Paths To Freedom, the Pegasus history roadshow, continues its nationwide 2016 tour next month – with stops in Kilkenny and Roscommon.
RTE broadcasters Myles Dungan and Turtle Bunbury are heading the team travelling to Sligo, Dublin, Athlone, Roscommon, Cavan, Leitrim and beyond with a unique package of lectures, presentations and entertainment events to remember the 1916 Rising, 100 years on.
The Paths To Freedom programme brings together a team of authors and key academics with important things to say about the legacy of 1916, plus a cast of international performers, for a special two-part commemoration, comprising
- A day-long programme of talks and presentations on 1916 and its legacy
- An evening performance of the songs and music of the era, showcasing the songs of John, Count McCormack.
The roadshow opened with two events in Sligo, then moved on to Dublin and Athlone. Events in Kilkenny, Roscommon, Cavan and Leitrim will be held over the coming weeks. Further events will be announced soon.
April/May Events
KILKENNY
Thursday, May 5, Watergate Theatre – Musical Show: The Count, The Countess & The Tommy
Starring international soloists Simon Morgan & Lisa Lambe
ROSCOMMON
Friday, May 13 – King House, Boyle – Musical Show: The Count, The Countess & The Tommy
Starring international soloists Simon Morgan & Lisa Lambe
ROSCOMMON
Friday, May 20 – King House, Boyle – Paths To Freedom Lecture Day
Presenting Myles Dungan, Catriona Crowe, Damien Shiels, Ian Kenneally, Jonathan Creasy and John O’Keeffe.
Talks Programme
Dr. Myles Dungan: Sentenced To Death – The Rebel Courts Martial
(Myles presents The History Show on RTE Radio 1 and is the author of multiple books, including Irish Voices From The Great War (1995), Mr. Parnell s Rottweiler: Censorship and the United Ireland Newspaper (2014) and How The Irish Won The West (2006).)
Joe Duffy: Children of the Rising
(Joe presents Liveline on RTE Radio 1 and Spirit Level on RTE TV. His new book, Children of the Rising: The untold story of the young lives lost during Easter 1916, was the highest-earning Irish book of 2015.)
Catriona Crowe: Ireland Before The Rising
(Catriona Crowe is Head of Special Projects at the National Archives of Ireland, and manager of the Irish Census Online Project. She presented the recent RTE TV programme, Life Before the Rising, and is currently working on an RTE TV documentary, Ready For The Revolution.)
Turtle Bunbury: The Personalities Of The 1916 Rising
(Turtle is presenter of The Genealogy Roadshow on RTE TV and author of Easter Dawn – The 1916 Rising and The Glorious Madness Tales of the Irish and the Great War.)
Liz Gillis: What Did The Women Do Anyway
Liz has written a series of books about the Irish Revolution, including Ireland Over All, The Fall of Dublin, Revolution in Dublin, Women of the Irish Revolution, We Were There: 77 Women of the Easter Rising and The Hales Brothers and The Irish Revolution.
EVENING SHOW
In 2016, Pegasus will also tour a complementary musical show The Count, The Countess & The Tommy featuring songs and stories from the era of the Rising, centering on the music of the celebrated Irish tenor Count John McCormack.
This show is written by RTE s Myles Dungan and will feature headline acts, including…
Simon Morgan: A world-renowned baritone, Simon has performed in venues across Ireland, the UK, Argentina, Chile, Barbados, San Diego, Chicago, New York, Monaco, Florence and Verona.
Lisa Lambe: A singer and actress, Lisa is best known for her work at the Abbey and the Gate, and as a member of international singing sensation Celtic Woman.
Brendan MacQuaile: Brendan is a classically trained baritone who performs widely in Ireland and internationally, and features regularly on TV and radio.
The show is scheduled for the Civic Theatre, Tallaght in Autumn, 2016, and will also visit King House, Boyle, in May, Cavan Town Hall in August and The Dock, Carrick-on-Shannon, in September.
“The ‘long decade’ of 1912-1923 encompassed massive political change in Ireland, Britain and the wider world. These years saw the militarisation of the Irish question, culminating in the violence of 1916 and of 1919-1923, and also the Great War in which many thousands of Irishmen lost their lives. These developments had profound effects, not only on active participants in military and political affairs in Ireland and internationally, but on the people of Ireland as a whole.”
– Decade of Commemoration, Trinity College Dublin
The Paths To Freedom programme is produced by Pegasus Consulting, the company behind the hugely successful history projects The Fighting Irish (2010) and The Great War Roadshow (2014-15).