Well known hotelier and businessman Christy Maye dies
Mr Maye owned the Bridge House Hotel and the Bridge Centre in Tullamore, Co Offaly and the Greville Arms Hotel in Mullingar, Co Westmeath.
He was one of the founders of the popular Tullamore Show.
He is also known for bringing the first ever disco to Ireland.
In the 1960s, Mr Maye came up with the idea of "Disc A Go Go", which began in Mullingar Parochial Hall.
Mr Maye is survived by his wife, Eileen and their three children and families.
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Irish Independent
07-06-2025
- Irish Independent
Cork Midsummer Festival set to turn all the city ‘into a stage' in celebration of all things Rebel
Tickets are flying out the door according to the organisers, and they also added that this year's crop of talent has led to one of their busiest box offices in years. Running from June 13 to June 22, Cork city is turned into a stage for a celebration of live arts events that will appeal to each member of the family. Director of the Cork Midsummer Festival Lorraine Maye said the event is 'unique' in so far as it partners with various cultural organisations across the city. 'We work with all the city's cultural organisations, and we work with them to co-present a lot of the work, and a lot of things would not be possible without them. 'We work with a lot of businesses in the city and they become patrons or friends. 'They support us in so many different ways and we literally couldn't do this without them,' Ms Maye said. Whether your Midsummer Festival includes a 4am visit to Cork Opera House, a visit to the dazzling display of the Sun at St Fin Barre's Cathedral or an intimate experience of a musical ensemble at Triskel Arts Centre, there is something for everyone. The opening event will allow spectators to experience the Sun like never before at St Finn Barre's Cathedral. Helios is an invitation to explore the Sun up close through a huge, dazzling new artwork by world-renowned UK artist Luke Jerram. 'The opening event is Helios, a six-metre giant installation of the Sun that's going to be in St Fin Barres for people to see from the 9th of June right until the end of the festival. 'It is a great one for all the family to see and we are thrilled to bring it to Cork. We are co-commissioners of that,' Ms Maye said. Helios can be viewed from June 9. Another major event on the Midsummer Festival calendar is The Second Woman, which is a 24-hour performance and features Eileen Walsh act out the same scene for the duration of the show. 'The extraordinary Eileen Walsh will be the heart of the show and will be on stage for 24 hours performing the same scene over and over again with 100 different participants – all of them men. 'Some of them are actors but most of them are not and haven't been on stage before. 'People can engage with this in a number of different ways like a 24-hour tickets that gives them priority to come and go throughout the 24 hours or they can get a time ticket. 'We really recommend that people see the performance at various times of the day and the night because it's a completely different experience,' Ms Maye added. Throughout the festival, various events showcasing extraordinary Cork talents will be on offer, including the iconic Theatre for One booth. 'We will be using the city as a stage, which is something the festival does every year. 'The iconic Theatre for One booth is custom-made for one audience members and one actor at a time, and this year's theme is Made in Cork,' Ms Maye said. All the writers and actors involved with the Theatre for One are Leesiders, with some of the directors are also Rebels, and Ms Maye said the Theatre for One is a 'brilliant platform to showcase some extraordinary Cork talent.' The closing night will be especially memorable as seven giraffes will make their way down St Patrick's Street – well, kind of. 'For our closing event this year we are partnering with Cork City Council and the Open Streets Initiative for the biggest international spectacle that the city has seen for decades on St Patrick's Street. 'This is a group called Compagnie OFF from France, and their event Les Girafes: An Animal Operetta, will have seven giant giraffes coming down Patrick's Street on the final day of the festival,' Ms Maye concluded. For more information on Cork Midsummer Festival and to buy tickets, see:
RTÉ News
31-05-2025
- RTÉ News
Well known hotelier and businessman Christy Maye dies
Hotelier and well known businessman Christy Maye has died. Mr Maye owned the Bridge House Hotel and the Bridge Centre in Tullamore, Co Offaly and the Greville Arms Hotel in Mullingar, Co Westmeath. He was one of the founders of the popular Tullamore Show. He is also known for bringing the first ever disco to Ireland. In the 1960s, Mr Maye came up with the idea of "Disc A Go Go", which began in Mullingar Parochial Hall. Mr Maye is survived by his wife, Eileen and their three children and families.
Irish Examiner
01-05-2025
- Irish Examiner
Giraffes, a spectacular sun, and a 24-hour play: Cork Midsummer Fest launches programme
Is it a bird, is it a plane? No, it's a herd of giraffes walking down Patrick's Street. Fota Wildlife Park can rest easy though, as these particular specimens will strut their stuff as part of the eye-catching line-up for this year's Cork Midsummer Festival. In Les Girafes: An Animal Operetta, from French street theatre outfit, Compagnie OFF, seven towering red giraffes will parade down the city's main thoroughfare, accompanied by a troupe of musicians and performers. According to festival director Lorraine Maye, the scale of this spectacle hasn't been seen in Cork for decades. 'It is enormously exciting to see the festival using the streets for this very big moment,' says Maye in advance of the event's official programme launch on Thursday evening. Also in the realm of the truly spectacular is Helios, a giant dazzling sun from artist Luke Jerram which will be suspended in the iconic location of St Fin Barre's Cathedral; each centimetre of the huge sculpture represents 2,300km of the real Sun's surface. The church will open from sunrise to sunset (4.30am–10.30pm) on the summer solstice, June 21, giving audiences a unique opportunity to bask in the intensity of the sun at one of the most sacred and symbolic points in the calendar. 'Luke's work is magical and the sun feels like a very fitting installation to have for a midsummer festival,' says Maye. While such large-scale events make this year's festival programme the most ambitious yet, there is a diverse menu of musical, dance, visual art and literary performances from local, national and international artists, as well as the community participation for which the festival is renowned. This includes a new Midsummer Youth Assembly, which will programme, curate and lead an event in Fitzgerald's Park. The booth that hosts the Theatre for One. 'The festival showcases so many different ways to encounter live art. The city really embraces it, so many people put so much into it and it is something that Cork can be really proud of,' said Maye. The festival is leaning into its midsummer theme more than ever, making the most of the long bright nights with performances around the clock, including a solstice céili in the atmospheric surroundings of Elizabeth Fort, and The Second Woman, in which Cork actor Eileen Walsh will perform with an unrehearsed cast of 100 over 24 hours at Cork Opera House. Maye, who saw the show in Amsterdam, says it was 'unforgettable'. Eileen Walsh will perform a 24-hour play with 100 different actors. 'I've never had an experience like it. There are so many ways to encounter it, and whether you do half an hour or 24 hours, it is worth it. The people that you meet and the conversations you have, there is that sense of belonging to a cohort of people who are having this once-in-a-lifetime experience.' The festival will also draw down the curtain, for now at least, on one of its most popular events of recent years, Theatre for One, in which an actor performs a five-minute piece for a single person in a confessional-style booth. This year's theme is 'Made in Cork' and it will feature work from writers including Cónal Creedon, Louise O'Neill and Gina Moxley. 'The focus on Cork voices and stories feels like such a lovely way to round out a third year and pause on this moment,' says Maye. Returning after a hiatus is the literature strand, Western Frequencies, which will be curated by Danny Denton. It marks a new partnership between the festival and UCC, and the events will take part at various venues on campus. Maye lists many highlights across the programme, and is particularly looking forward to seeing in the sunrise at St Fin Barre's with all the other early birds. 'I will be there. There are these moments that will never happen again. When will you get to be in St Fin Barre's at dawn looking at an enormous sun?' Cork Midsummer Festival takes place June 13-22; for further information and tickets, see
