How the west won Daithi

The Galway Races are upon us so for the Irish Independent's special supplement, I got a guided tour of Galway hotspots by TG4 weatherman Daithi O Se:

DID you hear the one about the Kerry weatherman who got caught in the rain without a brolly? Dingle native Daithi O Se is used to being the punchline to playful jokes in his adopted hometown of Galway.

He has made the city his home base since joining TG4 over a decade ago. "So I'm not a blow-in as such," he says. "But the lads in the pub do love to give me an awful going-over. I'm 'fear an aimsir' and they love taking the mick when I'd get the weather wrong.

"I remember getting caught out once, running out into the rain and no umbrella with me, and some old fella says, 'You're some weather man all right'."

The Galwegian talent for banter has made O Se -- anointed with the gift of the gab himself -- feel right at home and the 34-year-old takes full advantage of his new life in the only medieval city in Connacht.

"I think that part of Galway's charm is linked to the fact that we are surrounded by this other language. Even though a lot of people in the city might not be able to speak it fluently, they can understand it and they salute each other in Irish almost unbeknownst to themselves.

"Thinking in a different language gives Galway people a different outlook on life. Very individual, more philosophical and relaxed about it all."

Not that O Se has had the chance to take it easy of late. He's just back from driving through America for TG4's upcoming series Daithi ar Route 1 and, next month, he'll present his first Rose of Tralee on RTE.

But first, he has six days of the Galway races to look forward to, starting with the evening meeting next Monday. This is very much a locals' night out. O Se has a particular way of gearing himself up for a hectic day at Ballybrit.

"I'm an early riser and nothing beats throwing yourself into Galway Bay for a swim to clear the head," he says.

"I love walking along the pier and along the prom at Salthill but I would encourage people [who are] down for the races to go for a swim as well. The water would be cold enough but it will stand to you later in the day," he adds with a broad beam. A man who knows how to handle 18-hour days during race week.

Those of a less hardy nature could opt for O Se's second morning cure-all: the big fry-up. He'll be hosting a number of old friends from Dingle for the Galway Races and tradition has it that no-one makes a move out of the house in the morning without Daithi whipping out the frying pan.

"It's great soakage but to be honest, I think people who go racing eat once and make sure it sets them up for the day," he says.

Galway has no shortage of great dining options and as we walk around the streets of the city, the Dingle man points out some of his favourites. He name-checks Vina Mara on Middle Street for fresh seafood or Ard Bia at Nimmos beside the historic Spanish Arch on the Claddagh for a real treat. But it's iconic chipper McDonagh's that gets his regular custom.

"They serve pints of milk in there which is one of the reasons why I love it and the chips are homemade. The fish is basically just out of the water, you get a nice side of baked beans and you're sorted for the next 24 hours," says O Se, who lists fisherman as one of his many career paths -- alongside butcher, nightclub bouncer and teacher.

If you're Daithi O Se, you might get your chips dropped up to Freeney's Bar by owner Peter McDonagh.

"That's kinda cool alright; he'll do that from time to time," says O Se, taking care to look at least a little bit bashful. O Se is musical. "I don't play music but I used to sing," says Daithi, who fesses up to singing on a Chieftains album that was nominated for a world music Grammy some years back with his friend, Dingle singer Seamus Begley. "Myself and my friend Laurence sang with him for a while. We called ourselves the Three Fivers -- we weren't even The Three Tenors!"

Now's the perfect time for exploring his musical tastes, by heading to Tigh Neachtain, one of Galway's most famous pubs, located on the corner of Cross Street and Quay Street.

O Se reckons there is a pub in Galway to suit every taste. We pass the Claddagh (where the famous Claddagh Ring originated) and the famous tourist attraction of the Spanish Arch, which was not built by the Spaniard but to keep them out. We head to the triangle of trad music bars, Taaffe's, Tigh Coili and The Crane.

"I love the trad bars because you sit down and next thing, there's Sharon Shannon beside you with her accordion. It's unreal," he says.

"Paul Brady could call in every now and then you could look up and Dolores Keane is singing in the corner."

If Daithi's not in the mood to loosen the vocal cords, he will head to one of the "talking pubs" as he calls them. There's Murphy's and Fay's, which sit neatly poised across the road from each other -- with a bookie's beside Murphy's, handy for the thirsty punter.

"You might land in there before getting the bus to Ballybrit from Eyre Square and if the craic is good enough, you might never get the bus at all."

O Se downs his coffee and grows momentarily serious. "That's the one problem with Galway in race week. There are too many tips. I met four people last year who swore black and blue that their horse was going to win -- and that was in the same race."

With the exception of a couple of high-rollers, few come to Galway to make money in race week. Some are not even -- whisper it -- as concerned with what goes on trackside as they are about simply enjoying the atmosphere.

"What I love about Galway race week is that it's all about having the chat. Talking about who you have a 20 on in the next race is just the ice-breaker," says O Se. He's decamped to the Champagne Tent at Ballybrit on occasion, but says the whole area is like a big party.

"Galway is always in semi-party mode. Go into one of those music pubs at 5pm on a Monday evening in the middle of November and they're packed. Coming from a town like Dingle that would be very quiet in the winter, it was a real eye-opener. When you arrive in Galway it's like you're on a stag for your whole life."

Living life like you're on a permanent stag weekend isn't entirely advisable of course and O Se likes that Galway -- perched on the edge of some of the most stunning scenery in Ireland -- affords him the chance to spend time on one of his favourite spots. The Aran Islands are special to him and he eulogises about happy times there.

"One of the most gorgeous times I ever had there was when I camped out there overnight with Lucy Kennedy for her RTE show, Living With Lucy," he remembers.

O Se uses the word gorgeous a lot, letting the 'r' roll off his tongue with that gaelgeoir inflection, as if no other word can articulate how in love he is with Connemara sunsets, or the grace of a Galway hooker boat, in full flight.

"Fishing is one of those things that I love to do if I get a day off. Give me an evening in September casting off from the rocks. Gorrrrgeous."

He catches white pollock, takes it home, bakes it if he's being good but more often than not revs up the trusty frying pan and throws it in with a knob of garlic butter.

"Sure if you cooked your socks in garlic butter, you'd ate them," he laughs.

Galway's artistic reputation is not lost on the Kerry man. The highly-respected Film Fleadh and Arts Festival have just finished but O Se points out, the arts are a year-round obsession for its citizens.

"I'd go to the Town Hall Theatre and the Druid when I could," he says. He particularly enjoyed Druid's recent version of Juno and the Paycock. "I did it for my Leaving Cert but this was on a different level altogether," says O Se.

Visitors to Charlie Byrne's bookshop at Cornstore Mall might be surprised to find the normally ebullient O Se quietly browsing the history and biography sections.

"I'd give an hour or two there all right if I had a day off," he says. "Then I might take the book to McCambridge's (café) on Shop Street and while the afternoon away.

"I have my quiet times too you know," he says with a wink before he heads off to see a man about a horse.

FIRST PUBLISHED HERE: http://www.independent.ie/sport/horse-racing/galway-races/how-the-west-won-daithi-2270227.html

I'm luvvie-ing it

Is an A-list star necessarily a great actor? Are all theatre actors unsung heroes? I asked some casting agents to throw light on the issue in yesterday's Irish Independent...

http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/film-cinema/its-a-star-turn-1781591.html

It's a star turn
Jude Law gets rave reviews for his stage Hamlet, and proves that it is possible to be both a tabloid celebrity and a great actor, writes Susan Daly.
Saturday June 20 2009

Jude Law is without doubt a famous man. Unfortunately for the classically-trained actor, much of his celebrity has stemmed from a dramatic personal life rather than his portrayal of dramatis personae.

A turbulent marriage to Sadie Frost, an engagement to another, younger, actress, Sienna Miller, scuffles with the paparazzi and then Nannygate -- when he slept with his children's minder -- have earned him inches in all the wrong columns.

It must be gratifying for Law to now find himself featured further towards the back of the newspapers, where he is receiving rave reviews for his turn as Hamlet in London's West End. Law's performance apparently shows "rare vulnerability and emotional openness". As the theatre critic in The Guardian put it: "People who come to patronise him [Law] as a movie star essaying the great Dane will be in for a shock."

That, as the prince might say, is the question. Jude Law is not tabloid fodder because he's an actor -- it's because he's a movie star. And snobbery from old stage hands would dictate that a pampered film star is not really up to the job of treading the boards. "It's quite reductive, that notion that because an actor has experienced an emphasis on fame and celebrity, talent should be excluded from that bracket," says Holly Ni Chiardha, casting director with the Abbey Theatre.

AIndeed, while stars like Julia Roberts and Matthew Broderick made critically-savaged turns on Broadway, Ireland has witnessed its fair share of famous movie faces making a successful transition to the stage. The performances of Ralph Fiennes, James Cromwell, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins and Frances McDormand in Irish theatres have all been well received. It is worth noting though that most were returning to roots which they firmly planted on the stage in their youth. Law, too, was a celebrated young stage actor before finding on-screen success in films like The Talented Mr Ripley and Cold Mountain.

Alii Curran, a former director of both the Dublin Fringe Festival and the Peacock Theatre, masterminded the appearances of Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon, Samantha Morton and of Frasier star John Mahoney, in Dublin. "It was clear from Tim and Susan that their background was in theatre," she remembers.

She says that the opportunities in television in particular are such that an actor can now mould an entire career without ever doing stage work. "They can establish themselves as popular stars very quickly because of luck and iconic status," she says. So are they not proper actors if they don't have stage craft? Curran laughs unabashedly: "I belong to the old school, so I would say: No!"

Not that there are only movie stars without great talent, adds Curran, citing Mickey Rourke in last year's The Wrestler, and Halle Berry's Oscar-winning turn in Monster's Ball, as examples of genuinely transformative performances. "The best actor for the role is not always box-office so they are not cast," says Curran. "The movie industry is very cynical." This is how the term 'bankable star' is applied to such questionable talents as Adam Sandler, Cameron Diaz and Eddie Murphy.

Alan Stanford -- actor, director and producer for over 40 years -- believes that a great film star can also be a great actor. "I watched Laurence Olivier when I was a drama student, as he came to the end of his time on stage, when he was running the Old Vic [in London])," says Stanford. "He trained for the theatre and he was the matinee idol of the West End. Then he went to Hollywood, where he did Wuthering Heights and was a major star. Then he had another major stage career as director of the national theatre, and then went back to have a second film career in his later years."

Holly Ni Chiardha points to Stephen Rea as a very recognisable movie actor who started in theatre, working with the likes of Beckett and Sam Shepard and who has now rekindled his relationship with the Abbey, acting this year in a new Shepard play written especially for him and fellow actor Sean McGinley.

"Any actor is a very brave soul to jump into that career," says Ni Chiardha. "It can be difficult for a Hollywood star to go onto Broadway because the press has preconceived notions about them." Katie Holmes for example, better known as Mrs Tom Cruise and star of Dawson's Creek, surprised critics by acquitting herself brilliantly in a revival of All My Sons last year on Broadway.

Much of the contrast between screen and stage acting, says movie and TV casting director Thyrza Ging, is simply a matter of technique. "Obviously the two mediums need different styles -- in the States, young actors grow up acting for camera, whereas ours still essentially start with theatre and go from there."

Ging believes that all of the Irish actors who have become film stars got there on talent. "There is an element of the big break, but make no mistake, Joel Schumacher [director of Colin Farrell's breakthrough film, Tigerland] wouldn't have taken a chance on Colin if he hadn't thought he had the acting chops to do it."

Alan Stanford, who has worked with many of Ireland's most famous names in his time, agrees: "Brenda Fricker, Donal McCann, Daniel Day Lewis, Liam Neeson, Gabriel Byrne, Brendan Gleeson, Cillian Murphy, Gerard McSorley -- they were stunning stage actors as well as successful film actors. Daniel Day-Lewis gave a Hamlet that was very highly regarded."

On the other hand, there are brilliant actors in Ireland who are not easily recognised by the public and work extensively in theatre. The names Eileen Walsh, Tom Vaughn Murphy, Marie Mullen, Ali White, Derbhla Crotty, Dearbhla Molloy, Aidan Kelly and others constantly pop up when you ask any Irish casting director to name their favourite actors of today.

Even on celluloid, some of the best actors can mine away on the seam-edge of fame. Orson Welles once claimed that "the greatest actor who ever lived" was a French character called Raimu.

"It is great to see someone like Philip Seymour Hoffman finally get recognition," says Ali Curran, "because he's not the classic good-looker, but he came through with great roles and crossover roles, much as Heath Ledger did."

So are we being a bit tough on our A-list stars -- will we ever see them as great actors? When asked to name his acting greats of the current generation, Alan Stanford namechecks Robert de Niro and Al Pacino, middle-aged men both. "I'm a great believer in a degree of survivability to be considered a great actor," insists Stanford.

"Meryl Streep was always wonderful but she's now unsurpassable. Despite what Shakespeare said, you are not born great. You are born with the potential for greatness."

ALL A-BOARD: Famous (and infamous) screen to stage transitions...
JOHN GIELGUD in Hamlet, New York (1936): Gielgud played the Danish prince many times to universal acclaim before he became more latterly associated with movies. A stark contrast to that famous review of Laurence Olivier’s 1937 Hamlet in the Old Vic: “Mr Olivier does not speak poetry badly. He does not speak it at all.”
LAURENCE OLIVIER in Macbeth, Stratford-upon-Avon (1955): Hollywood power couple Olivier and wife Vivien Leigh created one of the most enduring Macbethian couples of the 20th century.
PETER O’TOOLE in Macbeth, London (1980) Alan Stanford tells it: “His Macbeth in the Old Vic was a bit disastrous and he did a terrible Dublin accent for Juno and the Paycock in Dublin. But he was an extremely fine Hamlet.”
CYD CHARISSE in Grand Hotel, New York (1992): Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly’s old screen dancing partner was cruelly savaged for her debut Broadway performance at the age of 71 for coming across “as someone mistakenly embalmed while still alive and now trying hard to emerge from premature mummification”.
JULIA ROBERTS in Three Days Of Rain (2006): Roberts “staggered hesitantly” through this dreary comedy-drama, but her star power ensured its 12-week run sold out immediately.