Photographer Clare Keogh in Sierra Leone

My good friend, Cork-based photographer Clare Keogh (creator of the excellent book Over the Counter) accompanied Irish Examiner journalist Jennifer Hough to Sierra Leone recently. With the help of the Simon Cumbers Media Fund, they spent ten days in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone to investigate how the country is recovering from a brutal civil war which ended in 2002.

Check out the blog and Clare's amazing photos from the journey here.

Please give 20 seconds to help stop Bundoran mural from being destroyed!

In 2010 the Turf and Surf Hostel in Bundoran commissioned talented artists Mick Minogue and Dan Leo to paint a custom mural on the building. After many a torrential rain shower, blood, sweat and chilblains (it was Donegal in January after all) it was completed, and as you can see from the picture above, it is an impressive and memorable piece of work.

Unfortunately, Donegal County Council have declared that the mural must be painted over in a natural colour before March 1st, much to the horror of the hostel owners, the local community and the artists themselves.

It would be such a shame to let it be turned into just-another-magnolia-coloured hostel without a fight. So please take a few seconds to email Donegal County Council on info@donegalcoco.ie

Look, I even wrote the text you can copy and paste into the body of the email!

Thank you!

Dear Sirs,

It has come to my attention that you have issued an order for the unique mural at the Turf and Surf Hostel in Bundoran to be painted over in a neutral colour before March 1st.

This is a beautiful and original piece of art, and it would be such a shame to destroy it needlessly. It helps to put Bundoran on the map, by drawing attention to an innovative local business which attracts visitors and money into the community on an ongoing basis.

Furthermore, the forward-thinking hostel owners have provided employment to Irish artists and inspired creativity in one of the darkest times in our economic history. They should be applauded, and not penalised, for their innovation.

Please, please reconsider your decision.

Thank you.

Yours Faithfully,

Heaven Sent Massage

My friend Annette worked as a nurse for 10 years before before pursuing a more holistic approach to wellbeing and developing her interest in massage therapy. Now a fully qualified massage therapist based in Freshford, Co. Kilkenny, she provides holistic massage therapy and a mobile massage service in the comfort of your own home.

I've done the hard work and tested out her massage skills myself. It was a tough job but someone had to do it. And I can report that Annette's massages are absolutely amazing, so restful and relaxing you don't want them to end.

Please contact 0879227398 or at annettebarnaville@hotmail.com for more details, or see the Heaven Sent Facebook page.

p.s. Also, I designed the Heaven Sent logo!

The Little Ghost Gallery's Flea Market

My friends at the Little Ghost Gallery in Kilkenny will be hosting the gallery's first flea market this Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th February.

It will be an intimate event with a street party vibe (please bring along some food to share...homebaked cookies go down very well in this location) There will be lots of fabulous goodies to rummage through. And don't forget Monday is Valentine's Day so you might be able to pick up a unique recycled gift for your SO!

Half and Half Exhibition Opening Night!

A few months back Half and Half, aka Lily Reilly and Kevin Corcoran from Cork, invited artists in Ireland and worldwide to collaborate and go half and half...working on a piece together or starting and finishing half each.


The opening night in The Vineyard Bar, 4 Market Lane (just off Patrick St by Burger King), Cork City will celebrate this exciting exhibition of collaborative artwork along with live music from local musicians. Admission is free and all are welcome.


Artwork can be viewed in The Vineyard until Friday 22 October.

www.eleanorreilly.com

My website www.eleanorreilly.com is finally live! A huge thanks to web developer Dani Moya for all his help.

OFFSET 2010

The Electric Picnic of the design world, OFFSET is an annual 3 day creative conference in Dublin. Now based in the Grand Canal Theatre, the gathering takes place from 1-3 October. This year promises presentations by legends such as David Carson, George Lois, Gary Baseman, Studio AKA, Scott Dadich, Emily Fogot, M&E, Mark Farrow and many, many more. This is pretty exciting stuff. I can't wait!

To bump shoulders with creative royalty grab your early bird ticket before Saturday 25th September. (Student/unwaged/group rate reductions tickets also available) See the website for more details.