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An intimate and powerful meditation on memory, grief and truth, this chamber opera composed by Tarik O'Regan with a libretto by Colm Tóibín, adapted from his novella The Testament of Mary, unfolds in the final years of Mary, mother of Jesus. Past and present coexist uneasily as Mary moves between two worlds, reliving her son's final days while exiled and silencedyears later. Around her, pivotal moments from their lives emerge and dissolve, tracing the fragile boundary between lived experience and remembered truth. GRAMMY nominee Elaine Kelly conducts, with critically acclaimed mezzo-soprano Sharon Carty as Mary.

Genuine question:

Should Mother Theresa's son, Anthony Fauchi, be forced to take a booster shot for each time he invokes the Fifth Amendment.....?

Great thread this.... Just re-read it in full....
Whilst listening to The Mountain King....

This could remind me of the time Enigma did a free performance on the canal quite close to the D.A.F. museum in Eindhoven: circa 1997... Meself and the (then) missus gathered up a few friends for the Friday evening spectacular...
Obligatory beers and joints had in the local beer/coffee shop beforehand. So quite merry, in all aspects...
Nope, it was a fucking dance troupe, called "Enigma"....
We sat through about 20 minutes, stretched our arms in unison, and got the hell outta there 

Anyway, beware (false advertising) 

It looked to be rocking when the Prodigy played there a few weeks ago...

The O2 Belfast holds well over 11,000... There'll be tickets available right up until next March...
Ticketbastard, etc. always make it look scarce around the initial ticket sales, so they can bump up their own ticket scam: subsidiary ticket sites.

https://blabbermouth.net/news/john-bush-to-celebrate-his-era-of-anthrax-in-europe-in-summer-2027-now-its-time-to-bring-that-material-over-the-pond

I'd say this'd be a decent enough draw over here if it was booked.

Where's all those lovely curls gone? 

Teeth Of The Sea.....

Lads, get on this!

Yes. Master is a fucking belter of an album.

It is indeed. I have Highly Deadly Black Tarantula on LP, but give all their output regular spins...

The new emoji is sick   

Whoa aaaah 

Teeth Of The Sea.....

Lads, get on this!

There was an almost cultlike following for them in Galway when I was living there, all the local punk/hardcore heads were massive fans. Could never get my head around it, I can't stand them myself.

Yeah, funnily enough I noticed the Galway Turbo-jugends in Hellfest years ago.
Turbonegro are great craic live in fairness to them.

Anyone know if there's any decent portable cd players, discman style job, but compatible with wireless headphones?

Had a look through a few google results and the reviews on a lot of them all seem fairly shit

Your best bet would be a wired portable CD player. I haven't seen anything Bluetooth that's worthwhile myself

In her Substack post dated August 3, 2026, Rosemary Mac Cabe critiques the public mourning of Irish musician Glen Hansard following his death. While acknowledging his musical contributions and activism, she argues against viewing him as a straightforward "Irish hero." Mac Cabe highlights troubling aspects of Hansard's past, particularly concerning his interactions with young women in Dublin's music scene during the 2000s and 2010s. She recounts warnings that young women should be cautious around him and shares a personal anecdote about a friend who had a sexual encounter with Hansard at age 15.

Mac Cabe references Hansard's comments about his relationship with Markéta Irglová, whom he met when she was 13 and he was around 31. She interprets these interactions as indicative of grooming behavior, suggesting he built a relationship with her while she was still a minor. The post includes content warnings for sensitive topics such as grooming and child sexual abuse.

The article also verifies key claims about Hansard's death in a motorcycle accident on July 29, 2026, and confirms his musical career achievements, including his work with The Frames and The Swell Season, and his Oscar win for "Falling Slowly." While the timeline of his relationship with Irglová is accurate, the interpretation of their age difference and the nature of their earlier interactions is contested. There are no formal allegations or convictions related to grooming or abuse against Hansard, and both he and Irglová have described their romantic relationship as beginning when she was an adult. Mac Cabe's assertions regarding personal experiences remain anecdotal and unverified.



https://rosemarymaccabe.substack.com/p/glen-hansard-is-no-irish-hero?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=bixu5&triedRedirect=true

Yeah, the Bord Gais is a great venue. Saw Heilung there a couple of years ago and it was absolutely fantastic, the sound and the stage size were absolutely bang on for the production. Staff were brilliant too... Really nice place and was handy to get in and out of, plus parking too...