Co club breathes life into oldcastles art scene

Damian McCarney

Lunchtime in Caffrey’s Bar in Oldcastle... and it’s buzzing. Over the din of waitresses fielding orders, Ollie Burns laments that when darkness falls the streets of Oldcastle can fall deathly quiet. While this is the fate of social life of most rural towns since the Tiger lost its roar - it particularly irked Anthony Pakenham and Adrian Garry, who together run Keely’s Lane recording studio and know the musical talent right on their doorsteps.
“Last January and February, it was Tumbleweed Town,” says Ollie, sipping a water while Anthony takes a seat, “like a lot of towns in a lot of counties, there was nothing happening.”
“Rather than give out about there being nothing to go to they [Anthony and Adrian] thought ‘well, we’ve got the equipment, we’ve got the ideas, we’ve got the people we can call on, why don’t we try to run a night?’”
Knowing that Ollie had an interest in the arts, and could complement their input on the music side, they pitched the idea of setting up the Creative Outlet Club (AKA the CO Club) to him.
“I’m from the town itself, and I felt, if there’s something I can do to bring the town back to life, I’m all on for that,” said Ollie.

Original
Anyone who has ever pulled up a bar stool and supped a pint as the artists riff on their other-worldly work, the poets lull you into an intoxicating hypnosis of rhythmic verse and the musicians pitch their creations, knows the once-monthly treat that’s offered in Crean’s’ Bar. After 10 months the format feels fully formed. Ollie recalls that in their first meeting they hit on the key to success: “Let’s try to design a night that we’d love to go to ourselves.
“The other important point was that the music should be original, the art should be original, the poetry should be original. We didn’t want anything regurgitated.”
Hence, when the Celt attended the November CO Club, we enjoyed Brian Mooney strap on his Telecaster for a set veering from anger to tenderness, local poet Peter Fallon recite some of his gorgeous verse, Virginia artist Michelle Boyle discuss the empathy with which she approaches international news stories, as the basis of some of her breathtaking artworks displayed the pub. The night was rounded off by one of this reporter’s favourite singers, Dylan Tighe, who had journeyed up from Dublin.

Smooth
The aspect which sets the CO Club apart from other art nights is that Ollie will conduct live interviews with some of the guests. He’s surprisingly smooth with a mic in his hand, given he’d never done it before the club opened.
“It’s not false looking or prepared,” Anthony says, praising his friend’s interviews. “It’s natural and I think that’s why it sits well with people.”
Although he admits nerves were a factor the first night or two, whether a live interview will work depends on keeping a full pub of revellers engaged.
“There were one or two in the early nights where I did have to call for attention and I hated doing that, so I try to get it [crowd attention] in another way... we always thought it would be brilliant for the dark evenings, the cold evenings and people coming in. During the summer people are out for their Friday night - they are out for their few pints and a bit of craic and we learnt that it’s up to us to make those nights the really jolly, lively nights, so that you’re not going to try to stop people from talking and have a poet up telling a sad poem.”
Trial and error saw them hit upon what Ollie terms as “the magic number” of seven 15-minute slots - three acts who perform twice and then one artist who is interviewed.

Highlights

Asked for a greatest hits of highlights from the ten CO Clubs that have gone before, the musical acts are the first names out. Dublin duo, who recently headlined the Academy, We Cut Corners - “excellent” - Navan piano-playing songwriter Saramai - “people are still talking about her”, Liam McCabe’s two bands, Shouting At Planes and the only band ever allowed a CO Club encore, Heroes in Hiding - “magic.” 

Of the non-musicians performance poet Stephen James Smith was high up the list, as was award-winning film-maker Dave Tynan, and Mountnugent artist Dave Gavin - “mesmerising” - and sculptors Ann Meldon Hugh and Ollie’s brother, wood sculptor Joey Burns.
Many of the guests who participate in the Co Club are from within a 10-mile radius of Oldcastle, which makes the Celt wonder is there something special about the town which means that the format couldn’t be replicated elsewhere?
“I think it can happen anywhere,” says Anthony, who by Ollie’s reckoning is “a fine singer-songwriter”, but has so far refused to grace the CO Club stage.
“All these creative people are walking the same streets as us. You’re passing them every day, but do you really know what they are really like, what they are doing?”
“That’s the idea, it’s the Creative Outlet Club for creative people to come,” emphasises Anthony.
Thus, this week’s CO Club will feature local fashion designer Mary Brady, pianist Paul McCabe from Mountnugent, who will be joined by Serena Dempsey, young Cavan singer/songwriter Áine Cahill and local trad collective, The Cup Of Tea Sessions.

Catch this month’s CO Club in Crean’s Bar, Oldcastle, on Friday, December 19, at 9pm. Free admission; appreciation hat passed around.