Programme
The Limerick Lady
Following the first live audience podcast for International Women’s Day 2020, Ormston House is delighted to sponsor the work of the Limerick Lady as part of the Feminist Supermarket. The Limerick Lady is a grassroots movement aimed at promoting discussion around gender, gender balance, and the visibility of women artists.
Founded by Emma Langford in June 2016, the Limerick Lady events series was established to highlight women in the creative industries through pop-up events, gigs, and showcases. Events have included She Means Business at Chez Le Fab in aid of ADAPT, Limerick Lady & Limerick Pride present I Heart the Cranberries in aid of ADAPT and Limerick Mental Health Association at Dolans Warehouse, and artists’ talks with Louisa Donnellan, Synéad Toomey, Tracy Bruen, Sarah Croker and Orla Smith.
The Limerick Lady podcast was launched in 2018 co-hosted by Emma Langford and Ann Blake with support from the Limerick Post. Over the past 16 editions, they have interviewed a diverse range of guests including Jenny Blake, Sinéad Carey, Dr. Sindy Joyce, Emer O’Toole and Kathleen Turner. Ormston House looks forward to supporting and connecting with this important initiative in Limerick City as part of the Feminist Supermarket.
About Ann Blake
Ann is a Limerick performer, playwright, director and musician. She holds a Masters in Drama and Theatre Studies from NUIG and works both freelance and collaboratively with theatre companies such as Gúna Nua, Wildebeest, Beyond The Bark as well as institutions such as The University of Limerick, Mary Immaculate College (Mary I), Narrative 4 and Ormston House. Ann is also a member of The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra and a founding member of Choke Comedy Improv. Performance credits include Bread Not Profits, The Unlucky Cabin Boy (Gúna Nua) and Spun (Beyond The Bark). Directing credits include The Trial (LYT), 4.48 Psychosis, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, and The Crucible (BA CATS, Mary I). Ann has enjoyed national and international acclaim with her autobiographical internationally acclaimed, multi-award winning show, The Morning After The Life Before (Gúna Nua).
Ann co-presents two podcasts: The Limerick Lady Podcast with musician Emma Langford and Ann and Steve Talk Stuff with economist Stephen Kinsella, both supported by The Limerick Post. She recently put a letter and an emoji together which has resulted in the production of some iconic Limerick clothing and accessories called The Gowl Merch.
About Emma Langford
When she won at the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards in 2018, Emma Langford was already a familiar name to Irish music lovers. A dedicated troubadour, she has tallied an impressive portfolio of tour dates, as well as being a regular feature on the national airwaves; Langford has lost no time in weaving herself into the DNA of the Irish folk scene on an international scale. Emma has crafted a sound that intricately blends folk, jazz, and Irish traditional nuance. Her voice dances the line between sweetly seductive and defiant, and combined with an innate lyrical ability to create worlds through song, and a truly authentic presence, she has captured the hearts and imaginations of Irish and international audiences alike.
In 2016 she premiered Tug O’ War, a gospel-infused lyrical response to struggling with anxiety and self-doubt, through a roughshod but heart-felt DIY video – it was an instant online hit, and went on to be the closing track on Langford’s critically acclaimed first album. Quiet Giant, was released in 2017. The Irish Times described the emerging artist’s debut as an album that ‘weaves a spell as you listen to it… An enduring piece of work’. The album was officially launched over the course of The Irish Folk Festival; a month-long tour of Germany and Switzerland. Langford has since toured it extensively, solo and backed by a trio or band, across the US, Europe and the UK.
Following the hugely successful release in 2019 of two singles, Goodbye Hawaii and The Winding Way Down to Kells Bay, her much anticipated second record, Sowing Acorns, is due for release in 2020. The album features a stunning roster of highly acclaimed artists, and was produced by Grammy-nominated duo Chris O’Brien and Graham Murphy at The Production Suite in Dublin.
Information
You can listen to the live audience Limerick Lady podcast in Ormston House here. Image: Patrick Street in 1968 (Ormston's Supermarket on the left) via Limerick Now. The Feminist Supermarket is a participatory arts project in Ormston House supported by the Arts Council of Ireland and Limerick City and County Council.