JAZZ and blues singer, Mary Coughlan a household name across the country is set to take centre stage at this year’s Mountshannon Arts Festival.
Known for her raw, soulful voice and deeply emotive storytelling, Coughlan’s headline act takes place at St Caimin’s Church in Mountshannon on Friday May 30th at 8pm.
Evolution is the theme of the 2025 Mountshannon Arts Festival. Coughlan’s fame as one of the country’s foremost jazz and blues performer saw her inspired by the likes of Billie Holiday and Bessie Smith, though her catalogue includes influences by music’s many genres. Now, as she celebrates with a 40th-anniversary tour, her evolution finds her exploring a little-known side of the music of Peggy Lee.
While it is nearly three months to the June Bank Holiday festival, the organising committee are well advanced in putting together a programme that will continue to build on previous years’ success.
Drawing many to the shores of Lough Derg, the festival will again present top-class music, drama, visual art, craftwork, spoken-word, demonstrations and workshops. It will also continue to provide a platform for local, national and international artists, who will again entertain, enlighten and push the boundaries.
This is reflected by this year’s staging of the taboo-breaking ‘Am I Irish Yet?’, a one-woman show by the acclaimed author Kate Kerrigan. Born of Irish parents and reared in London, Kerrigan’s hilarious and poignant show covers her journey growing up among the ‘Bombing Irish’ of the Thatcher era, to ultimately reveal what it takes to finally fit in small-town Ireland.
Tickets will go on sale closer to the festival with further details on acts and events to be announced in the coming weeks.
