Bressie

Westmeath footballer, Leinster rugby player, frontman of The Blizzards and successful solo performer, Bressie would seem to be the last person to suffer from anxiety, but after suffering a terrifying panic attack moments before appearing on The Voice, he decided to seek help.

Since then, Bressie has become a leading advocate for mental health in Ireland, setting up the social enterprise A Lust for Life, and publishing Me and My Mate Jeffrey, an honest account of his struggle with anxiety, panic attacks and self-harm. Bressie talks about his journey, and why men find it so hard to ask for help. The event will be chaired by writer and journalist Roisin Ingle.

[cta headline=”Mon 23 May | 6pm | Main Space ” buttontext=”Book Now” buttonlink=”httpss://smockalley.ticketsolve.com/shows/873552676/events”]Tickets €10/8[/cta]

The Big Debate
The Spectre of Global Jihad:
Shiraz Maher & Jean-Pierre Filiu

After the death of Osama Bin Laden, many in the West allowed themselves to imagine that Islamist violence was on the wane. But ISIS and other extremist groups have taken over where al-Qaeda left off, unleashing chaos in Iraq and Syria, undermining other Middle Eastern states and spreading panic in the West. But who are the jihadists, where did they come from, and what do they really believe?
For this special debate, chaired by Tom Clonan of The Irish Times, Shiraz Maher – author of Salafi-Jihadism – joins Jean-Pierre Filiu – author of From Deep State to Islamic State – to examine one of the most destructive political movements of our time.
Presented in association with the Embassy of France in Ireland.

[cta headline=”Mon 23 May | 8pm | Main Space” buttontext=”Book Now” buttonlink=”httpss://smockalley.ticketsolve.com/shows/873552677/events”]Tickets €12/10[/cta]

CBI Book of the Year Interview

Join broadcaster Rick O’Shea for an in-conversation lunchtime event with the newly announced CBI Book of the Year Award Winner!

[cta headline=”Mon 23 May | 1pm | Main Space” buttontext=”Book Now” buttonlink=”httpss://smockalley.ticketsolve.com/shows/873552679/events”]Tickets €5[/cta]

Anakana Schofield & Lucy Caldwell: New Irish Fiction

The renaissance in Irish fiction shows no signs of abating, with fresh talent emerging every year. One of the most exciting new arrivals is Anakana Schofield, whose bold second novel Martin John, exploring the mind of a paranoid, compulsive sex offender, has been showered with praise on both sides of the Atlantic.

Joining her is Lucy Caldwell, a prolific young playwright and novelist, and winner of the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, whose new short story collection Multitudes explores love and loss, pain and heartache from Belfast to London and back. The event is chaired by writer and lecturer Selina Guinness.

“a writer of rare elegance and beauty, Caldwell doesn’t just get inside her characters’ minds. She perches in the precarious chambers of their hearts, telling their stories truthfully and tenderly.”
The Independent

[cta headline=”Tue 24 May | 6pm | Main Space” buttontext=”Book Now” buttonlink=”httpss://smockalley.ticketsolve.com/shows/873552681/events” ]Tickets €10/8[/cta]

Íde Na Tine: Tionscadal Joni Mitchell Sweet Fire: The Joni Mitchell Project

Sna liricí sárfhileata aici, pléitear téamaí an ghrá – an tnúth, an cumha, an ríméad, an domlas – chomh maith le ceisteanna móra sóisialta agus timpeallachta. Cuimsíonn a stíleanna ceoil an ceol tíre fuaimiúil, ceol rithim agus gormacha, popcheol agus turgnaimh chasta snagcheoil.

Joni Mitchell has been described by Rolling Stone as “one of the greatest songwriters ever”. Her intensely poetic lyrics probe romantic themes of longing, joy and disillusion, as well as social and environmental concerns. Her music ranges from acoustic folk, rhythm and blues, and pop to harmonically complex jazz experiments. Sweet Fire: The Joni Mitchell Project features the very best of Mitchell’s songs – from ‘Big Yellow Taxi’, ‘Woodstock’ and ‘Both Sides Now’ to ‘The Jungle Line’ and ‘God Must Be a Boogie Man’. Translated into exquisite Irish by poets Liam Ó Muirthile and Gabriel Rosenstock, they will be performed by singer Caitríona O’Leary. She will be accompanied by Dick Farrelly (guitars), Nick Roth (saxophone), Dave Redmond (bass) and Graham Hopkins (drums). Margaret Lonergan has created stunning screen projections of the lyrics.
Produced by Liam Carson, IMRAM Irish Language Literature Festival

[cta headline=”Tue 24 May | 8pm | Main Space” buttontext=”Book Now” buttonlink=”httpss://smockalley.ticketsolve.com/shows/873552683/events”]Tickets €10/8[/cta]

Iain Sinclair

What would Iain Sinclair make of Dublin? It’s a tantalising question, for Sinclair studied at Trinity College in the 1960s before settling in London, the city he has spent a lifetime exploring both on foot and in celebrated books like London Orbital, mapping its changing terrain, celebrating its literary ghosts and turning a caustic, sceptical eye on developers’ greed.

Now, at last, we have the chance to find out, as Sinclair returns to Dublin to talk to Karl Whitney, author of Hidden City, about his memories of the city, the changes wrought by the Celtic Tiger years, and the Dublin writers that inspire him.

“long may the man’s legs hold out”
The Guardian

[cta headline=”Wed 25 May | 6pm | Main Space” buttontext=”Book Now” buttonlink=”httpss://smockalley.ticketsolve.com/shows/873552684/events”]Tickets €12/10[/cta]

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