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UNITED SMILING POLITELY From the duo behind Don’t
Stop Repealin’ comes United Ireland, a new 32-week, 32-county podcast venture by Una Mullally and Andrea Horan. “Delving into the issues you care about in Ireland, and around the world. Each week the show will focus on an Irish county and will bring us smart and sound conversations about a question vital to that county, discussing the things that matter to us all with brilliant guests.” They’ve explored Direct Provision, the postelection Green wave, Doonbeg ‘Trumpism’ and spawned a love letter video to Dublin by rapper Mango Dassler. unitedirelandpodcast.com ROADMAP Michael McDermott RAINBOW REVOLUTION Lucky salvage… Once destined for the skip, the octagonal Metro Burger sign attached to the now demolished Screen Cinema on D’Olier street has been salvaged by John ‘Lucky’s’ Mahon and Emma ‘Ghost Signs’ Clarke. It goes on display in Lucky’s from July 10. Coinciding with the theme of recent Pride celebrations comes the Rainbow Revolution trail, the first historical trail at the National Museum focusing on LGBTI+ history through the centuries and throughout its galleries, from early history to 17th century warfare, from those who partook in the Irish revolutions to 20th century design icons, and the recent campaigns for equality in Irish law. Including artefacts such as the dress worn by Rory O’Neill aka Dr Panti Bliss when delivering her famous ‘Noble Call’ speech in the Abbey Theatre in 2014. Amongst the historic figures represented in the trail are Dr Kathleen Lynn and Elizabeth O’Farrell, who were active in the 1916 Rising, Roger Casement, and designer Eileen Gray. Videos, photographs and archival collections will also be on display. National Museum at Collins Barracks PEACE OUT The Peace Garden at Christchurch Place has just re-opened. Developed as part of the Dublin Millennium celebrations in 1988, it has been closed for a decade. The Tree of Life, a bronze sculpture by artist Leo Higgins, which was in the original garden, has been restored and returned to the park and extracts from poems by W.B.Yeats and Patrick Kavanagh are embedded in the stone walls and footpaths throughout the park. The garden now also has a Flanders Fields memorial which incorporates soil from Flanders as a memorial to the Irishmen who died and were injured in the First World War. John Behan’s sculpture Millennium Child stands at the entrance to the park. 10 DRAGONY AUNTS Ireland’s biggest drag haus ‘Mockie Ah’ brought their Vogue Ball to the capital last month and now one of its Queens Candy Warhol is throwing shapes across the water. Dragony Aunts is a series of six five-minute shows screening on Comedy Central UK’s Facebook and You Tube platforms. Warhol and fellow drag queen Crystal Rasmussen, provide “outrageous advice, solutions and reality checks to a range of problems.” Dragony Aunts launches July 5 “A melty stream of consciousness” is how Wicklow artist Frankie Wolf described his music video for Waiting, the lead track off Smiling Politely, his debut album. Addressing everything from “life, death, love, lust, dependencies and enlightenment”, the ten-track release is “about trying to forget, remember and let go” and is out via Irish label Evenings and Weekends. The album is produced by Loud Mouth Collective regular Jon Candi. It also boasts an equally covetable t-shirt which works a wonky Homer Simpson face into the mix which, of course, is based on the album titled derived from his encounter with Billy ‘Smashing Pumpkins’ Corgan. In case you didn’t know already. eveningsandweekends.bandcamp.com/album/ smiling-politely