Latest news with #TheButcherBoy
Irish Independent
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Seán McGinley: ‘It was inevitable... but we were dancing around each other for a long time before we actually got together'
Actor Seán McGinley (69) lives in Dublin with his wife, actress Marie Mullen, with whom he has two daughters. McGinley has appeared in numerous theatre, film and TV productions, including 'The Field', 'Michael Collins', 'Braveheart', 'Family' and 'The Butcher Boy'.
Irish Examiner
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Patrick McCabe review: Monaghan author provides a Howl of a night at UCC
Patrick McCabe with David Murphy and Michael Lightborne, Howl On, The Hub, UCC, for Cork Midsummer Festival, ★★★★☆ If Patrick McCabe did not invent the genre of Bog Gothic, he certainly perfected it in his 1992 novel, The Butcher Boy, surely the most sympathetic portrait of a murderer that has ever been committed to the page. As is evidenced in his most recent, and eleventh, novel, Poguemahone, McCabe's anarchic spirit remains very much intact, and we are all the better for it. McCabe's performance of Howl On is soundtracked by the pedal steel guitarist David Murphy and the electronic artist Michael Lightborne. The mood is set by an arrangement of grasses amongst the performers and on the windowsills above their heads. McCabe begins with a meditation on the idea of going 'up the Town' in his native Clones, Co Monaghan. He wonders what that might even mean today. One should, he suggests, address the question to Lidl or Aldi, or maybe Woody's, as the town centre of his youth – a place of endless adventure – has been supplanted by such convenience superstores. From there, McCabe heads off on various flights of the imagination. Reflecting on the mishmash of local and international influences those growing up in rural Ireland were exposed to in the 1960s and '70s, he imagines Pink Floyd performing Big Tom McBride's Gentle Mother, or Big Tom paying tribute to the 'lost' Pink Floyd genius Syd Barrett. Harking back to a previous decade, he reads the opening lines of Allen Ginsberg's epic poem Howl, and one can all too easily imagine how 'the best minds' of his generation that Ginsberg saw 'destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked' in San Francisco had their counterparts in Co Monaghan in the 1950s. Similarly, McCabe's reading of Patrick Kavanagh's Epic, an account of neighbours battling over a boundary wall, reminds us again of the universality of such divisions. McCabe mentions the 'sin-birds' in another poem of Kavanagh's, Father Mat. In his own experience, these included see-through t-shirts, Jimi Hendrix, and the individual members of the Monkees. One might quibble that McCabe's musings might benefit from a more coherent narrative structure, but that, one suspects, would be to defeat the very purpose of his performance, which allows space for a recollection of how the late author Dermot Healy once proposed that hens have ghosts. McCabe is more inclined to believe that cabbage butterflies do. Murphy and Lightborne's musical soundscape is just as eclectic, including as it does snatches of the Beatles' Love is All You Need, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown's Fire, and Pink Floyd's Shine On You Crazy Diamond. Howl On indeed. The verdict? The surreal deal.
Irish Independent
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Today's top TV and streaming choices: Not Going Out, The Butcher Boy and The Orkney Assassin
Rásaí Beo TG4, 5.15pm & 7.15pm Seán Bán Breathnach presents live coverage from Cork Racecourse in Mallow. The action continues after the evening's news and weather. The Zoo RTÉ One, 8.30pm Zookeeper Julie meets some of the residents at Monkey World in England. Her colleague Brigitte, meanwhile, is in Wexford to help local seal rescuers prepare one of the animals in their care for its release back into the wild. Sally Bretton and Lee Mack return for the 14th series. Their alter egos, Lucy and Lee, are now empty-nesters who decide to move to the countryside. Don't Worry Darling RTÉ One, 9.35pm Director Olivia Wilde's 1950s-set thriller was much maligned on its release, but thanks to an intriguing premise, deserves another look. A suburban housewife grows increasingly concerned that her husband's company is hiding dark secrets. Florence Pugh and Harry Styles play the couple. The Butcher Boy RTÉ2, 9.45pm Dark comedy from Neil Jordan in which the behaviour of a boy from a dysfunctional family begins to spiral out of control. Eamonn Owens, Stephen Rea, Sinéad O'Connor and Milo O'Shea star. Call Her Alex Disney+, streaming now Back in October 2024, just less than a month before the election, Kamala Harris went on the Call Her Daddy podcast. Her appearance on such a highly popularised new medium was meant to nail her bid for the presidency. Instead, we have Trump and Stephen Miller in the White House and lingering whimpers of 'Why didn't Kamala go on Joe Rogan instead?' Such retrospection is, unfortunately, futile at this point. So, instead, let's find out more about Alex Cooper and what it took to become the most influential female podcaster of a generation. Directed by Ry Russo-Young (Nuclear Family), this two-part docuseries follows Cooper from a shy Pennsylvania kid to a progressive sex-and-dating podcaster, evolving over six years into the CEO of a media empire. More than a success story, it's a portrait of a person creating a space where women feel heard (and their respective others in their life can glean some often-necessary pointers). The Survivors Netflix, streaming now We're mostly used to two types of Australian viewing: soaps and super-dry (to the point of cringe) comedy. This is different. The drama follows Kieran Elliott's life after two people drown in his hometown of Evelyn Bay, Australia. To top it off, a young girl also went missing. Returning with his family 15 years later, the simmering guilt resurfaces, especially when the body of a young woman is found on the beach… K.O. Netflix, streaming now No one does visceral city grit like the French. Bastien has lived as a recluse since accidentally killing his opponent Enzo in an MMA fight three years ago. Now, Enzo's widow tracks him down as, essentially, he owes her one. Her request? Find her missing teenage son. Tyler Perry's Straw Netflix, streaming now Between this and last month's release of She the People, Mr Tyler Perry is getting himself around. This offering, however, is far more stark than May's fare. Here, one mum's day unfurls as it goes from tricky to catastrophic. Pushed to the precipice by a world that seems indifferent to her plight (until they can livestream it), she soon gets attention when she unwittingly holds up a bank. The Orkney Assassin Prime Video, streaming now The Orkney Isles lie 130 miles north of Aberdeen. It's a peaceful place with a strong sense of community. In June 1994, however, Bangladeshi waiter Shamsuddin Mahmood was working at the lone curry house when a masked man fatally shot him. This documentary revisits one of Scotland's most extraordinary murder cases, examining racism, loyalty, and the impact of trauma decades later. Ocean with David Attenborough Disney+, streaming now The man who will never retire explores stunning ocean habitats, highlighting the challenges for marine-life recovery. The Astroworld Tragedy Netflix, streaming now On November 5, 2021, Travis Scott stepped on stage to perform at Astroworld, which ended in the deaths of 10 people. An exclusive look told from the perspective of the survivors, paramedics and staff who were at the centre of this tragedy. Cocaine Air Netflix, streaming now Indeed, it's wall-to-wall documentaries this week. On March 20, 2013, four French nationals were arrested on a private jet at Punta Cana airport. On board: 700kg of cocaine in 26 suitcases. All lack the profile of an international drug smuggler, and no one knows who owns the luggage.
