***Rescheduled***
Saíocht – A celebration of music & poetry

Renowned actor, Stephen Rea hosts Saíocht, a beautiful evening of music and poetry in St. Canice’s Cathedral on Saturday 9th April 2022. Saíocht features Ireland’s leading poet Gabriel Rosenstock and spoken word artist Felispeaks, together with acclaimed Irish traditional musicians, Louise Mulcahy, Michelle Mulcahy and Neil Martin the super-group will explore the fascinating artistic relationship between the Irish literary tradition and Irish traditional music. In addition, Stephen Rea will read works by Kilkenny poets Robert McLoughlin and Emily Murtagh.

An internationally acclaimed actor, Belfast born Stephen Rea has appeared in films such as V for Vendetta, Michael Collins, Interview with the Vampire, Breakfast On Pluto and Neil Jordan’s The Crying Game – for which he was nominated for an Academy Award.

A multi-award-winning performer on both uilleann pipes and flute Louise Mulcahy has performed around the world and is a regular performer and contributor on television and radio.  Louise’s research work on women in uilleann piping was released in a landmark documentary for TG4 titled, Mná na bPíób in 2021.

Michelle Mulcahy is considered to be one of Ireland’s most talented multi-instrumentalists in Irish traditional music today. Awarded the prestigious TG4 Young Musician of the Year in 2006 and was also awarded Female Musician of the Year in 2005 and in 2013 at the Live-Ireland awards in the United States.

Gabriel Rosenstock writes in Irish and English across a wide range of genres, mainly poetry, tanka and haiku. His latest publications are Mullah Nasrudin Is Alive and Well new tales inspired by the eponymous Sufi eedjit, and Brightening of Days, a trilingual volume of 5-7-5-7-7 tanka in Irish, Croatian and English, both titles published by Cross-Cultural Communications, New York.

Belfast-born Neil Martin is a composer and musician with an international reputation who enjoys a most varied and rewarding career encompassing dance, opera, theatre, film, television, radio, concert hall and studio.

FELISPEAKS is a Nigerian-Irish Poet, Performer and Playwright. FELISPEAKS was commissioned by RTE in 2020 with the poem Still about Ireland’s response to the COVID pandemic. Felicia has been nominated ‘Best Performer’ by Dublin Fringe Festival in September 2018 judged for her performance in ‘BOYCHILD’, a co-written play by Dagogo Hart and herself.

This incredible celebration of music and poetry made its debut in January at the stunning Pepper Canister Church as part of Templebar Tradfest in Dublin with special guest and long time supporter of entertainment and the arts, President Michael D. Higgins.

April Sounds is delivered locally by Kilkenny County Council Arts Office and funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltcht, Sport & Media