{"id":6031,"date":"2025-10-17T05:21:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T05:21:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/6031\/"},"modified":"2025-10-17T05:21:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T05:21:06","slug":"galway-comedy-pillow-queens-and-the-other-best-things-to-see-in-ireland-in-the-week-ahead-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/6031\/","title":{"rendered":"Galway comedy, Pillow Queens and the other best things to see in Ireland in the week ahead \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Event of the weekGalway Comedy FestivalFrom Tuesday, October 21st, until Monday, October 27th, P\u00e1l\u00e1s Cinema and other venues, various times and prices, galwaycomedyfestival.ie<\/a><\/p>\n

Live comedy is booming, judging by the number of gigs, as well as by the number of comedy festivals: there seems to be one almost every month. And that\u2019s without mentioning the residencies that big names such as Tommy Tiernan and Dara \u00d3 Briain regularly take up at Vicar Street and elsewhere \u2013 Joanne McNally has announced 23 nights at the 3Olympia Theatre, in Dublin, between November this year and March 2026, and she\u2019s well on her way to having sold out half of them. Galway Comedy Festival features the Irish comics Deirdre O\u2019Kane, Andrew Maxwell, Emma Doran, Dylan Moran<\/a>, David McSavage, Al Porter and Barry Murphy, as well as the international names Jack Dee, Omid Djalili, Rich Hall, Rhod Gilbert and Paul Smith (fresh from his sold-out shows at 3Arena, in Dublin, two weeks ago). Watch out also for Hector \u00d3 hEochag\u00e1in hosting Irish-language comedy, at G\u00e1ire as Gaeilge; Polish-language stand-up, from Aleksandra Radomska; and Faulty Towers: The Dining Experience. Comedy podcasts featured are The Creep Dive, Keep It Tight, Eejits of the World, and How to Gael.<\/p>\n

GigsPillow QueensTuesday, October 21st, NCH, Dublin, 8pm, \u20ac45\/\u20ac36.50\/\u20ac28, nch.ie<\/a>\"PillowPillow Queens <\/p>\n

And then there were three. Less than a year ago Pillow Queens<\/a> announced the departure of their original member Rachel Lyons, the drummer. But the remaining trio of Pamela Connolly, Sarah Corcoran and Cathy McGuinness are still a fully functional group, and raring to go. This show, part of the NCH Landmarks series, sees the band perform In Waiting, their debut album, from 2020, in its entirety, along with selections from their subsequent (indeed, better) albums, Leave the Light On and Name Your Sorrow. Highly recommended.<\/p>\n

Gillian Welch & David RawlingsWednesday, October 22nd, and Thursday, October 23rd, Vicar Street, Dublin, 7.30pm, \u20ac65, ticketmaster.ie<\/a><\/p>\n

Described by the New Yorker magazine as \u201cinnovative and obliquely reminiscent of past rural forms\u201d, the US songwriters Gillian Welch and David Rawlings present the antithesis of happy love songs through a series of slow-motion, hypnotic Americana that incorporates classic country, bluegrass, jazz notes and hints of rhythm\u2019n\u2019blues. The duo\u2019s latest album, Woodland<\/a>, won the 2025 Grammy Award for best folk album. Sit back and be mesmerised.<\/p>\n

Benson BooneFriday, October 24th, 3Arena, Dublin, 6.30pm, \u20ac88.90\/\u20ac78.90\/\u20ac71.90 (sold out), ticketmaster.ie<\/p>\n

TikTok has been central to the rapid success of Benson Boone. In 2021, when the singer-songwriter from Washington state posted snippets of his music on the video-sharing platform, he caught the attention of Imagine Dragons\u2019 frontman, Dan Reynolds, who promptly signed him to his record label. Within two years Boone was supporting Taylor Swift and gaining considerable traction across social media. At this gig he\u2019ll be plugging his latest album, American Heart, which, according to the Arts Desk website, pulses with nostalgic grooves and infectious hooks.<\/p>\n

Guinness Cork Jazz FestivalFrom Thursday, October 23rd, until Monday, October 27th, various venues, times and prices, Cork city, guinnesscorkjazz.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Of the numerous headline acts on this festival\u2019s website, only a handful could really be defined as jazz: the saxophonist, composer and bandleader Nubya Garcia, the spiritual jazzer Carlos Ni\u00f1o, the saxophonist and flautist Chip Wickham and the singer Norma Winstone. But there\u2019s much that will appeal to music fans more generally, from hip-hop (The Pharcyde, Maverick Sabre, Rejjie Snow, God Knows, Saul Williams) and funk\/soul (Cymande, Lee Fields and the Expressions) to higher-consciousness, deep-listening jazz (Jean Phi Dary, Prabhu Edouard, Matthieu Michel, Colin Vallon, James Holden and Waclaw Zimpel) that aficionados will very much appreciate. Lower down the festival bill are some strong Irish acts, including Jape, Le Boom, Zaska, Tol\u00fc Makay, King Kong Company and Mas Exodus.<\/p>\n

FestivalSligo LiveFrom Friday, October 24th, until Sunday, November 2nd, various venues, times and prices, Sligo town, sligolive.ie<\/a><\/p>\n

Sligo Live marks its 20th anniversary with a line-up that brings together Irish and international names. The former include Mick Flannery and Susan O\u2019Neill (Knocknarea Arena, Friday, October 24th), Sharon Shannon Big Band & Guests (Knocknarea Arena, Saturday, October 25th), the comedian Dylan Moran (Hawk\u2019s Well Theatre, Monday, October 27th) and the singer-songwriter Luka Bloom (Hawk\u2019s Well Theatre, Thursday, October 30th). International acts include the US performers Steve Earle (Knocknarea Arena, Saturday, October 25th), Mary Gauthier (Hawk\u2019s Well Theatre, Sunday, October 26th) and Frazey Ford (Hawk\u2019s Well Theatre, Tuesday, October 28th).<\/p>\n

FilmIFI HorrorthonThursday-Monday, October 23rd-27th, various times and prices, IFI, Dublin, ifi.ie\/horrorthon<\/a>\"LetLet the Right One In, from Tony Clayton-Lea for The Guide, Saturday, October 18, 2025. <\/p>\n

If it\u2019s the final week of October, then it has to be Horrorthon, the Irish Film Institute\u2019s annual spookfest of movies you shouldn\u2019t (but will) watch with the lights off. Sandwiched between the opening film, Shelby Oaks (\u201ca little Blair Witch, a little Silent Hill, a little Ringu\u201d, according to Empire magazine) and the festival closer, Dust Bunny (directed by Bryan Fuller, the Hannibal TV series creator), are scares galore. These include 40th-anniversary screenings of Stuart Gordon\u2019s Re-Animator and Lamberto Bava\u2019s Demons, the first Irish screening of a 4K restoration of Neil Marshall\u2019s superb The Descent, from 2005, a horrifying table quiz, a Vampire\u2019s Ball (featuring Let the Right One In<\/a>, Tomas Alfredson\u2019s 2008 film), and the always highly anticipated surprise film.<\/p>\n

Still runningWestivalFrom Wednesday, October 22nd, until Monday, October 27th, various venues, times and prices, Westport, Co Mayo, westival.ie<\/a> \"CassiopeiaCassiopeia Winds, from Tony Clayton-Lea for The Guide, Saturday, October 18, 2025. <\/p>\n

This durable festival \u2013 it was founded 50 years ago \u2013 continues to impress with a wide-ranging programme of events that celebrate community as well as creativity. Highlights include a concert from Westport resident (and former Chieftains member) Matt Molloy, a screening of The General, Buster Keaton\u2019s 1926 silent film, and the acclaimed chamber-music ensemble Cassiopeia Winds.<\/p>\n

Book it this week<\/p>\n

John Bramwell, Bello Bar, Dublin, February 13th-14th, foggynotions.ie<\/a><\/p>\n

Rene\u00e9 Rapp, 3Arena, Dublin, March 22nd, ticketmaster.ie<\/p>\n

Alison Spittle, Vicar Street, Dublin, April 11th, ticketmaster.ie<\/p>\n

Curtis Stigers, Everyman Theatre, Cork, May 1st, everymancork.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Event of the weekGalway Comedy FestivalFrom Tuesday, October 21st, until Monday, October 27th, P\u00e1l\u00e1s Cinema and other venues,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6032,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[5527,5523,5526,5525,245,5528,9,24,63,5524,122,124,123,5522],"class_list":["post-6031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-cork-jazz-festival","tag-dara-o-briain","tag-david-rawlings","tag-gillian-welch","tag-halloween","tag-irish-film-institute","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-pillow-queens","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-tommy-tiernan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6031\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}