Dance artist daughter and boat building father join forces for Cork Midsummer Festival performance

TELL us about yourself;

I am a dance artist based in Cork. I trained at Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds, UK and I have been working as a freelancer performing and choreographing for the last 10 years. I work and live bi-lingually, speaking Irish and English.

Where were you born?

The Erinville Hospital, Cork city.

Where do you live?

The Lough, Cork city.

Family?

I get on well with my parents and I have three siblings whom I’m close to.

Best friend?

Too many wonderful friends to name them all!

Earliest childhood memory?

Climbing apple trees in my grandparents’ place outside Macroom.

Person you most admire?

I feel inspired by Tori Murden McClure, the first woman to row solo across the Atlantic, she is also an educator and was the director of a shelter for homeless women.

Person who most irritates you?

It irritates me when people don’t listen when others are talking.

Who would you like to see as Minister for Finance and why?

Someone who understands the pressures people are under in relation to housing and job precarity, maybe then there would be more action taken to address these issues.

Where was your most memorable holiday?

Borneo; visiting the home place of a close friend.

Favourite TV programme?

I don’t watch TV much!

Favourite radio show?

An Taobh Tuathail with Cian Ó Cíobháin on Radió na Gaeltachta.

Your signature dish if cooking?

Flourless Chocolate & Lime Cake.

Favourite restaurant?

Izz Café.

Last book you read?

A Place Apart, by Dervla Murphy.

Best book you read?

Active Hope, by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone.

Last album/CD/download you bought?

Walk Through Fire, by Yola.

Favourite song?

Two Doors Down, by Dolly Parton.

One person you would like to see in concert?

Bob Marley & The Wailers.

Do you have a pet?

A dog called Meela.

Morning person or night owl?

Morning person.

Your proudest moment?

Working as Dance Artist in Residence in Gaeltacht Mhúscraí, Co Cork.

Spendthrift or saver?

Saver.

Name one thing you would improve in your area in which you live?

Public toilets.

What makes you happy?

Swimming in the sea.

How would you like to be remembered?

As someone who got people dancing, connecting to their bodies and asking questions about the world around them.

What else are you up to at the moment?

I am about to head into the theatre at Firkin Crane to finish a dance performance called Bád Shiobhán which I am making with my father, boat-builder Pádraig Ó Duinnín. It has been three years in the making, delayed because of Covid-19, so I am dying to get back dancing and to finish it! The premiere of Bád Shiobhán will be streamed as part of Cork Midsummer Festival 18 to 20 June.

I have also recently created Cork Dance Initiative (CDI) with three Cork based dance artists, Lisa Cliffe, Luke Murphy and Ruairí Ó Donnabhain. CDI is an evolving artist-led dance collective in Cork. In It For the Long Run (2021) is the inaugural project of Cork Dance Initiative and will be presented at Cork Midsummer Festival from June 19-27. It features bite-size dance experiences both in person and virtual over a number of days.

See www.corkmidsummer.com