Citizens of the People's Republic of Cork may be delighted to hear that their oft-mocked accent received high praise at the Kilkenny Arts Festival. "Musical" is how Elizabeth Whittam described Cork actor Conor Lovett's delivery of The Beckett Trilogy at Kilkenny Castle. Enjoying a glass of wine during the interval, Whittam and her friend, Edith Webb, both from the Manchester area, said they were delighted to be still standing as they'd been dashing around from event to event all day.
The show was the first of many festival events for Marie and Rob Clifford from Clonmel, standing outside in the magnificent courtyard of the castle during the interval. "We've only made it over today as we're just back from holidays, but we plan on catching a number of shows," said Marie.
Kilkenny Castle, the hub of the activities for tourists and locals, is also one of the venues where Austrian artist Gottfried Helnwein's controversial visual installations are on display. Earlier in the day, Helnwein, who's been living in Tipperary for the past three years, had posed for photographs in his signature black baseball cap, beneath one of his more contentious exhibits.
Although the Nazi imagery of some of the photographs initially caused uproar in Kilkenny, the exhibition has proved to be a big draw for the festival.
"I'm overwhelmed by the response of the Irish audience to my first exhibition here. The reaction is very different to what I've experienced before in Central Europe or the US. It's very exciting for me," Helnwein told me.
"We came looking for giant human slinkys, but found the Helnwein exhibit and Kvetch, both of which are wonderful," joked Rick Steenis, visiting from Wisconsin.
Giant human slinkys? I think he means the colourful street performers from French theatre group Cie des Quiddams. Steenis was strolling around the grounds of Kilkenny Castle with friends Lyle and Nancy Olson, soaking up the atmosphere before heading further south to Cork to continue their holiday.
The festival events aren't just in the city. An exhibition of Master Printmakers in Ireland and the UK is in Grennan Mill, Thomastown, with work by Louis le Brocquy, Albert Irvin, Tony O'Malley and Leon Kossoff.
A large crowd gathered on Sunday lunchtime for the opening of the exhibition, including Louis le Brocquy and his wife, Anne Madden. Tom Reade-Duncan, of the Moat Restaurant in nearby Inistioge, arrived with his colourful friend, Alan Walton, who added a splash of colour to the event with a bright yellow shirt.
