Irish Arts Center Presents World Premiere Arts Events

Poems and Songs of the Great War will feature singer-songwriter Declan O'ROURKE, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul MULDOON, and historian and broadcaster Myles DUNGAN in three special evenings of music, poetry, and memory inspired by "The War to End All Wars" at Irish Arts Center (553 West 51st Street, New York) on November 19th, 20th, and 21st at 8 pm.

Narrated by Myles Dungan, the evening combines original compositions by O'Rourke and Muldoon, along with the poetry of Owen, Hardy, Kipling, Heaney, Longley and Ledwidge, with music from the trenches and songs of loss and longing by Ivor Novello (Keep The Home Fires Burning), Eric Bogle (And the Band played Waltzing Matilda), and other composers. In the lead up to the centennial year of the Easter Rising, O'Rourke, Dungan and Muldoon, go against the grain and discuss a lesser-known aspect of this period in Irish history. While many are aware of Ireland's struggles for independence at home, they might not be aware that more than 250,000 Irish men were fighting in battlefields around the world.

The Great War, lasting over four years, saw the end of multiple empires and it re-drew the map of Europe and the Middle East. It saw over 16 million casualties, and this profound loss resulted in some of the most beautiful and sorrowful poetry and music ever created. Declan O'Rourke and Paul Muldoon will perform some of their favorite works from this tumultuous time in history while renowned historian Myles Dungan engages the audience with the context behind each piece.

TICKETS:

Poems and Songs of the Great War with Declan O'Rourke, Paul Muldoon, and Myles Dungan

Thursday, November 19th | 8 pm

Friday, November 20th | 8 pm

Saturday, November 21st | 8 pm

Irish Arts Center, 553 West 51st Street, New York, NY

Tickets from $23 are available online at www.irishartscenter.org or by calling 866-811- 4111.

Described by Dungan as "'the war that shaped the world we live in,' Poems and Songs of the Great War will confront the complexity and nuances of this era by giving the audience a historical context behind some of their favorite songs and poems, allowing them to comprehend the butterfly effect WW1 had on everyday lives."

ABOUT DECLAN O'ROURKE

Declan O'Rourke is a critically acclaimed singer and songwriting from Dublin. In 2013, O'Rourke released his third studio album, Mag Pai Zai, which made it into The Irish Times' "101 Irish Albums to Hear Before You Die." Mag Pai Zai garnered critical acclaim from such national media outlets as the The Wall Street Journal, American Songwriter, NPR's World Café, USA Today and Mountain Stage. Last year, O'Rourke released a new digital-only track every month for free through his mailing list and social media platforms. He called the project Howlin' Lowly Moons, releasing some of the best recordings of his career directly to his fans. O'Rourke releases his fourth studio album Gold Bars in the Sun this October, largely composed of the Howlin' Lowly Moons songs, gathered together for the first time in a beautifully-packaged CD and vinyl. Also a first, the new album will be exclusively sold through Declan's website.

Additionally, sponsored by Irish Arts Center, Declan O'Rourke will perform concerts in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, North Carolina, and more! Details will be announced on Irishartscenter.org.

ABOUT PAUL MULDOON

Muldoon, who became the poetry editor for The New Yorker in 2007, won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his 2002 collection Moy Sand and Gravel (2002), which also earned him the Griffin International Prize for Excellence in Poetry. He has won numerous other awards, including the 1997 Irish Times Poetry Prize, the 2004 American Ireland Fund Literary Award, the 2004 Shakespeare Prize, the 2005 Aspen Prize for Poetry, and the 2006 European Prize for Poetry. Muldoon's current band, the Wayside Shrines, has recorded and released thirteen of the lyrics included in Muldoon's collection of rock lyrics, Word on the Street.

ABOUT MYLES DUNGAN

Myles Dungan is an Irish broadcaster and author. He has presented many arts programs on RTÉ Radio, and has also been a sports broadcaster on RTÉ Television.He has worked as a reporter for RTÉ Television and RTÉ Radio.[2] He has presented programmes such as Five Seven Live, The Arts Show and Rattlebag on RTÉ Radio 1. In 1988, he won a Jacob's Award for his radio series, Vietnam. In May 2006, Dungan received a Fulbright Scholar Award for academic study in the United States. He undertook a research project at the University of California in Berkeley, California on Irish-Native American history.

ABOUT IRISH ARTS CENTER

IRISH ARTS CENTER, founded in 1972, is a New York-based arts and cultural center dedicated to projecting a dynamic image of Ireland and Irish America for the 21st century, building community with artists and audiences of all backgrounds, forging and strengthening cross-cultural partnerships, and preserving the evolving stories and traditions of Irish culture for generations to come. Our multi-disciplinary programming is centered around three core areas: Performance - including live music, dance, theatre, film, literature, and the humanities; Exhibition - including visual arts presentations and cultural exhibitions that tell the evolving Irish story; and Education - with dozens of classes per week in Irish language, history, music, and dance. Located in New York City, a world capital of arts and culture, Irish Arts Center serves as a dynamic platform for top emerging and established artists and cultural creators to reach a New York, national, and global audience, and as a gateway for other institutions to access first-rate Irish and Irish American culture. www.irishartscenter.org

Poems and Songs of the Great War is funded, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council;

Culture Ireland, the agency for the promotion of Irish arts worldwide; and generous individual donors and foundations.