FUAIM Lecture - Karan Casey - 21/11/24, Ó Riada Hall, 11:00

7 Nov 2024

Happening On 21/11/2024

The Women, We Will Rise by Karan Casey 

What would possess a singer to write a play?

The Women, We Will Rise is a theatrical song cycle that highlights the role of defiant Irish women during the revolutionary period and beyond. It places women centre stage and shares through song and story gallant women from Ireland's past, whilst singing into being a vision for the women of the future. 

The production brings to fruition songs and stories about my great grandmother Agnes Ryan of the hotel, a mother of 12 children and a Cumann na mBan member. Other figures from the era, such as the great patriot Kathleen Clarke from Limerick and Countess Markievicz stand alongside and in comradery with women in contemporary Ireland. Keeping an eye on things, as always, is the legendary figure from Irish folklore an Chailleach. 

This presentation will examine the creative process behind writing and producing the play entitled The Women, We Will Rise and will be a mixture of song performance and talking.

Irish singer-songwriter Karan Casey has been blazing a trail for over 30 years. A lover of ballads, love songs and searing versions of social justice songs, fond of a good yarn, she has toured the world making deep connections with her audience via Ireland’s past while crucially repositioning women and songs in a universal and a modern setting. Karan has been striking out lately to explore new areas of performance on piano, spoken word and theatre.

She has released twelve albums as well as contributing to numerous other artists’ projects – appearing on more than 80 albums so far - and has toured extensively throughout North America, Europe and Japan, performing with her own band as well as collaborating with such diverse musicians as Maura O’Connell, James Taylor, Bela Fleck  and the Boston Pops Orchestra.

In 2018 Karan helped found FairPlé which is an organization aimed at achieving fairness and gender balance for female performers in Irish traditional and folk musics. 2019 saw Karan achieving a PhD in music at the University of Limerickwhile her song “Down in the Glen” was nominated for Best Original Folk Song at the RTE Folk Awards. Karan’s first theatre show I Walked into My Head was premiered at the Kilkenny Arts Festival 2021. In 2022 Karan collaborated with composer Harry Escott on a version of the Irish ballad "Grace" for the film “Ali & Ava”.

Karan’s latest album “Nine Apples of Gold” was released to great critical acclaim in February 2023. It topped the Irish and US radio charts and was one of the most played albums on folk radio in 2023. Karan’s new stage show about women in the Irish revolutionary period The Women We Will Rise was premiered at the Everyman Theatre in Cork in September 2023.