Come together sisters, mothers, and daughters. This Nollaig na mBan, we celebrate a time-honoured tradition with a conversation from modern women.
This January 6th, The Dock, in conjunction with the Reading Room, will host an evening of music, chats, and inspiration from women working in arts and culture. Featuring Carole and Kathleen Coleman, Amy and Senna O’Hara, and Rebeccah and Lauren Farrell.
Amy and Senna O’Hara
London-born Amy O’Hara has been living in Sligo for the last 27 years. After decades of quietly writing songs, her debut album “A Blue I Can’t Describe” was released in 2021. Amy’s songs reflect the landscape and matters close to her heart. They are humorous and quirky, often with an underlying message.
She is joined by her daughter Senna who has featured in many of Kieran Quinn’s theme nights and is a regular guest vocalist with Manorhamilton-based band Grooveline.
Kathleen Coleman
Kathleen Coleman has devoted most of her adult life to her home town of Carrick-on-Shannon and county of Leitrim.
Born into Doherty’s Bakery on Main Street, she became a post-primary school teacher but returned to work at the busy family business alongside her husband Pauraic.
In 1979 Kathleen was elected to Leitrim County Council and made history as its first female chairperson. By the mid-1980s the mother of four was running a popular bookshop (and later art gallery) on Main Street and diving into community work. As a key member of Carrick Tidy Towns, Kathleen was integral to Carrick’s elevation to Gold Medal status. She is mother to Carole, Claire, Alice and Maurice and grandmother to seven.
Carole Coleman
Carole Coleman has been a reporter and writer for 35 years. She co-presents the weekly programmes This Week and World Report RTÉ Radio One. Carole’s latest book ‘News From Under a Coat Stand’ is a colourful diary documenting the arrival of Covid-19 in Ireland in early 2020 and the ups and downs of the three-month nationwide lockdown that followed. Carole is a former RTÉ Washington Correspondent and is sharing her reporting expertise with journalism students at the University of Galway. She grew up in Leitrim, lives locally, and is a mother to two teenagers.
Rebeccah Farrell
Rebeccah Farrell is a native of Carrick-on-Shannon and has wide-ranging experience in the entertainment and cultural management sector.
Currently Deputy General Manager of Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Ireland’s largest fixed seat theatre, hosting diverse programme which includes the best of West End and Broadway musicals, ballets, opera, and concerts.
She was previously General Manager of Carrick Cineplex which has been a recipient of several national awards and a diverse programme of mainstream titles as well as Arthouse, World Cinema, and Live Arts titles. She led Carrick Water Music Festival for six years. Notable past performers include The Waterboys, Celine Byrne, Vladimir Jablakov, and Lisa Hannigan.
A co-founder of Penknife Productions Theatrical Company with her sister Lauren, they produced the European premiere of ‘The Edge of Our Bodies’ by Pulitzer Prize finalist Adam Rapp in Dublin’s Smock Alley Theatre, followed by a run at Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Lauren Farrell
Lauren Farrell is an actor from Carrick on Shannon, Leitrim. Her theatre credits include ‘A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man’ and ‘The Edge of our Bodies’.
Screenwork credits include: ‘Forever In My Heart’ (Hallmark Films), and ‘Vikings’ (MGM/History)
Lauren is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, and has trained at Bow Street Academy, Dublin.
