The Limerick Lady Podcast

Happy April to all our lovely fools- I mean listeners. LISTENERS. You're lovely. Thank you! This month Emma spoke to Ciara Kenny aka Ciaraíoch, cartoonist and illustrator, about her first forays into illustration through the college paper, her inspirations and influences, her upcoming exhibition in Limerick City, and her cheeky little crow friend. Ciaraíoch (Ciara Kenny) is a freelance cartoonist and illustrator from rural Kerry, which she refuses to leave due to a vague distrust of both motorised transport and townies. She has a keen interest in social justice, feminism, nature, and Irish history and mythology, and creates drawings, paintings and linocut prints inspired by those subjects. She also draws regular topical and humour cartoons, has provided illustrations for several books, painted public murals and street art, and contributed work to television, magazines, websites, podcasts, and an academic journal, as well as having her work displayed at cartoon festivals and art exhibitions. Ciara can be found far too often on most social media platforms as @Ciaraioch, with more work available to view at www.ciaraioch.com Ciara's exhibition at the People's Museum of Limerick in Pery Square, Limerick City, on the 27th of April at 5pm – all are welcome! The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie

Emma Langford and Ann Blake shoot the breeze with a chat around arts and activism; how they're inextricably intwined for any artist with a social conscience; and about the ever-conflicting expectations the public have of artists to either "do more" or to "just shut up and do your job". We touch on topics like the Síle-Na-Gig, Eurovision, the Irish artists' SXSW boycott, RTÉ's handling of censorship around activism, and the vulnerability of artists taking any kind of socio-political stance; And there's a belated little International Women's Day message! Oh and we talk a bit about sports too. Which, yknow, is a new thing. We're a sports podcast now I guess. Here's the PJ Harvey song Ann references, "Sheela-Na-Gig": https://youtu.be/Sjxr_No-yuY?si=H01FwZUNgEax1m8w More about Limerick's arts and climate festival, Future Limerick, here: https://futurelimerick.ie/ Follow Ann Blake on Twitter at annblake78, on Instagram at annblakeplay and check out her band The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on twitter at BPLO. Find Emma Langford on Twitter at ELangfordMusic – on Instagram at EmmaLangfordMusic - and at her website www.emmalangfordmusic.com Find the Limerick Lady podcast wherever you get your podcasts, and follow for new episodes on the third Thursday every month. The Limerick Lady Podcast is supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper, and sponsored by Ormston House Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie This podcast usually goes out on the 3rd Thursday each month - the 'Thirdsday', if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at thelimericklady Tweet about us using #LKLadyPod so we can see what you have to say! Intro music: Demon Darling by Emma Langford Outro music: Closed Book by Emma Langford

On 8 March 2024, Irish citizens will be asked to vote in two referendums to change our Constitution. The first Referendum concerns the concept of Family in the Constitution. The second Referendum proposes to delete an existing part of the Constitution and insert new text providing recognition for care provided by family members to each other. You have two separate votes on whether you wish to make the proposed changes to the current text of Article 41 of the Constitution. Ailbhe Smyth, an activist in women's rights and the rights of LGBTQIA+ people, is actively campaigning for a yes vote on both amendments, and we chat with her about why that is. She was the founding head of Women’s Studies at UCD (University College Dublin) where she began lecturing at the age of 21. She has been campaigning on feminist, LGBTQI+ and socialist issues for decades. She played a key role in the victorious Marriage Equality referendum in 2015. A pro-choice activist since the late 1970s, Ailbhe co-founded the Coalition to Repeal the 8th Amendment and went on to become Co-Director of the Together for Yes 2015 referendum campaign which won the right to abortion for women in Ireland in 2018. A Dublin resident, Ailbhe is currently Chair of Women’s Aid Ireland, and Honorary Patron of the Women’s Collective Ireland (previously National Collective of Community-based Women’s Network). She is a founder member of Climate Justice Coalition, and also of Le Chéile: Diversity not Division which campaigns against the growth of far right extremism. In 2019, Ailbhe was listed as one of Time Magazine’s ‘Most Influential People’. She was conferred with an honorary Doctorate of Laws by NUIG in 2021, and was conferred with the Freedom of the City of Dublin. Follow Ailbhe Smyth on Twitter at AilbheS Follow Ann Blake on Twitter at annblake78, on Instagram at annblakeplay and check out her band The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on twitter at BPLO. Find Emma Langford on Twitter at ELangfordMusic – on Instagram at EmmaLangfordMusic - and at her website www.emmalangfordmusic.com Find the Limerick Lady podcast wherever you get your podcasts, and follow for new episodes on the third Thursday every month. The Limerick Lady Podcast is supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper, and sponsored by Ormston House Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie This podcast usually goes out on the 3rd Thursday each month - the 'Thirdsday', if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at thelimericklady Tweet about us using #LKLadyPod so we can see what you have to say! Intro music: Demon Darling by Emma Langford Outro music: Closed Book by Emma Langford

Unfortunately there is no episode this month as Emma is on tour in the USA and Ann is in the middle of a big (good) life episode that she will be letting people know about soon. Find out more and get ticets for Emma's USA shows at www.emmalangfordmusic.com/tour The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is sponsored by Ormston House and supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie

HAPPY CHRISTMAS! This month we spoke to Molly Cantwell about her charity cover of ‘River’ which was released on Wednesday the 20th of December in aid of GCN (Gay Community News), in memory of her late friend Joe Drennan who was killed this year in a hit-and-run incident in Limerick. We also chatted about her time dressing as a medieval lady to sing at banquets in Knappogue and Bunratty, her work in journalism, and some hidden talents that she has not adequately exploited recently. Molly Cantwell is a 25-year-old Irish/Valenciano/Madeiran queer multimedia journalist and student at the University of Limerick - as well as an award-winning shower singer to-be. Currently sitting as managing editor of Limerick Voice and editor-in-chief of An Focal, Molly is passionate about platforming human rights and equality stories as well as writing about music, arts and culture, news, politics, and much more. She freelances for Hot Press and Overblown, with previous work in The Clare Echo, GCN, The Irish Examiner, The Limerick Leader, and more. During her time as a student in Limerick College of Further Education (2018 - 2020), Molly solo-produced and created her National Student Media Award nominated radio documentary “Cyber Killer - Qu'est - Ce Que C'est?”. In 2022, Molly also sat as editor-in-chief of CURIOUS - a UL magazine created by second year students. She has been nominated for the Smedias eight times - winning two of these categories. Molly has already lived another lifetime as a professional entertainer with Shannon Heritage, which she thoroughly enjoyed, but she is excited to finish college in 2024 and get her journalism career properly started. She is inspired by the dedicated work of her colleagues at Hot Press and female journalists like Zara King, Sarah McInerney, Claire Byrne, Louise McSharry, Aoife Moore, and more. Follow Molly Cantwell on Instagram at @WhatMollyDoesNext and on Twitter/X at @whatmolsaysnext Buy "River" on Bandcamp NOW here: https://mollycantwell.bandcamp.com/track/river GCN is a free, vital resource by the LGBTQ+ community for the LGBTQ+ community since 1988. You can find them and support their work here: https://gcn.ie/ Tickets for The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on the 23rd of December in Dolans, Limerick are available here: https://www.dolans.ie/gigs-events-live-music-listings/2023/12/23/the-brad-pitt-light-orchestra The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is sponsored by Ormston House and supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie

For our November episode, we're joined by Eilís Walsh, a graduate of MSc in Marketing, Consumption and Society. Eilís is a blogger, photographer, and burgeoning social media marketer from Co Kilkenny, now living in Limerick. She is one of three project leaders of The Night Doesn't Belong To Us, alongside Maria McSweeney and Julie McLoughlin. In the wake of tragic events of the last few years, "The Night Doesn't Belong To Us" emerges as a timely and vital project, addressing the concerns and experiences of women navigating the streets of Limerick after dark. Born from a pre-pandemic idea, the project took root during lockdowns, with its full realization delayed due to necessary restrictions. Initiated by Eilís Walsh who has an interest in photo-journalism, and sparked by a prior project delving into men's mental health, "The Night Doesn't Belong To Us" pivots to shed light on the unease felt by women during nighttime activities in Limerick. The project gained momentum following the tragic murders of Ashling Murphy and Urantsetseg Tserendorj, reinforcing the need to confront and discuss women's safety in public spaces. Collaborating with artist Maria McSweeney, the project aims to amplify the voices of women from diverse backgrounds and age groups living in Limerick. Through a comprehensive survey distributed on social media, the team, with invaluable assistance from William O'Neill of The People's Museum of Limerick, received over 150 responses detailing locations and activities that evoke feelings of vulnerability and danger. Navigating logistical challenges and fueled by a grant from the Arts Council of Ireland's Agility Award, the team, including photographer Julie McLoughlin, is now set to capture the stories of nearly 50 women. Their aim is to authentically represent the experiences of women of all ages and backgrounds, ensuring inclusivity across communities. As "The Night Doesn't Belong To Us" continues to unfold, the project seeks further engagement from members of Trans Limerick and the 65+ age group, aiming to enrich the narrative and reflect the diversity of experiences within the community. An exhibition is scheduled for the summer of 2024. Follow The Night Doesn't Belong To Us on Instagram at thenightdoesntbelongtous or reach Eilís by email at eilismwalsh@gmail.com Tickets for a Night For Palestine in Dolans, Limerick are available here: https://dolans.yapsody.com/event/index/791489/a-night-for-palestine Read more about Limerick's "Particles Or Waves" project in 2014: http://www.connolly-cleary.com/Home/particles.html The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is sponsored by Ormston House and supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie

Happy Halloween! This month we're joined by thanatologist and Death Café host Jennifer Moran-Stritch. Jennifer is a lecturer at the Technological University of the Shannon in Limerick. The focus of her teaching is in personal development, therapeutic group work skills, and loss and grief for the caring professional. In addition to lecturing, Jennifer is the primary principal investigator of the Loss and Grief Research Group which is part of Social Sciences ConneXions Research Institute at TUS. She also teaches on the RCSI/Irish Hospice MSc in Loss and Bereavement and is a certified thanatologist and the current Irish representative to the Association for the Study of Death and Society. In 2015, Jennifer co-hosted the first Death Café event in the Limerick area, where people gather to eat cake, drink coffee and tea and celebrate our mortality. She is a steering group member of the Global Dying Well Initiative and one of the founders of the Limerick Bereavement Network. In this podcast we look at global funeral rituals and traditions; Irish attitudes toward death; how long is too long to try and hold on to the memory of somebody; and whether modern technology is helping or hindering the natural healing process of grief. Follow Jennifer on Facebook at Death Cafe Limerick, reach her by email at deathcafelimerick@gmail.com and she's also findable on the TUS website at www.TUS.ie Find tickets to Ann's/The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra's gig as part of Comhluadar's Féile Na Samhna at https://www.tickettailor.com/events/comhluadarluimnigh/1034259?fbclid=IwAR2JHetdnFK2k3W-4CMA65o8gqGoldG_8Eck2K6XzFbclLqifl3HG63V5OE Check out all of Lumen Street Theatre's Samhain Festival events at https://samhain.lumenstreettheatre.ie/ The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is sponsored by Ormston House and supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie

Emma and Ann chat to theatre maker Róisín Stack whose show No Woman Is An Island is premiering at Dublin Theatre Festival 2023. The discussion covers the ins and outs, ups and downs of the creative process, which she humorously describes as 'stumbling blindly through the dark'. Given that Ann happens to be directing the play, the episode also explores the dynamic between performer and director in the rehearsal room. One conclusion that is decidedly drawn from this chat is the importance of 'the craic' when it comes to making artistic work. No Woman Is An Island is previewing in Galway Oct 4th-7th in Bank of Ireland Theatre Book: https://tht.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/1173646948 And premiering in Dublin Theatre Festival Oct 11th - 14th in The Project Arts Centre(Cube) Book: https://dublintheatrefestival.ie/event/no-woman-is-an-island/#0 Follow Róisín on Insta @rostack_ www.roisinstack.com/ #NoWoShow The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is sponsored by Ormston House and supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie

This month we talk to beloved Limerick-based collage artist, writer, and coffee slinger Tiffany Glenn aka Instagram's "Fannyland". Tiffany runs a monthly collage night at the Wickham Way market in Limerick City, and can be found in her blue/teal/robin-egg coloured shed in the same marketplace every Saturday and Sunday serving some of the best coffee in town. Originally from Colorado, Tiffany has run the gamut of career-paths in her time, from sex-shop sales-assistant to the military, and from phlebotomist to flight attendant – not necessarily in that order. This episode is something of a frenzied collage of conversation, bouncing from cancel culture and the "bonnet cop", to all-consuming obsessions with certain Disney characters, to Ann and Tiffany's Christian rock-star crush, Keith Green. We also of course chat about the loss of the great Sinéad O'Connor, and the cultural touchstone she was. Find Tiffany at www.Instagram.com/FannyLander or support her on her webshop fannyland.sumupstore.com Check out the Women's Collective Open Day on the 7th of September at this link: https://womenscollective.ie/latest-news/wci-limerick-open-day/ And listen to the dreamy Keith Green for yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em5gL0Rw4Aw&ab_channel=monum The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is sponsored by Ormston House and supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie

This month we talk to Galway artist Tracy Bruen. Tracy was on the lineup of the first ever Limerick Lady event at the Limerick Milk Market in the summer of 2016. She joins us 7 years on to catch us up on her life and career. Over the last ten years, Tracy has toured extensively throughout Ireland and Europe. Her debut album "Mirror" was released in 2017. Singles from her sophomore album, "Waiting", released in January 2023, have received extensive national and regional radio play, with "Dream Away" and "Silence Crawls" both reaching the top ten in the RTÉ Radio charts. Over the years, Tracy has shared stages with some of Ireland's best loved acts such as Mick Flannery and Mary Coughlan, as well as playing many of Ireland's major festivals including Electric Picnic, Body & Soul, Sunflower Fest and the Galway Arts Festival. She is continually and consistently developing her audience both at home and abroad, and was dubbed Original Solo Artist of the Year in 2015 by the Galway Advertiser. On this episode, Tracy talks about the cost – personal, emotional, and financial – of being an independent artist, and the investment of energy that every show and new release takes. She talks about hitting her limits; about coming through breast cancer, and the age-old issue among the self-employed of not listening to her body when it told her it needed rest. We explore how hard it is to survive in the music industry; how an artist chooses the order of songs on a record; the current landscape of the industry in terms of gender balance; and why Tracy no longer plays old songs that she doesn't connect with. Find Tracy at www.facebook.com/TracyBruenMusic or on Instagram at @tracybruen “..a gentle beauty, Bruen’s folk and classical stylings crystallising in the pure notes of her voice” — Evoke.ie You can download her music at www.tracybruen.bandcamp.com

Special guest on the podcast this month is El Reid Buckley. El Reid-Buckley (they/them) is a sociologist, writer, and collage artist based in Limerick, Ireland. They are currently completing a PhD in Sociology on bisexualities in post-marriage equality Ireland – they're currently waiting on their viva voce! "Free 'Til Viva" in their own words. Their research, writing and artistic practice is broadly focused on issues of genders and sexualities; with research interests in a wide number of areas such as trans theory, pop culture, media studies, archival and memorial practices, and the politics of space. Overall, their work aims to connect art, academia, and activism, to celebrate the beauty, joy, and diversity of queerness and trans identity. You can find El on Twitter at @ereidbuckley. El says that you can't live in a room if you don't clean it or at least re-organise it a bit. This episode explores the impulse many LGBTQIA+ people feel to mold themselves to cis-het expectations of them, rather than being and embracing their authentic selves. We look at queer identity, self-reflection within the community, the perception of events like Stonewall as "amorphous" in discussions around queer visibility and activism, and the importance of rage in making things happen. We also learn why sober events during Pride are so vital. Referenced in the conversation: "queerness in a heteronormative world is like sitting in an uncomfortable chair" – Sara Ahmed "My Words To Victor Frankenstein Above The Village Of Chamounix" by Susan Stryker RTÉ's coverage of the LGBTQIA+ community: https://gcn.ie/reeling-in-the-queers-rte-archives-70s-80s/ "The place in which I'll fit will not exist until I make it." – James Baldwin "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself." – George Bernard Shaw "There is no thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives." – Audre Lorde "Screaming Queens" documentary by Susan Stryker: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464189/ TLC (Trans Limerick Community): https://twitter.com/translimerick?lang=en Event being run by El: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/the-ireland-we-dreamed-of-tickets-647128307187 The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is sponsored by Ormston House and supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie

Emma and Ann chat with Limerick woman, newly published author and children's book buyer for O'Mahony's Books, Gráinne O'Brien. Gráinne O’Brien has been the Children's Book Buyer at O’Mahony’s, one of the largest independent booksellers open since 1902, for the last ten years. She’s taught creative writing workshops at 3rd level, and is the Head of Publishing at Walls of Limerick. She co-founded Silver Apples Magazine in 2014 and has gone on to publish many talented emerging writers within it. In 2018, she completed the MA in Creative Writing in UL and received an Irish Arts Council Agility Awards in both 2021 and 2022. She is represented by Sallyanne Sweeney from MMB Creative. Her first book, "A Limerick Fairytale" was published by The O’Brien Press in Spring 2023 and debuted as a bestseller. Gráinne has spent the last decade of her life sharing her love of books and reading with children. This book is inspired by them. Founder of Rontu Literary Services, her philosophy for feedback on writing is that it shouldn’t be coarsely critical, but rather respectful of the work that’s been presented with constructive critiques. She’s been published, and rejected, many times. Rontu grew from the ashes of her own negative experiences in the publishing world Gráinne says that Limerick is like a "scrappy little sister" and powerful women are "her brand." In this month's episode she tells us about her favourite childhood books, moving from California to Bunratty in her formative years, drawing on her teens at Villiers School to write her forthcoming "verse novel", and gives some vital guidance to other writers looking to get published. She also gives shout-outs to fellow writers, Alex Dunne, Sarah Gilmartin and Dan Mooney, and a big thanks to her O'Mahony's colleague, Jack, for teaching her to TikTok. Find out more about Gráinne at https://www.rontuliteraryservice.com/about Link to buy A Limerick Fairytale children's picture book: https://www.omahonys.ie/a-limerick-fairytale-p-10545101.html Photo of Gráinne by Nicole Roche The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is sponsored by Ormston House and supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie

This month, Emma Langford and Ann Blake have a return guest in the form of IFTA nominated and award winning director, writer and actor Laura O'Shea. Having spent a number of years working in call centre and then a shoe shop, Laura's professional trajectory in film has been steadily rising. Taking the power into her own hands and making short films to get her face and her work out there she talks about the importance of making work despite limited resources. "You don't really need money to make people feel things." Her latest short film 'Wednesday's Child', which she wrote and directed, is nominated for an IFTA. Laura talks about wearing a number of creative hats at once and how it's actually a good time to be a woman in the film industry. Find out more about Laura at https://www.lauraoshea.com/ Link to 'Free To Fall' music video: https://youtu.be/wSJXQuVh2pE The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is sponsored by Ormston House and supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie

Emma Langford and Ann Blake talk to Dr. Susan Liddy, founder of Catalyst International Film Festival, about the festival which is set to take place from the 30th of March to the 1st of April at various venues around Limerick City. The three consider the challenges faced by new and emerging festivals in gaining an audience, and they discuss the key elements needed to allow such a thing to grow and survive. Established in 2019 on the cusp of the impending pandemic, the festival was forced to go virtual in its first year but has grown ever since and has extended its tendrils into live venues around the city in 2023 as well as attracting A-list ambassador Ruth Negga. The mission of Catalyist IFF is to present a film programme that prioritises stories and storytellers currently under-represented on screen and behind the camera; to create a more inclusive industry; and to ensure that films screened throughout promote gender equality, diversity and inclusion whether in content, key creative roles, or crew. Find out more at https://catalystinternationalfilmfestival.com/ The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is sponsored by Ormston House and supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie

This month our episode, once again, is going out a week later than usual.

Just a short one this month, but a good one all the same! Singer/Songwriters Emma Langford and Wallis Bird talk about their forthcoming show, "Daughters Of The Pirate Queen: Spirit of Grace O'Malley" which will take place on the 8th of March (International Women's Day) at the National Concert Hall in Dublin. The show was dreamed up by composer & conductor Eímear Noone in 2021, and at long last is coming to life with the help of the National Symphony Orchestra and a diverse cast of voices including Nina Hynes, Celine Byrne, Aisling McGlynn, Dawn Kenny, trumpeter Helen Doyle, costume designer Claire Garvey and lighting designer Philip Geist. Credit for the photo of Wallis in the episode artwork: Tobias Ortmann Find Wallis on Twitter, Instagram, Tiktok and Facebook by searching Wallis Bird, and buy aaaall her music! Her latest album "Hands" is available here: https://lnk.to/HandsAlbum The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. It was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is sponsored by Ormston House and supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at thelimericklady Tweet about us using #LKLadyPod so we can see what you have to say! Intro music: Demon Darling by Emma Langford Outro music: Closed Book by Emma Langford

This month our episode is going out a week later than usual.

Join podcasting duo The Limerick Lady at The Record Room in Limerick City on the 24th of November for an uplifting and illuminating celebration of the decade of centenaries. The Limerick Lady LIVE (part 1), hosted by Emma Langford and Ann Blake features expert guest, historian Sharon Slater, who guides us through the experiences and stories of a selection of historic LGBTQ+ women in Ireland between 1912 and 1923. This event took place in front of a live audience at The Record Room in Limerick City. Part 2 featuring Sharon, the Wild Geeze and Abe Soare will be available in February! Stay tuned. The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement based in Limerick, Ireland, with a focus on promoting conversation around gender, visibility, gender balance and the arts. The Limerick Lady was founded in 2016 by award-winning (and losing) singer-songwriter Emma Langford, who hosts the podcast alongside fellow award-winning (and losing) Limerick woman, theatre-maker and musician Ann Blake. Find the Limerick Lady Podcast on all your favourite streaming platforms. New episodes drop once a month, on the third Thursday (or Thirdsday, if you will). The Limerick Lady is sponsored by Ormston House and supported by The Limerick Post Newspaper. This event was kindly supported by Limerick Council. Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie This podcast usually goes out on the 3rd Thursday each month - the 'Thirdsday', if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at thelimericklady Tweet about us using #LKLadyPod so we can see what you have to say! Intro music: Demon Darling by Emma Langford Outro music: Closed Book by Emma Langford

On the podcast this month, Ann and Emma reflect on the year that’s been and gone, looking back on their personal peaks and troughs as well as highlights of 2022 for The Limerick Lady. This episode is about looking back, as well as looking forward to a new year. There are also some wild claims made about Munster’s French-speaking history. 2022 was a busy year for both of your hosts, but it was marked by the final reemergence of the world from covid fear, so yes, sorry – just when you thought we could all move on from talking about one C word to another C word, we bring it up again. Speaking of Christmas, Ann and Emma both have releases they would love to share with you! Check out Emma’s “The Wexford Carol” here: https://emmalangfordmusic.bandcamp.com/track/the-wexford-carol And buy Brendan Davis’ and friends AKA Brendan And The Snowflakes' “Santa’s On His Way” which features Ann and was released in aid of Minding Creative Minds for €2 here: https://brendanandthesnowflakes.bandcamp.com/track/santas-on-his-way Ann Blake is a musician, facilitator and theatre-maker from Limerick City. Fellow Limerick woman and co-host Emma Langford is a singer-songwriter, podcaster and maker-of-things. Follow Ann Blake on Twitter at annblake78, on Instagram at annblakeplay and check out her band The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on twitter at BPLO. Find out all about Emma Langford's adventures at emmalangfordmusic.com Find the Limerick Lady podcast wherever you get your podcasts, and follow for new episodes on the third Thursday every month The Limerick Lady Podcast is supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper, and sponsored by Ormston House Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie This podcast usually goes out on the 3rd Thursday each month - the 'Thirdsday', if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at thelimericklady Tweet about us using #LKLadyPod so we can see what you have to say! Intro music: Demon Darling by Emma Langford Outro music: Closed Book by Emma Langford

NEWS FIRST! We're doing a live show on the 24th of November at the Record Room (downstairs in The Commercial on Catherine Street, Limerick City) at 8pm. Special guests are historian Sharon Slater, musical comedy duo The Wild Geeze, and singer-songwriter Abe Soare. Doors at 8, kicking off at 8.30 sharp – this is a pre-recorded live podcast episode so get in early and take your seats on time. Tickets are €5 – pay on the door. This month we meet Dr Tracy Fahey, an Irish author who has been twice shortlisted for Best Collection at the British Fantasy Awards in 2017 for The Unheimlich Manoeuvre and 2022 for I Spit Myself Out. Fahey’s short fiction is published in over thirty American, British, Australian and Irish anthologies. She has been Guest of Honour at the UK Ghost Story Festival 2022 and will appear in Copenhagen in 2023 as Guest of Honour at Fantasticon 2023. Fahey holds a PhD on the Gothic in visual arts, and her non-fiction writing on the Gothic and folklore has appeared in Irish, English, Italian, Dutch and Australian edited collections. She has been awarded residencies in Ireland and Greece. In 2022 she was awarded Saari Fellow status for 2023 by the Kone Foundation, Finland. Tracy is a self-proclaimed "Samhain nerd" and enthusiast for all things spooky, and in this episode we delve in to that and then some. We chat about the presence of strong feminine energies in Irish folklore, the inherent darkness in Irish people, and we reminisce on halloweens of yore, i.e. our childhoods in the 80s and 90s. Want to follow Tracy online and find more of her work? She's TracyFaheyAuthor on Instagram, just TracyFahey on Twitter, or you can visit her website and sample her work at https://www.tracyfahey.com/ Ann Blake is a musician, facilitator and theatre-maker from Limerick City. Fellow Limerick woman and co-host Emma Langford is a singer-songwriter, podcaster and maker-of-things. Follow Ann Blake on Twitter at annblake78, on Instagram at annblakeplay and check out her band The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra on twitter at BPLO. Find out all about Emma Langford's adventures at emmalangfordmusic.com Find the Limerick Lady podcast wherever you get your podcasts, and follow for new episodes on the third Thursday every month The Limerick Lady Podcast is supported by the Limerick Post Newspaper, and sponsored by Ormston House Follow Ormston House at www.ormstonhouse.com Support the Limerick Post at www.limerickpost.ie This podcast usually goes out on the 3rd Thursday each month - the 'Thirdsday', if you will. Follow The Limerick Lady on Facebook at TheLimerickLady, on Twitter at LkLadyHQ and on Instagram at thelimericklady Tweet about us using #LKLadyPod so we can see what you have to say! Intro music: Demon Darling by Emma Langford Outro music: Closed Book by Emma Langford