First Thought

Welcome to the official Audio Guide to Rebel Kin: To the Letter By Sean Henry as part of Galway International Arts Festival. Rebel Kin: To the Letter is a deeply personal reflection on the Irish Civil War, drawn from a trove of letters written by a young man on the run, documenting life in hiding during the War of Independence, the Civil War and their aftermath. Dolores Lyne brings these letters t...

Welcome to the official Audio Guide to Rebel Kin: To the Letter By Sean Henry as part of Galway International Arts Festival. Rebel Kin: To the Letter is a deeply personal reflection on the Irish Civil War, drawn from a trove of letters written by a young man on the run, documenting life in hiding during the War of Independence, the Civil War and their aftermath. Dolores Lyne brings these letters t...

Welcome to the official Audio Guide to Presence By Sean Henry as part of Galway International Arts Festival. Sculptor Sean Henry is internationally renowned for his quietly monumental figures, which transform the everyday into something uncanny and deeply human. Working at unexpected scales and with subtly altered proportions, his sculptures capture solitary men and women in moments of pause, vuln...

Welcome to the official Audio Guide to Presence By Sean Henry as part of Galway International Arts Festival. Sculptor Sean Henry is internationally renowned for his quietly monumental figures, which transform the everyday into something uncanny and deeply human. Working at unexpected scales and with subtly altered proportions, his sculptures capture solitary men and women in moments of pause, vuln...

Welcome to the official Audio Guide to Burning Down the House By David Mach as part of Galway International Arts Festival 2025. David Mach is one of the UK’s most successful, prolific and respected artists, best known for his dynamic and large-scale collage, and his imposing and provocative public art, sculpture and installations constructed from mass-produced materials including coat hangers, car...

Welcome to the official Audio Guide to Tactile Tunes by Jane Cassidy and Arts Alive at the Aula Maxima, University of Galway as part of Galway International Arts Festival 2025. Tactile Tunes is led by Jane Cassidy, a multimedia artist and educator from Galway. Arts Alive Galway is a community-based arts programme for adults with intellectual disabilities under The Brothers of Charity Services Galw...

Welcome to the official Audio Guide to We Travel Together By Patricia Piccinini as part of Galway International Arts Festival. Patricia Piccinini is one of Australia’s most acclaimed artists who has received worldwide attention for her startling sculptures, installations and digital environments. Born in Sierra Leone, Patricia uses her craft to create striking images of hyperrealistic hybrid anima...

Vinyl Hours is a series of talks with music aficionados in conversation with music maestro Tiernan Henry. On this episode Tiernan sits down with internationally renowned photographer, film maker, DJ, and chronicler of hip hop music and culture Brian Cross [AKA B+] to discuss the music, particularly music on vinyl records as you'll hear, that moves him. This episode was recorded live at GIAF 2023....

Welcome to First Thought Backstage with Galway International Arts Festival, a series where we sit down with theatre-makers from GIAF 2023 to discuss the making of their shows. Life & Times of Michael K, is a hugely ambitious theatrical staging of Nobel Prize-winning author J.M. Coetzee’s novel which combines puppetry, performance, film and evocative music bringing together some of South Africa...

Welcome to First Thought Backstage with Galway International Arts Festival, a series where we sit down with theatre-makers from GIAF 2023 to discuss the making of their shows. The Pulse by Gravity & Other Myths is a hugely ambitious and monumental work of scale that unites audience, acrobat and choir into a single mesmerising organism. A shimmering mass of sixty acrobats and choir members unit...

Welcome to First Thought Backstage with Galway International Arts Festival, a series where we sit down with theatre-makers from GIAF 2023 to discuss the making of their shows. In this post-show talk Ian Walsh, lecturer at the University of Galway, sits down with Luke Murphy and Will Thompson to dive deeper into the (out of this) world of ideas that went into creating Volcano. Recorded live at Galw...

Vinyl Hours is a series of talks with music aficionados in conversation with music maestro Tiernan Henry. On this episode Tiernan sits down with Robert Forster. Robert Forster is one of Australia’s most literate songwriters, with a solo repertoire drawn from a deep well of ideas and imagery, delivered in a conversational tone and impossible beautiful melodies. This episode was recorded live at GIA...

Vinyl Hours is a series of talks with music aficionados in conversation with music maestro Tiernan Henry. On this episode Tiernan sits down with Irish Electronic powerhouse Elaine Mai. Elaine Mai has captivated fans and critics alike with her mesmerising performances and unique blend of emotive dance music and in this episode she shares the music that moves her. This episode was recorded live at G...

Vinyl Hours is a series of talks with music aficionados in conversation with music maestro Tiernan Henry. On this episode Tiernan sits down with New Zealander DJ Fitchie, AKA Mu, of Fat Freddy Drops ahead of his performance at the Heineken Big Top. Recorded live at Galway International Arts Festival 2023. Listen along to DJ Mu's playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2pa8X7jUOJg4jaiw8vNaUj?si...

An official companion to David Mach's The Oligarch’s Nightmare at the festival gallery. The Festival Gallery is presented in association with The Dean, Galway, who also provided support for this podcast.   This podcast was produced by Andy Gaffney, The Shift Podcast Network.

Welcome to First Thought Backstage with Galway International Arts Festival, a series where we sit down with theatremakers from GIAF 2022 to discuss the making of their shows. Geoff Sobelle’s Home throws open the doors and invites you to a must see moving meditation of the relentless passage of time, and a breath-taking spectacle of illusion, choreography, music and storytelling. Listen to Dr El Pu...

Vinyl Hours is Galway International Arts Festival's music discussion series which takes place live at the festival and here on the First Thought podcast. Join us on an aural journey of musical memories with Galwegian singer-songwriter Anna Mullarkey and host Tiernan Henry. Listen as they delve into Anna's eclectic soundtrack that features the artists that inspire her and her work. Anna Mullarkey's...

Welcome to First Thought Backstage with Galway International Arts Festival, a series where we sit down with theatremakers from GIAF 2022 to discuss the making of their shows. Writer and director Enda Walsh ‘s The First Child invites you to an opera like no other – an experience that takes opera to new realms, where a cast of singers is joined by an actor, a dancer and children in a multi-media ext...

Welcome to First Thought Backstage at Galway International Arts Festival. In this series we get to sit down with theatremakers at GIAF 2022 to discuss the making of their shows. First Thought is presented in association with University of Galway. One of the world’s most celebrated theatre ensembles, Chicago’s Steppenwolf make their much-anticipated return to Galway for the first time in 15 years w...

Welcome to First Thought Backstage at Galway International Arts Festival. In this series we get to sit down with theatremakers at GIAF 2022 to discuss the making of their shows. This is a post show talk of 'From a Low and Quiet Sea ' at Galway International Arts Festival 2022. University of Galway Drama and Theatre Studies Lecturer, Dr Charlotte McIvor, speaks with the cast and director of From a...

Welcome to the official podcast of The Galway International Festival 2022. On the show we’ll have interviews  with guests, take a look behind the scenes of this year’s festival and give all the recommendations and  information you need to enjoy the best of the arts in Galway. Hosted by Andy Gaffney and Orla Higgins.  Episode three is all about spectacle and some other great events you can look for...

Welcome to the official podcast of The Galway International Festival 2022. On the show we’ll have interviews  with guests, take a look behind the scenes of this year’s festival and give all the recommendations and  information you need to enjoy the best of the arts in Galway. Hosted by Andy Gaffney and Orla Higgins.  Episode two is all about theatre -   Founder of Landmark Productions Anne Clarke...

Welcome to the official podcast of The Galway International Festival 2022. On the show we’ll have interviews  with guests, take a look behind the scenes of this year’s festival and give all the recommendations and  information you need to enjoy the best of the arts in Galway. Hosted by Andy Gaffney and Orla Higgins.   Episode one is all about music -   Galway musician and composer Anna Mullarkey j...

How do you stage a large-scale artwork during a global pandemic? Galway International Arts Festival, in association with its education partner NUI Galway, lifts the lid on the making and staging of John Gerrard’s stunning large-scale artwork Mirror Pavilion, Corn Work and Leaf Work, during the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic in this new podcast documentary. Mirror Pavilion, by Irish artist John Gerrar...

Vinyl Hours host Tiernan Henry is joined by award–winning and critically acclaimed musician and composer Philip King for a special live recording of Vinyl Hours, which took place during Galway International Arts Festival 2021. In the episode, Philip shares the songs that have stuck with him throughout his remarkable music and entertainment journey! (available to enjoy on Galway International Arts...