Kilkenny's Mayfair library to showcase film from famous dance hall

As part of The Per Cent For Art Scheme for The Mayfair City Library ‘Palimpsest’ (a cultural project that creatively intertwines history, music, literature, sculpture and social engagement) by Kilkenny-based visual artist Pauline O Connell was commissioned in 2024 to commemorate the former history of the Mayfair Ballroom 1943-1973, and its rejuvenation as a modern library.

As part of this project, the artist has invited cultural experts to respond by hosting workshops and talks in the library that aim to foster new dialogues and connections on various topics

The second talk by writer, filmmaker and historian Michael Twomey, entitled ‘Wish You Were Here: The Redbarn Story’, takes place on Saturday, November 9. Michael’s film will also be screened daily at the Mayfair Library the week previous and on the morning of the talk. Michael Twomey will explore the dynamics of change brought to Irish society by the ‘soft revolution’ of the dance halls in the 1960s and 1970s.

Showcasing clips from his film, ‘Wish You Were Here: The Redbarn Story’ (2017), Michael will discuss how the new wave of American and British music, and its peculiar Irish hybrid of Country and Rock ‘n’ Roll, inspired a change in attitude among the younger generation coming out of the political, social and religious stagnation of the 1950s. He will explore how the sweaty dance halls became epi-centres for a cultural phenomenon that danced its way into modern Ireland.

This event on Saturday, November 9 will commence at 2 pm in the museum room (located on the right, as you enter the library’s main doors) and run until 3.30 pm.

The artist will give a brief introduction to the project before Michael’s talk.

Guests will have the opportunity to experience O’Connell’s artwork.