Caricatures Ireland

UPDATE: Click here for Parade route.
I did a photoshoot for the Macnas last week to promote their upcoming parade for the Galway Arts Festival: Apocolopolis. I’m on a float with a disturbingly shallow wheelbase, but it’s actually quite steady, and once I get past that initial 15 seconds of telling Debbie the director that I can’t do it, it’s fine. I had my own trusty photographer with me that day: my son Naoise, who held his own among the likes of Joe Shaughs and Andrew Downes. The following are all his shots.
The parade is on this Sunday the 20th July. I’ll put a Google Map up of the route when I know what it is!


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Tags: Galway, art, galway arts festival, macnas, parades by admin
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Above is a cartoon I was commissioned to do for Macnas: Joyful Abandonment. Some people in Macnas may claim to recognise themselves in it. I have no comment to make!

The cartoon is a potted account of the processes that are never seen by the general public but are essential to the creation of the parade each year.

Judith, Helen, Rachel and others won’t be impressed at the absence of rehearsals in the above cartoon (or may not have noticed in which case I’ve just shot myself in the foot!). In my defence I submit the following:

I hadn’t enough space;

Rehearsal is so important it warrants its own cartoon.

The book is a must for fans of Macnas, theatre professionals and students, and those interested in the recent history of Galway. You can order the book from Amazon by clicking on its name above.

Click on the image to see a bigger version.

Tags: Cartoons, books, caricatures, cartoon strip, macnas, macnas parade, parades by admin
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Update to previous post: It appears that the Macnas Parade has been saved. Galway City Council have pledged an emergency fund for the Galway Arts Festival, who had a major sponsor pull out earlier this year. Part of this fund is going into a budget for the Parade, so it looks like the single biggest free gig of the Festival. I think the Council are to be applauded for this, but there is a caveat: this money is a crutch, and if Macnas’ funding is not increased by the Arts Council, and supplemented by Dept. of Tourism, regional development bodies and local businesses the parade will lurch towards extinction in the next 2-3 years. This isn’t a prediction I’d like to see come about.

As for this year, I can’t wait to see the spectacular work of Aine, Peter, the rest of the team and the hundreds of volunteers that give the parade life every year!

Tags: funding, galway arts festival, macnas, news, parades, tourism by admin
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I’m really disappointed to read that the Macnas Parade won’t be happening this year during the Arts Festival. I had my suspicions that something like this was coming but it’s still a blow when it comes. It’s clear that between the Arts Council and the Galway City Council that the value that the parade lends to the city during the summer is meaningless. The Arts Council especially is culpable in this: in my last years in Macnas it was becoming increasingly antagonistic to Macnas and actually froze its funding. I don’t know whether this was ever remedied but an institution has been allowed to flounder and let’s be clear, this could mean the end of Macnas in the not too distant future. Consider the Macnas Parade to a white elephant like the Abbey Theatre: good millions are being thrown after bad there, while all Macnas needed was something in the region of €70,000 (my estimate) to keep the ball rolling. After years of loyal service Macnas are like the greying mutt kicked out into the back yard.
What is needed is a cash value being put on the parade: the first thing most of the audience does is turn around and find the nearest pub or restaurant. This year that nice little spike in takings one Sunday in the middle of July won’t appear. Therefore it makes good economic sense for every business that does well from the parade to put a little outlay, tax-deductable, into ensuring an event that fills their premises actually occurs. In short the arts aren’t just for looking at but can present a genuine marketing opportunity for the enterprising trader. But by the sounds of it, the eleventh hour has come and gone as regards this year’s parade.

So long the Macnas Parade. You gave me the shteart in my career. Hope to see you next year but I won’t hold my breath.

Tags: arts council, controversial, galway city council, macnas, parades by admin
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