Skip to content

Growing Thoughts & Hanging Wishes

A place for growing thoughts, exploring words and sharing wishes, in every language!

18th of Feb, from 10 am

@Rua Red, Tallaght

Interactive Installation

For all ages

Languages:

Any language

Please note:

Children must be under the supervision of an accompanying adult at all times.

There are words that have no equivalent in other languages and it can be difficult sometimes to describe what you mean in a different culture. Sometimes it is hard to share your feelings, thoughts and wishes, no matter what the language! Growing Thoughts & Hanging Wishes is based around the ancient Irish custom of the Raggedy Tree or Wish Tree, where people would hang cloth, ribbons and notes on Hawthorn trees (that were believed to be magical or holy) containing their thoughts, wishes and hopes – sometimes just one word, a name or even a drawing. 
As the thought and paper disintegrate, the wishes are said to come true!

The tree installation will be created onsite by artist Raffaele Muraca. Everybody is invited to add their thoughts and wishes to the tree in their own language, writing on paper leaves or bits of cloth.
What words do you want to share with your community and family? What is your wish for them?

Meet the artist

Raffaele Muraca

Raffaele is a Prop Maker and Art Facilitator. He worked in Italy as an Educator for teenage refugees specialising in art and cultural activities projects to bring students together. In 2014, he moved to Ireland to work on community art projects, facilitate prop-making workshops, perform, and make props and floats for Irish parades, festivals, theatres, and video productions. Recently, his curiosity for the different aspects of art led him to work in community Street Art festivals and Augmented Reality projects aimed to animate the walls in Waterford. During the pandemic, he worked on a personal artistic project on transforming emotions into visual installations, interpreting childhood trauma and ways to deal with it through art.

This event is funded by

Mother Tongues Festival

Keep in touch

Sean-nós singing and lilting workshop

18th of Feb, 12 pm

@Rua Red, Tallaght (Music Room 1)

Music workshop

For families with children of all ages

Languages:

English and Irish

Please note:

This is a beginner-friendly session. Booking is required. When you reserve a child ticket the accompanying adult goes free. Children must be under the supervision of an accompanying adult at all times.

Create your own musical adventure! Participants will choose from a number of songs (sea-faring songs, love songs, songs about fairies) provided by Eoghan to learn the melody and the meaning of the lyrics. After, we will do a bit of lilting, a kind of mouth music traditionally used to carry a tune for dancing when no musical instruments were available. Depending on where the music takes us, participants have the option to learn traditional Sean-nós singing techniques. To end our musical exploration, we will sing songs and lilt a tune together.

Cruthaigh eachtra cheoil dhuit féin! Roghnóidh na rannpháirtithe ó roinnt amhráin (amhráin na farraige, amhráin ghrá, amhráin na síoga) a sholáthróidh Eoghan chun an tséis agus brí na liricí a fhoghlaim. Ina dhiaidh sin, déanfaimid beagán ‘lilting’ – cineál béal faiseanta a úsáidtear go traidisiúnta chun port a chruthú le haghaidh damhsa nuair nach raibh uirlisí ceoil ar fáil. Ag brath ar an áit a dtógann an ceol sinn, tá rogha ag na rannpháirtithe teicnící traidisiúnta amhránaíochta ar an Sean-nós a fhoghlaim. Chun deireadh a chur lenár dtaiscéalaíocht cheoil, canfaimid amhráin agus seinnfidh muid ceol le chéile.

Meet the artist

Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin

Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin is a Dublin-based singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical roots are in Sean-nós singing and Irish traditional music. He has played with a number of different bands over the years including Dublin-based Skipper’s Alley, folk/electronica band Jiggy, and Aon Teanga:Un Chengey, an Irish-Scottish-Manx group that explores the musical and linguistic ties between the Gaelic languages. He also collaborates with County Clare fiddle and viola player Ultan O’Brien. Their début album Solas an Lae won best album at the RTÉ folk awards in 2021. Eoghan released his début solo album, The Deepest Breath, in November 2022. His songs—written in both English and Irish—build on his Sean-nós singing foundations but combine hard-hitting lyrics with other musical influences to create a rich, contemporary sound.

This event is funded by

Mother Tongues Festival

Keep in touch

Kamishibai:

Fairytales in Ireland and Japan

18th of Feb, 3 pm

@Rua Red, Tallaght (Project Space)

Storytelling & Art workshop

For families with children of all ages

Languages:

English and Japanese

Please note:

Booking is required. When you purchase a child ticket the accompanying adult goes free. Children must be under the supervision of an accompanying adult at all times.

origami

Take part in a magical experience combining Ireland and Japan’s different, yet similar cultures. Through the art of song and origami crafts, children and their families will experience the mystical storytelling culture that Ireland and Japan share. The countries even have similar tales. Can you name them? Attend this workshop to find out and experience the shared connection of Ireland and Japan. 

アイルランドと日本。このふたつの国は、地球最大のユーラシア大陸の西端と東端にある島国です。言語も文化は大きく異なりますが、ともに神話があり、おはなしの文化で有名です。実はアイルランドにも日本とよく似たお話やお祭りがあるのです。どんなお話・お祭りだと思いますか? これらの物語に合わせた歌やおりがみ、クラフトもご紹介します。

Meet the artist

Tamao Oka

Tamao is a certified Steiner kindergarten teacher and was the leader of a toddlers group at the Steiner School during her training. She has run a Japanese kid’s book club for over 10 years in Dublin. Tamao loves storytelling, puppet shows, and singing with children.

tamao oka

This event is funded by

Mother Tongues Festival

Keep in touch

Scroll Up