Mary Immaculate College will open its doors to the public to celebrate Culture Night this Friday (20 September). In addition to events at MIC Limerick, MIC Thurles will also participate in Culture Night for the very first time and the public will be given the opportunity to discover the 190 year history and heritage of the St. Patrick’s Campus from its beginnings as a seminary to the third level institution it now is today.
With the theme of this year’s Culture Night being ‘Wrap Up In Culture’, there’s plenty of culture and creativity to celebrate at MIC for both children and adults.
Events at MIC Thurles will include tours of the campus with Librarian, Ruth Talbot, who will guide participants through the history of this 19th century building. Established in 1837 as a second-level school, it became a major seminary a few decades later and remained so until the early 2000s after which it underwent a massive regeneration to become the campus it is now.
Other events at MIC Thurles include performances from the Presentation Secondary School Thurles and the ‘First Friday Singers’, a musical and singing group from Thurles. Lecturer at MIC Thurles, Molly Daly, will also present a lecture on the role of the 1850 synod of Thurles in the development of denominational education in Ireland.
At MIC Limerick, parents and children are invited to participate in a workshop that will explore the rhyme, rhythm, repetition, and many new and exciting sounds of the Irish language. ‘Rince, Rannta agus Scéalaíocht’ promises to be a fun and playful introduction to Irish for children through art, storytelling and sean nós dancing.
Irish Traditional Musician Artist-in-Residence at MIC, Desi Wilkinson, will also perform along with the ‘Exploring TMusic’ group and post-graduate, undergraduate and past students from MIC in a multi-cultural performance which will include traditional Irish music, acoustic guitar recitals, as well as piano and violin recitals.
An exhibition of fourteen batik paintings on the life of Christ entitled ‘Story of a Life’ will also be on display in the College Chapel. This wonderful collection was gifted to the College by the artist Nóirín Williams Mooney, who is also a graduate of MIC.
Director of Enterprise and Community Engagement at MIC, Dr Maeve Liston, said, ‘Mary Immaculate College is delighted to welcome the public and local communities to our campuses in Limerick and Thurles to celebrate all things culture. This year we are very excited to be showcasing the musical talents of both our staff, students and Alumni through a variety of multi-cultural performances. We are especially thrilled to be working with Comhluadar Luimnigh, a network of Limerick families interested in the Irish language, and the local Presentation Secondary School and ‘First Friday Singers’ group from Thurles, in delivering what is sure to be an enjoyable evening of entertainment.”
All events at MIC Limerick and MIC Thurles are free. No advance booking required.
You can find out more about Culture Night in Limerick here and in Tipperary here.
