Via Instagram @nyirishcenter
Sept. 3, 2024 By Shane O’Brien
The New York Irish Center launched its 20th-anniversary season by announcing a series of new and unique programming initiatives beginning this month.
The New York Irish Center, located at 10-40 Jackson Ave., has announced an Irish-language film festival, a new animation series from five-time Oscar-nominated Irish studio Cartoon Saloon, a new global Irish music series and a season-long literary program as part of the upcoming 20th-anniversary season.
Irish-language broadcaster TG4 has teamed up with the Irish Center to launch the first-ever Irish-language film festival in the US, which will take place next May.
Meanwhile, the Irish Center will launch its Saturday Cartoon Series in February after teaming up with celebrated studio Cartoon Saloon, which has received five Oscar nominations, most recently when the feature film “Wolfwalkers” was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 93rd Academy Awards in 2021.
The season kicks off at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 13 with a Blarney Star concert, a popular resident trad music series at the Irish Center. Husband and wife duo Siobhán and Willie Kelly will headline the September concert, with two further dates announced for October and November.
The Irish Center will launch its new Crossroad Concert series with an inaugural concert at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 19. The series blends Irish folk music with music from many different cultures around the world, with the inaugural concert blending Irish folk with Puerto Rican Plena.
A total of seven further concerts have been announced for the series, which runs between September and June and features music from a variety of different cultures, including Native American, Ghanaian West African, Indian, and Arabic.
George Heslin, executive director of the New York Irish Center, said the series will offer a glimpse of what Irish culture has in common with other cultures from around the world.
“We do hope to see many of our Queens neighbors at these concerts as we explore the similarities and differences of our traditions,” Heslin said.
The Irish Center will also present “Unreconciled”, a one-man show by Jay Shefton chronicling a survivor’s journey as he establishes a reparations program against the Catholic Church, on Sept. 25 and Sept. 26.
The “Big Read” series, a season-long program supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, kicks off on Oct. 1 and creative writing workshops with journalist and writer Sadhbh Walshe on four separate dates in the first four months of 2025. The series also features a reading by Irish playwright and screenwriter Ursala Rani Sarma on April 24.
“We want the 20th season to be full of new discoveries. We also are happy to open our doors even wider than before to share Irish culture with more and more of our incredible neighbors,” Heslin said.
The Irish Center will additionally host a 20th-anniversary celebration from 2-5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28, bringing together all of the center’s constituent groups for a season sampler. The event is free, but anyone interested is encouraged to register for tickets.
“Our 20th Anniversary Celebration is an open-house style party. It’s something we love to do at the Center… you can show up and when you do, you can be sure there will be something on stage, and merriment will prevail in all corners of the Center.”
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