Deirdre Mulrooney

TRUE NORTH & my mother at 'Borders & Beyond' Association for Canadian Studies in Ireland Conference 2021
2021-05-13 - 2021-05-14 | Dublin
I’m looking forward to sharing “TRUE NORTH: Paud Mulrooney’s Irish-Canadian Adventures in Super 8”, at ‘Borders and Beyond’, the 20th Biennial Conference of Association of Canadian Studies in Ireland 2021, at Queen’s University Belfast at 1.20pm on Thursday May 13th, followed by a Q & A with myself and my mother, who will participate from Toronto.
Here is a link to the fascinating full programme: https://fliphtml5.com/kicov/tkaw
& you can register for the conference until May 11th here: http://canadianstudiesireland.com/QUBconference.html
Free and All Welcome!
True North: Paud Mulrooney’s Irish-Canadian Adventures in Super 8
Abstract: “TRUE NORTH” offers a unique representation of Irish-Canadian experience via Paud Mulrooney’s never-seen Super 8 films and self-developed photographs of life on Cat Lake and Ogoki Post Reserves in the 70s and 80s, with his young family, (including the film-maker). Ogoki Post has come into international focus thanks to Gord Downie, lead singer of top Canadian band Tragically Hip’s latest album ‘Secret Path’, the proceeds of which go to truth and reconciliation with Canada’s First Nations. Paud Mulrooney, a school teacher from Limerick, Ireland, was on this path decades ago, when he brought his wife and family to live with the Ojibway and Cree people, and ran the local schools there at a critical period of transition from the Residential school system to more enlightened native community-run schools, developing a new curriculum suited to native traditions and lifestyle. ‘True North’ reveals what drew Paud Mulrooney there – from his days in Trinity College Dublin to an encounter with Vietnam War Draft Dodgers who were forming a film co-op when he arrived to Toronto in the 1960s – bathed in the gorgeous hues of his original dreamy Super 8 reels and slow photography. ‘TRUE NORTH’ was nominated for best documentary at Richard Harris International Festival 2019; was selected for the Belgrade-Irish Festival 2018; and Canadian novelist Jane Urquhart shared the film with her Canadian Studies class when she held the Craig Dobbin Chair for Canadian Studies in 2018.

Bloomsday Festival Irish Premiere of "Calico" by Michael Hastings
2021-06-11 - 2021-06-16 | Bloomsday Festival, North Great Georges Street, Dublin 1, Ireland
I am delighted to be presenting the Irish premiere of “Calico” by Michael Hastings, in a continuation of my exploration of Lucia Joyce with actress Evanna Lynch. Evanna stars as Lucia; Aidan Moriarty as Samuel Beckett; Phelim Drew as James Joyce; Paula Greevy-Lee as Nora; Ross Gaynor as Giorgio; Aisling O’Mara as Helen; and Jack Walsh as Tom MacGreevy. What a cast!

This Bloomsday Festival 2021 Online Reading is kihdly supported by the James Joyce Centre, with About Face Theatre Company helping out on the technical end.
Currently in the can and being edited!

"Lucia Joyce: FULL CAPACITY" at Light Moves Festival of Screendance
2021-09-23 - 2021-09-26 | Dance Limerick, St. John's Square, Limerick, Ireland
“Lucia Joyce: FULL CAPACITY” will feature in the 6th edition of international festival of dance on film “Light Moves” in Limerick city, September 23 – 26, 2021. We are part of the opening programme “Short Films Irish Focus” on Thursday September 23rd at Dance Limerick from 5 to 6pm – admission free!
Light Moves is curated by Jürgen Simpson and Mary Wycherley and produced by Dance Limerick, in partnership with DMARC (Digital Media and Arts Research Centre) at University of Limerick. The festival is supported by the Arts Council and presented in association with Limerick City and County Council.

TRUE NORTH screening and talk at Memorial University, Newfoundland
2021-11-03 20:00 - 21:30 UTC | Dublin
I am looking forward to sharing my short documentary film “TRUE NORTH Paud Mulrooney’s Irish-Canadian Adventures in Super 8” as part of Dr. Shoshannah Ganz’s fascinating Grenfell English Film and Lecture Series at Memorial University, Newfoundland on November 3rd. I’m honoured to be invited to participate in such a fascinating lineup and exploration of Canadian and indigenous identity, and looking forward to the conversation
.

UCD Where Research meets Creativity Seminar
2021-11-05 10:00 - 12:00 | Dublin
I’m looking forward to sharing my ongoing experiences of where research meets creativity in my work with UCD undergraduate students .

TG4 Finné Episode on Roy Galvin March 9th, at 9.30pm
2022-03-09 21:30 - 22:30 | Your Television Screen
The TG4 Finné episode I directed about “Limerick’s own Billy Elliot” Roy Galvin will be broadcast on TG4 on Wednesday March 9th, at 9.30pm, and be available to view thereafter on TG4 Player.
The programme charts Roy’s childhood in Limerick city centre where the streets were his playground, and what it was like for him growing up gay when that phenomenon supposedly didn’t exist in Limerick at the time. We follow Roy’s blossoming as an artist, his move up to the capital to be a professional musician with Jury’s Irish Cabaret and the world that opened up to him in Dublin – disco dancing at Flikkers nightclub, decriminalisation, the discovery of ballet and his own transformation into Ireland’s first homegrown Irish ballet dancer, all the way through to the recent advent marriage equality – and his own marriage. Embodying the incredible social change in Ireland over the last 50 years, Roy dances us through his life and times, from disco to ballet to Sean Nós, interspersed with era defining archive from David Norris, and more. There is even some knitting.
I was delighted to work with the great team at TUA films on this project – producer Aisling Ní Fhlaithearta (who valiantly went beyond the call of duty when she jumped in to Roy’s adult ballet class at Dance Limerick with me); DOP Jass Foley; additional camera Eoin Kelly-Smith; Ailbhe Ní Donnachadh; editor Conall de Cléir, and of course series producer supremo Paddy Hayes. Coming from Indie world, it was a pleasure to have the backup and support of such a talented professional team. What a treat.
I had been admiring Finné on TG4 for a long time, and it is a dream come true to get the opportunity not only to direct an episode, but also for it to be the grand finale of 4 series of this epic award-winning series on social change in Ireland over the last 50 years.
I hope you enjoy the finished product and would love to hear your thoughts on the programme if it inspires any.
Bigí linn!
Roy Galvin and the sadly recently deceased Katherine Lewis, in training with Myrtle Lambkin fadó
Roy in BAC

Virtual Bookclub #Ulyssesin80 to read Ulysses in 80 days! All aboard!
2022-06-01 - 2022-08-19 | Dublin
I’m delighted to be on the steering group of Cliona O’Farrelly’s wonderful virtual bookclub, as we set out on an epic 80 day odyssey from June 1st, to read Ulysses all together at a pace of approximately 6 pages per day up to August 19th! All aboard! All welcome!
Now or never!
More info here www.ulysses80.ie
Bigí linn!

HOW?
ALL TOGETHER EVERY DAY
https://ulysses80.ie/how

At 7am on each day of the project, starting on June 1st, a message will be posted on our website, emailed, FaceBooked and Tweeted from the #Ulysses80 BookClub giving the first few words and the last few words of the section to be read that day, together with the line numbers (from the Gutenberg Press edition). The relevant page numbers of several printed editions will be posted on our website. People will be invited to contribute their thoughts, comments and insights about the day’s section using the hashtag #Ulysses80 to curate the conversations. If we start Episode 1, Telemachus, at the Sandycove Martello Tower on June 1st, then, by BloomsDay on June 16th we’ll be towards the middle of Episode 8 Lestrygonians and ‘in’ Davy Byrne’s Pub in time for the famous lunch of a Gorgonzola sandwich with a glass of Burgundy. On that day, everyone in the #Ulysses80 Book Club across the globe will be invited to raise a glass together to celebrate reaching the quarterway mark, as we head in towards the more challenging Episodes of the book. Having a whole community of fellow readers regularly chipping in their comments and observations will surely help us all through the more obtuse and (dare it be said?!) boring sections.

The last Episode, [number 18, ‘Penelope’], Molly’s wonderful 8 sentence soliloquy, will take about 10 days in August when many of us will be on holidays, or at least taking things a bit easier. Day 80, the last day of the journey when we can all say Yes Yes Yes with great relief and celebration, falls on August 19th the date of publication of the real letter on foot and mouth by Joyce’s friend Blackwood Price alluded to in Chapter 2, Nestor. In Ulysses, everything is connected and disconnected….

Lucia Joyce: FULL CAPACITY at Bloomsday Film Festival 2022
2022-06-11 16:00 - 17:30 | Irish FIlm Institute, Eustace Street, Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
“Lucia Joyce: FULL CAPACITY” , starring Evanna Lynch will feature in Bloomsday Film Festival 2022 in “Brief Encounters: New Joycean Shorts” at the Irish Film Institute on June 11th at 4pm.

"Ulysses in the World" Symposium at Georgetown University
2022-09-10 | Georgetown University, Washington DC, Washington DC, United States
I am delighted to be invited to contribute to a panel discussion on James Joyce and Dance alongside Dr. Michelle Clayton of Browne University, and choreographer Liz Roche, after the world premiere of Liz’s dance production “Yes and Yes”, inspired by Ulysses at Solas Nua, Washington DC, on September 9th. This day long symposium features an impressive line-up of the world’s top Joyceans, and I am looking forward to the entire day’s discussions, as well as exploring Washington DC, where I have not been since I was 12 years old. We stopped over on a family road trip from Toronto to Disneyland, Florida, fadó fadó, and have some Super 8 film footage of us outside the Whitehouse gates, which I may root out and share with you!
Joyce and Dance! On top of my ongoing research into and reclamation of Lucia Joyce’s dance career, after reading Ulysses with #Ulysses80, I am really looking forward to delving further into this topic.

Saint Lucia's Day Event
2022-12-13 19:00 - 20:30 | James Joyce Centre, North Great George’s Street, Dublin 1, North Great George's Street, Dublin, Ireland
“Come and See Me, I’m a Crossword Puzzle” rehearsal with Kathleen Warner Yeates and Lucia Kickham, November 4th, 2022
In “Come and See Me, I’m a Crossword Puzzle” we mark the 40th anniversary of Lucia Joyce’s December 1982 death on the eve of her Saint’s day, in Northampton, England. In the Julian calendar, Saint Lucia’s day coincided with the Winter Solstice. Join our Saint Lucia’s Day procession celebrating light and love in the dark heart of winter as, anchored by verbatim text, we highlight Lucia’s overlooked creativity, and artistic achievements. Add your candle to the annual Joyce family Saint Lucia’s Day ritual, in honour of our misunderstood artistic ancestor, Lucia Anna Joyce. Through dance, discussion, theatre and exhibition, Deirdre Mulrooney has created a beautiful evening to celebrate Lucia Joyce with performances by dancer Lucia Kickham and actors Kathleen Warner Yeates, Darina Gallagher, and the voice of David Herlihy.
The event is part supported by an Arts Council Agility Award.
Thanks to Aoife Carey, Kathleen Warner Yeates, Darina Gallagher and the team at the James Joyce Centre, Philip Sicker, Fritz Senn, Alison Fraser of University at Buffalo Special Collections, Caitríona Yeats, National Library of Ireland, University of Tulsa, Conor Linehan, Megan Kennedy, Evanna Lynch, Claire Garvey, and Seán Sweeney.
Date: December 13 2022
Time: 7pm
Tickets: Free via eventbrite
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/come-and-see-me-im-a-crossword-puzzle-tickets-478018615547
Supported by an Arts Council Agility Award, and the James Joyce Centre.

Family Ties & Hidden Histories event at EPIC Museum
2023-02-23 18:00 - 19:00 | EPIC Emigration Museum, Custom House Quay, Dublin 1, Ireland
The “Photo Album of the Irish: Canada” exhibition at EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum celebrates the ordinary and extraordinary histories of Canadians with Irish heritage across generations, reflected in their family photo albums. Beginning in February 2019, the Photo Museum Ireland team worked with families across Canada to record, preserve and share diverse social histories, revealing details that official histories can often overlook. It includes images from the 1860s right up to the present, giving an authentic view of diverse Irish emigrant experiences across Canada. Collectively, the photographs reveal the stories people chose to remember and celebrate in their own lives.
We will be joined by two notable speakers on the night, Dr Orla Fitzpatrick and Dr Deirdre Mulrooney. Dr Fitzpatrick will discuss the role photo albums play in providing fascinating insights into our private and public histories – revealing details about how people lived and worked that official histories often overlook while Dr Mulrooney will give an insight into her fascinating family history as depicted in the Photo Album of Irish: Canada exhibition.
Our lecture is presented in partnership with Photo Museum Ireland.
Booking is essential as places are limited. Attendees will also be entered into a draw to win a signed copy of the ‘Photo Album of the Irish: Canada Edition’ publication.
Tickets available via Eventbrite.
About the speakers:
Dr Orla Fitzpatrick
Orla Fitzpatrick is one of Ireland’s leading photo historians. She holds a PhD on the topic of the Irish photographic book, modernity and modernism, 1922-1949, from Ulster University (2016). She teaches photographic history at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin and is currently undertaking a Post-Doctoral research on the Border Studies programme at TCD. Her post doc is part of the North-South Research Programme supported by the HEA, DFHERIS and the Shared Island Fund. She is currently on sabbatical from her role as the Head Librarian at the National Museum of Ireland. She has published widely on photography – her most recent publication is Lost Ireland published by Pavilion in 2021 She is a recipient of the 2021 Peter E. Palmquist memorial research for grant women in photography.
Dr Deirdre Mulrooney
Dr Deirdre Mulrooney is a documentary film-maker; author and dance historian. Deirdre will give an insight into her fascinating family history.
After they married in the late 1960s, Deirdre’s Limerick parents Mary and Paud Mulrooney moved to Toronto, Canada, where they had their children, and were primary school teachers. In the early 70s and 80s the family moved to live with the Ojibway and Cree people in Cat Lake, and Ogoki Post in northern Ontario where they ran the local schools at a critical period of transition from the Residential school system to more enlightened native community-run schools. Deirdre’s family album photographs and her own film “TRUE NORTH” (first shown in 2017), offer a unique representation of the Mulrooney family’s Irish-Canadian experience.
In 2008 Deirdre made a BAI-funded radio documentary “Ogoki – Call of the Wild” which is available to listen to here: https://www.mixcloud.com/deirdre-mulrooney/ogoki-call-of-the-wild-by-deirdre-mulrooney/

Ranelagh Arts Festival Selected Scene Readings: "Brancusi Bird"
2023-05-13 | Ranelagh Arts Festival, 6 Ranelagh Road, Dublin 6, Dublin, Ireland
Deirdre’s new play “Brancusi Bird” will get selected scene readings,
alongside three other plays, on Saturday May 13th.
More details to follow!
