First Thought

Our summer Vinyl Hours podcast series continues with an interview with Maureen Kennelly, director of the Arts Council Ireland. Maureen joins host Tiernan Henry to talk about the music that shaped her, the concerts she'll never forget, and the new generation of Irish artists inspiring her today. Maureen Kennelly's full Vinyl Hours playlist is available to enjoy on Galway International Arts Festival's Spotify page.

Join us Wednesday 28 July for the next edition of Vinyl Hours. 

Our summer series of Vinyl Hours music interviews kicks off with an interview with Steve Wall, the renowned actor and singer-songwriter who delighted audiences in The Stunning and wrote songs that defined, and are part of the DNA of, a whole generation of Irish people. Join us Wednesday 30 June for the next edition of Vinyl Hours. 

Vinyl Hours is hosted by Tiernan Henry. Galway International Arts Festival 2021 will take place 28 August-18 September. The Stunning play the Heineken Big Top Sunday 17 July 2022 (tickets on giaf.ie)

In this episode, recorded in September 2020 at the Galway International Arts Festival Gallery, acclaimed painter Hughie O’Donoghue and GIAF Artistic Director Paul Fahy discuss Hughie's long association with Galway International Arts Festival, including his latest exhibition, Night Cargo. 

In this episode, Pulitizer Prize nominee Dael Orlandersmith, writer, performer and theatre maker, discusses the experiences and ideas which inform much–praised works like Forever, Beauty’s Daughter and Yellowman. She is interviewed by Professor Patrick Lonergan, Professor of Drama and Theatre Studies, NUI Galway.

Dael Orlandersmith's First Thought Talk was recorded in front of a live audience during the 2019 Galway International Arts Festival.

In this episode, Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and now head of the Mary Robinson Foundation for Climate Justice, will talk about possibly the single most important issue facing humanity. 

This episode was recorded in front of a live audience in July 2019 at NUI Galway. 

In this week's Vinyl Hours episode, host Tiernan Henry talks to Liz Nugent, the bestselling author of Unravelling Oliver, Lying In Wait, Skin Deep, and
Our Little Cruelties. Please note that song excerpts have been edited out of the podcast for copyright reasons. You can listen to Liz's full Vinyl Hours playlist on Galway International Arts Festival's Spotify page: http://spoti.fi/2OwJhHz

This episode was recorded in September 2020 in front of a socially distanced audience at the King's Head, Galway. 

In this 15-minute interview, playwright Enda Walsh and Galway International Arts Festival Artistic Director Paul Fahy discuss their ongoing collaboration on the Rooms series of immersive theatre installations.  ​

Changing Room, which premiered as part of GIAF's Autumn Edition, is the latest in the series and follows on from Room 303, A Girl’s Bedroom, Kitchen, Bathroom, Office 33A and Waiting Room, collectively known as Rooms. The series has toured to Washington and New York, and most recently the entire series was presented at the Barbican, London in 2019.

Find out more: https://www.giaf.ie/tours/rooms

Welcome to Part 2 of our Vinyl Hours conversation with Ireland’s renowned concert orchestra conductor and choirmaster David Brophy, hosted by Tiernan Henry. To listen to David Brophy's full playlist, visit GIAF's Spotify page here http://bit.ly/DavidBrophyPlaylist.

This episode was recorded as part of Galway International Arts Festival's September 2020 Autumn Edition, in front of a socially distanced live audience at Galway's Róisín Dubh.

Subscribe to First Thought for new episodes every Wednesday. 

For the first time, Galway International Arts Festival's popular Vinyl Hours music discussion series is available as a podcast.

In this episode, Vinyl Hours host Tiernan Henry chats to Ireland’s world renowned concert orchestra conductor and choirmaster David Brophy about the music he loves. Please note that song excerpts have been edited out of the conversation for copyright reasons. To listen to David Brophy's full playlist, visit GIAF's Spotify page here http://bit.ly/DavidBrophyPlaylist.

Tune in next Wednesday for Part 2 of Tiernan's conversation with David! 

This episode was recorded in September 2020 in front of a socially distanced live audience at Galway's Róisín Dubh.

The global pandemic has distracted everyone from another problem facing the planet, for which there is no vaccine: climate change and its predictable disastrous effects on our lives. In 2019, First Thought Talks hosted a fascinating and inspiring talk with four of the young people involved in the schools’ protests for action on climate change, in conversation with Green Party leader, Eamon Ryan.

In this episode, Tara O’Neill and Mai Sheehan, two young Galway climate activists, are joined again by Eamon Ryan, now Minister for Climate Action, Communications Networks and Transport. Dr. Rory Monaghan, Lecturer of Energy Systems Engineering at NUI Galway, moderates the event.

This First Thought Talk was recorded in front of a live audience in September 2020 as part of Galway International Arts Festival's Autumn Edition.