merrion street

The Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan T.D., today announced €400,000 in funding for the Courage 2 Programme produced by Other Voices injunction with RTÉ and IMRO.

The Courage 1 Programme – which included performances from Ye Vagabonds at Whelans Pub, Lisa Hannigan at the National Gallery of Ireland and Glen Hansard at the National Library of Ireland  - was received with acclaim and phenomenal success with over 1 million views and a reach of over 2.7 million.  It provided quality cultural content at iconic national locations, aimed at contributing to wellbeing across Ireland and beyond and was seen globally, promoting our national profile overseas to assist in reinvigorating our tourism markets.

Building on the success of the initial programme, Courage 2 will feature 2 live streamed performances a week starting on 23^rd June and closing on 23^rd July.  These performances will be held in some of our nation’s stunning heritage sites including Kilruddery House, Kilkenny Castle, Glenveigh National Park and the Crawford Gallery in Cork. The first episode of the second series will feature performances from acclaimed alternative folk musician, James Vincent McMorrow, who is just about to release his fifth album, and singer songwriter, Maija Sofia. The second episode will feature Lankum at Kilkenny Castle.

Performances will be streamed live on Other Voices YouTube channels and social media platforms and RTÉ online at 8pm.  The original Courage 1 series is currently being shown on RTÉ 2 Thursdays at 11.30pm.

Speaking today, Minister Madigan said:

I firmly believe the quality of the performance from the Courage 1 programme, and the stunning backdrops in particular of the National Gallery and National Library, was an uplifting experience in the profound way that culture can deliver.  I am delighted to be involved again in the continuation of this programme with live music from some of Ireland’s most well loved heritage and cultural sites.

Courage is one of a number of online cultural initiatives that the Department has supported since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis. Other initiatives include Ireland Performs from Culture Ireland which reached a worldwide audience of 820,000, Dear Ireland from the Abbey Theatre which was watched by 150,000 people and Cruinniú na nÓg which featured more than 460 free online creative events for children and young people. The Department has also supported the Hot Press Young & Emerging Series of online performances which began last week and the National Concert Hall Livestream Series which concludes tonight, 19 June, with a performance by pianist, Barry Douglas.