaging and resonating with audiences, of all ages, around the world.

ABOUT JOHN FORD & IRELAND

John Ford still holds the record for winning the most Oscars for Best Director along with claiming the very first AFI Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to him by President Richard Nixon. Over a film career spanning fifty seven years, Ford directed 136 films, receiving 26 Oscar Nominations. Ford was the first film maker to receive America’s highest honour – the Medal of Freedom.

Ford always emphasised his Irishness and paid numerous visits to the land of his parentage throughout his life – including a visit to his father’s birthplace Spiddal, Co. Galway, during the Civil War. His beloved yacht the Araner, was named in honour of his mother’s birthplace – the Aran Islands.

His homage to Ireland and to the Irish experience emerges through the many subjects and characterisations explored in his films. The Informer based on the IRA novel by the Aran Islander Liam O’Flaherty and for which Ford won his first Oscar; Mother Machree which is notable as the first Ford film to feature the young John Wayne, his last silent feature Hangman’s House set in Co. Wicklow; The Plough and the Stars for which The Abbey Players traveled to the States to star in; The Rising of the Moon filmed in Ireland and the partly directed Young Cassidy a biographical drama based upon the life of Irish playwright Sean O’ Casey. He filmed the Oscar winning feature film The Quiet Man in 1951 in Cong, Co Mayo, starring John Wayne and Irish actress Maureen O’Hara.

Crawley Saint Patrick’s Parade 2012

EVENT DATE: Sunday 18 March 2012

Live Music in Crawley High Street

Sunday 18th March sees Crawley’s 9th annual St Patrick’s Weekend take on a new format as the organisers put on an Irish concert running for 8 hours in the High St on parade day.

The Celebrations are being organised by the Celtic and Irish Cultural Society, (CICS), in association with Crawley Borough Council and Sussex Police with support funding from the Irish Government. The aims of the parade, apart from having fun or having the ‘craic’, is to encourage Crawley’s diverse and vibrant community to participate in a greater understanding of Celtic and Irish traditions.

The parade is lead by the Mayor of Crawley together with local dignitaries and personalities and takes a route through the town, starting at 1.00pm from the Crawley Train Station and finishing in the High St. It’s made up of marching bands, community groups, motorised floats promoting local businesses and companies, vintage and classic cars, youth groups, dancing schools, sports clubs, cultural groups, junior bands, marching groups and many more.

The concert continues with an Irish flavour on the Dome Stage where local and international musicians and local dance schools will bring the day to a fantastic conclusion running for the whole afternoon and into the evening.

Crawley’s Chris Oxlade will MC the show and introduce…..
On tour from Ireland, Na Fianna http://www.nafiannamusic.com/
A U2 tribute band, U2 Tribe http://www.u2tribe.com/#
The Dream Tenors from the Celtic Dream show http://www.celtic-dream.com/
Local band, Reelstrings http://reelstrings.com/
Another local band, Paul Stanworth and Emerald Element.
And some surprises….

The organisers expect a large gathering for the concert and invite all to take part in the parade also.

The parade and concert will give all of Crawley’s organisations a great platform to promote themselves and the work they do and a chance to distribute flyers so as to attract new members. All are welcome. It’s non-political and non-sectarian, one for everyone to enjoy in celebrating this world famous day that is very unique.

The idea of Crawley’s St Patrick’s Celebrations is to bring businesses, cultures and communities together through participation and that can only be good for the town and it’s inhabitants. With all the communities working together the town can be better for it. Crawley is expanding and the CICS want to contribute to that ‘feel good factor’ for the benefit of its residents.

There is also a special section called the ‘nations of the world’ where the participants can walk in the parade carrying the flag of their country or geographical region. So the more flags and banners the merrier. The parade is non-political and non-sectarian, one for everyone to enjoy in celebrating this world famous day that is very unique.

The parade features a fancy dress competition with some interesting prizes on offer to thr winners

For more info on the society and to see last years parade and the publicity it generated check out www.celtic-irish.co.uk

It’s not just an Irish only St Patrick’s Parade, it’s a parade for the community. Crawley has a diverse mix of people and cultures and as a new town has welcomed people from across the globe. Crawley Borough Council, are fully supportive of the event as it encourages cultural cohesion recreating the party atmosphere of the worldwide St. Patrick’s celebration.

There is also a special fancy dress competition with some interesting prizes on offer to to the winners

The organisers also welcome volunteers to work beside professional and experienced stewards. Training will be given to all new volunteers.

If you want to take part in the parade or help with volunteering contact

John Nolan
Mobile 07956 317492
Home 01293 513189
E-mail john.nolan@celtic-irish.co.uk or leave a message via www.celtic-irish.co.uk

Crawley Irish Shine in School International Day

Fri 2nd March 2012

The Crawley Irish community took part in the International Day at Gossops Green Primary School that took place on Thursday 1 March 2012 which was said to be a renounding success by all involved.

The International Day was an opportunity for students to understand the different backgrounds and cultures that make up their school and there were representatives from other communities in Crawley also attending.

The Irish presentation introduced children to some of the heritage, geography and iconography of Ireland and her people. This included leprachauns, harps, sport, music and dance and all of the other things that make up the Irish disapora’s spirit.

The CICS held 5 lessons throughout the day that included playground games, colouring, storytelling and even a quiz for ages 5 to 11.

Many thanks to the volunteers that took part on the day including Michelle James, Noreen Nolan and Easha Tobin.

Ireland came out to be the favourite country to be visited on the day and and many children who didn’t get a chance to visit had heard ‘rumours’ about what the class looked like and the activities involved. ‘Ireland’ was also evaluated as the best decorated classroom. What do you think?

Annual General Meeting

EVENT DATE: Thursday 23 February 2012

Our 2012 Annual General Meeting is scheduled to take place in

The Elgar Room of
The Hawth Theatre
Hawth Avenue
Crawley
West Sussex RH10 6YZ on
Thursday, February 23rd at 8.00pm

Do come and hear how last year went and see our plans for the coming year.
Tea and refreshments available including a live musical interlude in the intermission.
It would be great to see you there and please pass the word to all our followers

Award winning play returns to Brighton

EVENT DATE: Thursday 24 November 2011

Award winning play The M Boat returns to Brighton for ONE NIGHT ONLY in November as part of a short UK tour.

The Argus Angel winning play, written by Brighton-Irish celebrity Eddie Alford, ran to packed audiences during the 2011 Brighton Fringe Festival, winning recognition from FringeGuru.com critics and awarded best fringe event in the post festival awards.

The M Boat tells the story of a barge delivering Guinness from Dublin to Shannon Harbour. Set in the 1950′s, the heyday of the canal where the rivalries and tensions between the characters are explored through comedy interwoven with a love story traditional music with audience participation and accompanying drinks.

The original cast are reunited at The Eagle pub.

Date: November 24
Time: 7.30
Venue: upstairs at The Eagle pub, Gloucester Street, Brighton BN1 4AF

Come and see the play again, or tell your friends who missed it first time around!

2012 St. Patrick’s Day Weekend and Parade

EVENT DATE: Saturday 17 March 2012

The Chairman and committee are pleased too announce confirmation of the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade Sunday 18th March 2012.

The Crawley Saint Patrick’s Parade will be part of a two day event. Ireland play England at Twickenham on St. Patrick’s Day in the final fixture of the 2012 RBS 6 Nations and we plan to celebrate in style. Find out how the plans are progessing at http://www.celtic-irish.co.uk/fleadh

We are currently looking for participants to register for the Parade, Marching Bands, Scouts, Guides, Brownies, Cadet Forces, TA, Cultrual Groups, Local Business, Youth Organisations, all are invited, you may wish to walk with the Parade or enter a Decorated Float, we need to hear from you to make this the biggest and best of our Patron Saints Day.

On the Sunday, the parade takes place followed by live music in Crawley’s historic high street. Don’t miss it.

NatWest Community Force Project

Sat 1st October 2011

The CICS is pleased to announce that a recent application for funding by The NatWest Community Force has been accepted as a viable source.

A total of 5822 projects were accepted in 9 different catogories, ours is under Arts and Culture and we are aiming for a £6000 grant, but we desperately need your support:

A voting system is in place, the project with the most votes in a voting area gets the cash, it’s as simple as that!

Please take a few minutes to review our Project and cast a vote for us, you will be requested to register, just follow the step by step process:

Many Thanks.