*Ollie O’Flaherty catching a wave.
NORTH CLARE’s natural landscape and people are to be celebrated in a series of one-day Land and Sea Sessions.
Doolin Arts, the not-for-profit organisation set up by Hotel Doolin last year to support Clare’s creative community announced the new festival concept this week.
Land & Sea Sessions will be a series of one-day events celebrating the landscape and people of North Clare. Over the coming months, events such as film screenings, workshops, readings, live interviews and music will entice visitors to Doolin.
Events are to kick off this month, Managing Director of Hotel Doolin, Donal Minihane confirmed. He was confident it would serve as “a great addition to Doolin Arts’ vibrant year-round calendar and will bring people together through a unique range of activities such as surfing, caving, rock climbing, bouldering, diving, open water swimming, bands, DJs and spoken word”.
Donal added, “Doolin is best known for its eccentricity, creative outlook, and array of talent. The arts is deeply rooted in our community and festivals such as Land & Sea Sessions provide an important platform for independent artists and local personalities to be celebrated. We’re proud to show people what North Clare has to offer and look forward to welcoming visitors in the coming months”.
Lahinch surfer, Ollie O’Flaherty features in the first Land & Sea Session on March 11th in The Attic at Hotel Doolin. The surf documentary, ‘Keep It A Secret’ will be screened plus there will be performances from up and coming singer-songwriter Abe Soar and rapper Hazey Haze, and an energetic set from DJ Kate Brennan Harding to close.
Ollie said the event will “offer an amazing opportunity to meet like-minded people and to celebrate the way of life of coastal communities. As enthusiasm for surf grows, it’s a worth looking back at the rich history it has across the island of Ireland, and those who have shaped the sport”.
The ‘Keep It A Secret’ film recounts the inspiring true story of the dawn of Irish surfing, the arrival of hundreds of surfers from across the world to Lahinch for the 1972 Eurosurf Championship, and how the sport’s brave pioneers found peace in the surf during Ireland’s most violent years.
Tickets to the first Land & Sea Session are priced at €30. To purchase, and to keep up to date with further events, visit doolinarts.ie
