Macnas introduces Con Mór 2022
Pictured is good friend of CON MÓR Ed Graham aged 12 from Scoil Róis Primary school.
By Isabel Filby
Macnas are back with Con Mór.
Con Mór, The Giant has been installed at Fisheries Field, near the University of Galway recently.
This year Macnas are inviting the public to see Con Mór for only 48 hours over the Halloween Weekend.
Famed for making giants in both familiar and unexpected landscapes around the world, this year Macnas will bring the action to Galway with Con Mór emerging for the first time.
The Bank Holiday weekend will also see pop-up performances from the Macnas Drummers, Macnas Brass, Macnas Youth Theatre and Macnas Stilt Ensemble across the city, made up of performers and participants from the education and public participation programme.
About the Con Mór project
A team of local and international talent have come together to bring Con Mór, The Giant to life, with Director Noeline Kavanagh joined by Co-Designers Paul McDonnell and Dave Young, Lighting & Special Effects Designer Richard Babington, Costumer Designer Cherie White and Composer & Sound Designer Mathew Berrill, as well as local structural steel engineers Pat Rynn Engineering Ltd.
Con Mór belongs to the Tuatha Dé Danann tribe. He is said to come from an ancient Island of Giants off the coast of Connaught. Con Mór was so famous across Ireland for his love of birds and nature, that he used to be referred to as The Bird King.
To help welcome Con Mór to Galway, Macnas is asking kids to make or find a feather – with a message of hope for the future – and deliver it to him at Macnas over the Halloween Bank Holiday, between 12 noon to 8pm.
Macnas
Macnas was founded in Galway in 1986 by Páraic Breathnach, Tom Conroy, Ollie Jennings and Pete Sammon.
The award-winning, internationally acclaimed group’s repertoire includes parades, theatre shows, installations, film and performance art. Any site can be a stage: city streets, GAA clubs, disused warehouses, bogs, mountains, car parks and sheds.
Macnas is made up of a group of freelance artists, including engineers, musicians, sculptors, filmmakers, performers and more.
They engage with the public year round with a full participatory program including the Macnas Youth Theatre , Macnas Drumming and Macnas Brass.
The organisation has even been curating an education programme with freelance artists in partnership with community groups, primary and third level institutions.
Their ambition is to deliver the highest quality work in large-scale theatre spectacle, and interactive outdoor and indoor performance, supported by strategic and effective corporate governance.
Halloween Parade 2023
Macnas will light up the streets of Galway once again in 2023, with the world-famous Macnas parade scheduled to make its return at Halloween next year.
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