It’s been a long, cold start to Spring, and with the present concern over the future of the Border it’s perhaps not surprising that this issue of Corncrake concentrates on Fermanagh, but the seasons turn as they always do, and soon we will be stretching our wings again. (more…)

A Review of Scapegoating by Gilbert & George Exhibition at The Mac in Belfast 26 January – 22 April 2018.

I confess I was unsure as to what to make of the controversialist artists Gilbert & George before visiting the Exhibition. Over the years I had seen half a dozen of their works individually in different galleries and I found them interesting and challenging, but I don’t think I really got them. (more…)

Richard Pierce has always been a painter. Born into an old Enniskillen family of builders, he was encouraged in the Arts throughout his childhood. He first took up photography when he was 16, recording family and friends, buildings and landscapes. (more…)

On the 23rd of March the Sliabh Beagh Artists once again created a magical evening of quality rural arts for everyone to enjoy.

The Lakes of Light event was a tremendous success with over 350 people in attendance. As darkness approached people gathered at Killyfole Lake and were greeted by the stunning harmonies of Tully. (more…)

For the first time in years, Enniskillen Drama Festival’s diverse programme has included a production by a Fermanagh-based theatre company. The Knocks Drama Group’s first year competing on the festival circuit was incredibly promising, bringing John McManus’ acclaimed play Danger Money to the Ardhowen stage.  (more…)

In the autumn of 2015 I found myself on a poetic pilgrimage, following the call to Ireland’s biggest spoken word & poetry event, Dublin’s Lingofest. Having attended the previous year as a newcomer to the idea of spoken word, I had come prepared.  I wasn’t alone. (more…)

To say things had been tight, lately, wasn’t so much putting it mildly as telling downright lies. There hadn’t been an order in weeks; not since the firestorm, when the bullets came, like mini bombs on the wind.

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A Moveable Feast, which was completed in 1960, tells of the time Ernest Hemingway lived in Paris with his first wife, Hadley, between 1921 and 1926. His memories of that period are captured in 20 short essays: each stands alone, and there is no overall storyline or theme, beyond that of the city itself, but this slender book conjures an image of Paris that is almost tangible. The smells, tastes, sights and sounds of Paris spring off the pages, and the people breathe again as they laugh and love and quarrel and drink and smoke and work and dream. All human life is here: raffish Bohemian artists, Avante Garde writers and poets, drunks, bartenders, fishermen, street cleaners, booksellers, waiters… (more…)

I grew up on the east coast of Scotland, born to Irish parents. My earliest memories all revolve around drawing, encouraged by a mother who was also an artist. For me, drawing and painting are critical forms of communication – and meditation. (more…)

The cover version was a way of honouring the original artist and many were successful, others best forgotten. But a few cover versions exceeded their brief and became synonymous with the covering artist, leaving the original songwriter and performer overlooked and forgotten. (more…)

In January 2018 Fermanagh Film Club celebrated its 10th anniversary with a programme of Fun, Film and Music in the Ardhowen Theatre, Enniskillen.

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I can still hear her singing, my Grandmother baking bread, her wedding band nestled on the shelf above the table; her hair as white as the floured hands coaxing and kneading the dough. I watched in wonder through the eyes of a child and the first of the sweet warm bread was always mine. (more…)

When we were starting out and skint,
You skinned spuds,
While I chopped them into chips.
And eating them with egg, beans and bacon-bits,
We passed tea time and ketchup,
In constant conversation.

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Recently, Unionist students at Queens have been protesting about bilingual signs. While claiming no disrespect for the Irish language as such, they view them as divisive sectarian symbols under the terms of the Flags and Emblems Act. They suspect that those who push the bi-lingual agenda are interested in only three words of Irish – Votáil Sinn Féin. (more…)

Once in the dead of night
I went alone to claim my right
To live life without fear
Of the nether world and queer. (more…)

I would not be surprised if you did not believe there is a connection with fireplaces in Enniskillen’s Castle Coole, and the largest naked statue in London. Yet, in truth, I have informed knowledge of the aforementioned artefacts. (more…)