merrion street

A global audience of over 320,000 has tuned in to the first 50 performances of Ireland Performs, the new initiative from Culture Ireland and Facebook to promote and support Irish-based artists and performers during the Covid-19 emergency.

Over 50 artists have each offered a unique audience experience, with many performing in unexpected spaces including a beach, polytunnel, van and shed.

The 50^th performance took place on Poetry Day Ireland (Thursday, 30 April) with a special focus on spoken word with Stephen James Smith, Mairead O’Donnell, Siobhan Potter and Ciaran O’Driscoll. Performances are still available to view on Culture Ireland’s Facebook page.

Ireland Performs promises many more performances from around Ireland over the coming weeks. In next week’s schedule are Cathy Jordan of Dervish, Gavan Ring, the great Irish tenor, Frankie Gavin of De Danann and Rónán Ó Snodaigh of Kíla. Weekend performances include Susan O’Neill and world class uileann piper Mark Redmond.

Culture Ireland is closing the application scheme for Ireland Performs on Tuesday, 5 May. There was a high level of interest by artists,  a large volume of  applications were received and many are still in the process of consideration.

Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan, said:

I am delighted to see that this great initiative has been such a success. I want to pay tribute to all of the artists that have entertained audiences from around the globe. Their commitment to perform and entertain during the current crisis is helping to lift so many people’s spirits. I look forward to the performances to come and to continuing to support Ireland Performs and the artists and performers involved.

Full details of performances are available at cultureireland.ie.

#IrelandPerforms #InThisTogether