Nato in Nord Irlanda

Molti famosti attori, poeti, scrittori e calciatori sono nati nelle Sei Contee dell'Ulster che compongono il Nordirlanda.

Iniziamo con un attore famoso in tutto il mondo...

Liam Neeson, nato a Ballymena (co Antrim)

[Modificato da =Donegal= 27/08/2006 18.48]

William John Neeson nasce in una famiglia cattolica della working class di Ballymena, Co Antrim, il 7 giugno 1952.

Il suo sogno di diventare macellaio si interrompe all'eta di 11 anni, quando la sua insegnante di inglese gli offre il ruolo principale in una recita scolastica.

A nove anni entra nell'All Saints' Youth Club, dove prativa con successo la boxe. Il naso rotto durante un incontro diventerà un segno distintivo di Neeson.

Diciassettenne entra nella Slemish Players di Ballymena e debutta in Philadelphia, Here I Come. Per la sua interpretazione vince la statuetta per il miglior attore nel prestigioso Larne Drama Festival.

Si trasferisce a Hollywood nel 1987 e, dopo la partecipazione in piccole produzioni, viene notato da Steven Spielberg che gli offre il ruolo di Oscar Schindler in "Schindler's List", che gli vale la nomination come migliore attore agli Oscar.

Partecipa ad oltre 60 film (• filmografia >>), tra i quali ricordiamo Michael Collins, Rob Roy e Star Wars - Episodio I.

[Modificato da jay.ren 27/08/2006 18.59]

Quella foto l'ho già vista da qualche parte...
Altre interpretazioni che mi sono piaciute, anche se non da protagonista, sono state quelle in "Batman Begins" e in "Le crociate".


Biografia da IMDB
Irish-born Neeson worked as a forklift operator for Guinness, truck driver, assistant architect and an amateur boxer. He had originally sought a career as a teacher by attending St. Mary's Teaching College in Belfast. However, in 1976, Neeson joined the Belfast Lyric Players' Theater and made his professional acting debut in the play "The Risen People". After two years, Neeson moved to Dublin's Abbey Theater where he performed the classics. It was here that he was spotted by director John Boorman and was cast in the film Excalibur (1981), which dealt with the Arthurian legend. From there, he acted in a number of average films and Television Mini-series until he gained notice for his role as the mute in Suspect (1987). Neeson did not play the lead in a movie until he appeared in Darkman (1990). Good performances in Leap of Faith (1992) and Husbands and Wives (1992) led to Neeson being picked for the role of Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List (1993). For this role, Neeson was nominated for the Academy Award and the Golden Globe. In 1993, he made his Broadway debut in "Anna Christie" in which he co-starred with Natasha Richardson. For his role in this play, Neeson was nominated for a Tony. When he returned to the big screen, Neeson again co-starred with Richardson in the Jodie Foster movie Nell (1994). In the next 2 years, Neeson played characters close to his roots when he was the eighteenth century Scottish Highlander Rob Roy (1995) and the Irish revolutionary leader Michael Collins (1996).

Stephen Rea nasce a Belfast il 31 ottobre 1946, in una famiglia nazionalista. E' laureato alla Queen University di Belfast.

Ha prestato la propria voce ai membri dello Sinn Fein durante il "broadcasting ban" della BBC, voluto da Margareth Thatcher, quando non era permesso far ascoltare le voci dei parlamentari repubblicani in televisione.

Ha studiato alla Abbey Theatre School di Dublino. Per il film The Crying Game è stato nominato agli Oscar del cinema. Ha collaborato spesso con il regista Neil Jordan.

Per il contributo fornito al teatro irlandese, ha ricevuto la laurea onoraria sia dalla Queen's University di Belfast che dall'University of Ulster nel 2004.

Breve filmografia

* V for Vendetta (2006)
* River Queen (2005)
* Tara Road (2005)
* Breakfast on Pluto (2005)
* Bloom (2003)
* The i Inside (2003)
* Copenhagen (2002) (TV)
* FeardotCom (2002)
* The Musketeer (2001)
* The End of the Affair (1999)
* Guinevere (1999)
* The Butcher Boy (1997)
* Fever Pitch (1997)
* Michael Collins (1996)
* Citizen X (1995) (TV)
* Prêt-à-Porter (1994)
* Interview with the Vampire (1994)
* Princess Caraboo (1994)
* Hedda Gabler (1993) (TV)
* The Crying Game (1992)
* Life Is Sweet (1990)
* The Company of Wolves (1984)
* Crossroads (1964) (TV series)

• Filmografia completa >>

Che aggiungere?

[Modificato da admin/moris 27/08/2006 20.24]

Il musicista irlandese è nato a Derry

Sono tra i padri del punk europeo, una band fondamentale per conoscere meglio la musica fine anni '70




BIOGRAFIA

The Undertones emerged from Derry in Northern Ireland in the whole punk / ‘mew wave’ boom of ’77 / ’78. They had actually formed in 1975 – the time-honoured five mates who played cover versions in youth clubs. The line up featured the talented O’Neill brothers – John and Damian on guitars, Michael Bradley on bass, Billy Doherty the drums, and on vocals Feargal Sharkey.

Like countless others, punk rock fired their imagination, and gave shape and direction to their material. A love of Garage bands as heard on the seminal Lenny Kaye compilation ‘Nuggets’ helped formulate their predilection for songs with strong chorus hooks, keeping songs short, economical and dynamic.

It wasn’t until 1978 that their pop fizz bombs were finally preserved on vinyl, with the classic debut single ‘Teenage Kicks’, released originally on the Good Vibrations label. The song so enamoured influential Radio One deejay John Peel that he announced it to be his ‘favourite record of all time’, and played the single incessantly. "Teenage Kicks" has subsequently come to be considered one of the best rock songs of all time.

The Undertones shared a musical commonality with The Ramones in the USA and The Buzzcocks in England, wherein their songs were distilled to an addictive core, but still finding time for lyrical invention and musical flair.

Signing to The Ramones label, Sire, the bands eponymous debut album and its follow-up, ‘Hypnotised’, showed that ‘Teenage Kicks’ was no mere fluke. On ‘Hypnotised’, the band even spoofed label mates Talking Heads second album, ‘More Songs About Buildings and Food’ with the song ‘More Songs about Chocolate and Girls’, showing that there was a knowing wit at work amongst the addictive choruses and chunky riffing. The band earned a reputation as a ‘singles’ act par excellence, with cracking 45s such as ‘Here Comes The Summer’, ‘You’ve Got My Number (Why Don’t You Use It)’, and ‘My Perfect Cousin’.

Subsequent albums, such as ‘Positive Touch’ and ‘The Sin of Pride’ showed a band with an increasing mastery of studio technique, and a greater feel for song arrangement and structure. Sadly, internal tensions within the band reached breaking point, with the result, that singer Feargal Sharkey departed, to pursue a solo career, and the O’Neill brothers formed the highly regarded and popular That Petrol Emotion.

However, in 1999, The Undertones reconvened to play some shows in Derry, without Sharkey, his role being taken by Paul McLoone whose electric onstage presence more than make's up for Sharkey’s absence. It was like the band never split; they were rapturously received. The old classics were as fresh and their live performances as exhilarating as in 1979 with the new songs receiving a positive reaction from audiences and critics alike. They are now playing selective shows around the globe, attracting old fans, and many younger fans intrigued to have an opportunity to see one of the major influences on the new wave of pop/punk bands such as Sum41, The Hives and Green Day etc. As well as performing live the Undertones have also recorded and released an album of new material , "Get what you need" plus a "best of" , both albums were released in the autumn of 2003 and received unanimous critical acclaim. A DVD , "The story of the undertones", will be released in January 2004.



THE UNDERTONES (second verse)
The Undertones newly recorded LP, 'Get What You Need', was released by Sanctuary on October 6th 2003. The album's an absolute delight, a true, bona-fide Undertones record which manages to simultaneously roll back the years and move forward to the present.




Mickey Bradley wrote the original Undertones' Biog back in 1978. It was hand written and we printed it on green paper so that it would stand out. It made perfect sense for Mickey to write the biog for this Mark 2 version of The Undertones. Sadly, in this new technological age, it's not hand written this time nor is it printed on green paper.
“In May 1983 Feargal Sharkey decided he had had enough as the singer with Undertones. Within minutes, the bass player, drummer and two guitarists decided they had had enough as well.

Feargal went on to much success with his solo career. John O'Neill and his brother Damian went on to critical, (though not commercial) success with That Petrol Emotion. Bass player Michael Bradley became a bicycle courier, with much success in avoiding the traffic in London. Eventually he returned to Derry and became a radio producer with the local BBC station. Billy Doherty continued
drumming in Derry, and formed the Carrelines with singer Paul McLoone.

By summer 1983 , The Undertones existed only as a back catalogue of four albums and thirteen singles. In November 1999 a multimedia arts venue in Derry was due to open. The Nerve Centre was home to musicians and artists who were beginning to realise that you didn't have to leave Derry to do good work. It was suggested that The Undertones should be asked to reform to open the live venue.

The idea didn't come completely out of the blue. A few months earlier, as part of the Galway Arts Festival, four of the original band (minus Feargal) were guests of the Saw Doctors at an outdoor show, to join in the encores of "Teenage Kicks" and "Get Over You".
Later that night, the four played seven songs with various guest singers in a hotel bar. When the Nerve Centre offer came, the four Undertones decided to ask Paul McLoone to join.

From initially being a one off (two off actually, as they needed to put on an extra show the following night at the Nerve Centre), the project developed on a piece by piece, part time venture. Paul McLoone quickly fitted in with the rest of the band. It wasn't surprising as they knew of him through various encounters in the previous decade.

Careful to avoid offers to join punk nostalgia tours, The Undertones took their time in deciding how far the reunion should go. By December 2001, the first new songs began to emerge. Written by John O'Neill, they were introduced at another Nerve Centre show as being cover versions, as a precaution. Just in case they weren't well received. By the following December, the band had finished a full album of songs, recorded in Derry's Blast Furnace studio, an offshoot of the Nerve Centre.

Along side those songs written by John O'Neill, Michael Bradley provided a further four. The Undertones style of short songs, with tunes, has been the basis for the album. The band decided it would be hard to go wrong with the usual ingredients of guitars, drums, backing vocals and a great singer. New technology did make its presence felt, with the use of sampled guitars under, in the middle of, and sometimes on top of the records.

One of the songs was heard by a friend of a friend of Damian's who worked in the Rough Trade shop in London. He asked if he could issue "Thrill Me" as a one off single on 7" vinyl on the Four Us Label. At the same time, the band approached John Peel about recording a session for his Radio One show.

Two years previously, Peel had interviewed the band for a documentary film which is soon to come out as part of an Undertones DVD. During one discussion, the idea of a new session arose. At the time, the band hadn't written any new material and jokingly dismissed the idea. In an article written in The Guardian when the film was shown at the London Film Festival, John Peel said he was glad the offer wasn't taken up, as he liked the idea that that the band weren't trying to revive their music business careers.

So when the band made enquiries to Radio One in 2003 , it was with some hesitation. Happily, the new songs were well received. A few weeks later, when the "Thrill Me" single reached John Peel's turntable, he introduced it on his show commenting:
"And these are words which I'd never thought I'd be saying on the radio again, a new single from The Undertones".
One night, he played "Thrill Me" twice, back to back. He did the same thing 25 years ago with "Teenage Kicks".

Michael Bradley

Snow Patrol are:

Gary Lightbody - Vocals and Guitar
Nathan Connolly - Guitar and Backing Vocals
Paul Wilson- Bass and Backing Vocals
Tom Simpson - Samples and Keys
Jonny Quinn - Drums

"There are swaggering bands, bands who are in your face. And then there are bands who get hold of you somewhere else. I think it’s a heart thing, an intimacy thing. Like you know them and they know you. I think we are one of those bands."

So says Snow Patrol singer and chief songwriter Gary Lightbody. And all the proof you’ll need is Snow Patrol’s new album "Eyes Open”, a collection of songs which more than makes good on the promise of it’s predecessor, 2004’s two million selling Final Straw.

Recorded during a hectic 2005, "Eyes Open” is the work of a band who have scaled the heights supporting U2 through Europe, appearing at Live 8 in both Hyde Park and Scotland but somehow stuck to their core values: beautiful powerful songs underscored by some of the most poignant and telling lyrics in rock.

"It’s been an amazing couple of years. But when it came to writing the new album we were quite monastic. It was a question of "We’ve had our fun. None of that counts now. Don’t look back admiringly at your own footprints. It’s all lost unless this next step is truly exceptional."

And so in February 2005, Snow Patrol convened in Dingle on the west coast of Ireland. Drummer Jonny Quinn knew the area well and convinced the band the remote cottage once used by Kate Bush would best channel the Snow Patrol spirit. "I read meaning into everything." Says Lightbody. "And yes, the studio was on a cliff edge with the sea crashing just beneath." And it was from these early writing sessions that ‘Eyes Open’ began it’s journey to completion, via recording sessions in Kent and Grouse Lodge, Ireland.

Snow Patrol have been up against it before. It’s two years now since their unforgettable anthem of love and longing "Run" was released, reaching number five in the UK charts and propelling "Final Straw" to number three – going on to sell 1.2 million in the UK alone, and winning them an Ivor Novello for Best Album of 2005. After ten years together it was the culmination of years of faith and hard work. "I defy any band not to be a bit shell shocked." Says guitarist Nathan Connolly. "The world decides they like you and suddenly your heroes are in the audience. Michael Stipe was very nice to us at the Isle of Wight festival. But we have our own checks and balances. We know when we’re at our best". "We’re quite hard on ourselves" adds Lightbody. "Snow Patrol wouldn’t be what it is if we didn’t have that inner core of self-criticism and without wanting to sound like some kind of self-flagellating monk, a truthfulness and an honesty."

Lightbody and drummer Jonny Quinn are from Belfast and it's environs but the band began when Gary met former bass Mark McClelland (who parted company with the band in 2005) met at Dundee University in 1994. In 1997 they released an EP as Polar Bear on Electric Honey records in Glasgow. They were then picked up by Jeepster records, changed their name to Snow Patrol and released two albums – 1998’s "Songs For Polar Bears" and 2001’s "When It's All Over We Still Have To Clear Up". In 2003 they signed to Polydor/Fiction Records and began work on “Final Straw” with Garret "Jacknife" Lee, honing their distinctive and evocative sound.

"Once we’d found him we really couldn’t consider anyone else. He’s like a band member. He knows what we can do and he won’t let us go to bed or crack open a beer until we’ve done it." Lee returned to produce "Eyes Open”. The first thing he did was sit down with Lightbody and apply a rigorous critical eye to the demos accumulated over more than two years. The exponential leap in the Snow Patrol’s ideas and sound was soon evident.

The album’s driving opener "You’re All I Have” thrums with bold power. Then there is the stunning guest vocal of Martha Wainwright on "Set The Fire To The Third Bar”. Lightbody wrote the song towards the end of the album sessions and thought it would fit Wainwright’s voice perfectly. By chance she was touring Ireland at the time. "I’m not a great believer in fate." Says Lightbody. "But when someone called to say "She’s here, in this country and she wants to sing it, that was definitely "a moment”.

Listen too for the choir of Celtic indie elite (which includes Eugene Kelly, Charlie Clarke, Jenny Reeve and Iain Archer), who appear on four tracks and the keyboard contributions of Posies /Big Star and REM live player Ken Stringfellow.

The hymn-like electronica of the album’s closing track "Finish Line” is another departure but it’s on the stunning "Chasing Cars” that the album’s inner spirit resides. "That’s the most pure and open love song I’ve ever written." Says Lightbody.

What you hear on "Eyes Open” is the sound of a band playing at the height of their powers. Hardly surprising since the band have spent the best part of the last two and a half years on the road. But also, they have added a new dimension in two new members. In February 2005 bassist Mark McClelland left the band. Multi-instrumentalist Paul Wilson, a long time friend and regular member of their live line-up, took his place. "In terms of songwriting he’s like having a spare brain." laughs Lightbody. "You think 'Why can't we do that?”, and then Paul can. He's given this album something extra." And completing the new five-piece line up is Tom Simpson. His keyboard and programming skills have been complimenting the band on the road for some time and now a permanent member, his addition in the studio adds yet another element to “Eyes Open”.

"Eyes Open” is Snow Patrol's post card from the cliff edge, and it’s message is one that has connected. On release at the start of May 2006, the album went straight to the top of the album charts in the UK and Ireland, giving the band their first number one record, while the first singles from it ‘You’re All I Have’ (in the UK) and ‘Hands Open’ (in the USA) have given the band massive airplay hits on both sides of the Atlantic. Sold out tours of the UK, Europe and America have all been completed to great acclaim, and Eyes Open is the band’s most successful record to date in the UK, America and all around the world.

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Scritto da: admin/moris 27/08/2006 20.23

[Modificato da admin/moris 27/08/2006 20.24]

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Mitico Eddie! Mi ricordo di quando dopo la prima vittoria in carriera disse ai giornalisti "nelle prossime 3 settimane festeggerò con gli amici facendo il giro di tutti i pub d'Irlanda".

Kenneth Branagh, attore e regista nato a Belfast

[Modificato da =Donegal= 27/08/2006 21.29]

altri figli punk del Nord Irlanda...se gli Undertones erano i Ramones di Derry, gli Stiff Little Fingers erano i Clash di Belfast



"se i Clash potevano cantare di com'era essere un ragazzo a Londra, perchè noi non potevamo cantare di com'era essere un ragazzo a Belfast?" (Jake Burns)



Jake Burns - guitar & vocals
Henry Cluney - guitar
Ali MacMordie - bass
Brian Falloon - drums



una delle mie canzoni degli Stiff preferite:

At the edge

Back when I was younger they were talking at me
Never listened to a word I said
Always yap yap yapping and complaining at me
Made me think I'd be better off dead
I don't want to talk about it
I don't want to hear no lip
Take your share don't shout about it
That's your lot remember you're a kid

They would always teach me that to swear was a sin
Always speak your mind but not aloud
Think of something that you want to do with your life
Nothing that you like that's not allowed
I've no time to talk about it
All your stupid hopes and dreams
Get your feet back on the ground son
It's exams that count no football teams

And I'm running at the edge of their world
They're criticising something they just can't understand
Living on the edge of their town
And I won't be shot down

Taught me to defend myself and to be a man
How to kick someone and run away
Gave me everything that any young man could need
But don't understand why I won't stay
Here's your room and here's your records
Here's your home and here you'll stay
Here's somewhere I don't believe in
Wish someone would take it all away

And I'm running at the edge of their world
They're criticising something they just can't understand
Living on the edge of their town
And I won't be shot down

[Modificato da billingham 27/08/2006 21.47]

Non ho inserito nella lista i cantanti perché sennò ci sarebbe un elenco molto lungo

R

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Scritto da: jay.ren 27/08/2006 22.02
Non ho inserito nella lista i cantanti perché sennò ci sarebbe un elenco molto lungo

R

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Beh... ad onor del vero abbiamo citato qualcosa che va oltre al concetto generico di "cantanti".
Tutta gente irlandese che ha fatto cose artisticamente più significative di una Britney Spears qualsiasi

mmm... riprovo

ho volutamente escluso coloro che gravitano intorno al mondo delle sette note, variamente disposte a formare differenti melodie ed accompagnate, a volte, da parole.

Clive Staples Lewis nasce nel 1898 a Belfast, Irlanda.
Nel 1908 i genitori e il fratello maggiore muoiono, conseguentemente è costretto a vivere e studiare in numerosi collegi.
Nel 1917 vince una borsa di studio per l'University College of Oxford, dove studia fino alla chiamata alle armi.
Tornato ad Oxford dopo la fine della guerra, nel 1923 si laurea in Lingua e Letteratura Inglese col massimo dei voti. Tuttavia, e nonostante i brillanti risultati ottenuti nello studio dei classici, è preso da una passione smodata per l'Occultismo. S'imbeve allora di Filosofia Ermetica, la cui influenza si ritroverà più tardi nella sua opera.
Nel 1924 - e per i successivi 29 anni - insegna Lingua e Letteratura Inglese ad Oxford. Inizia intanto a comporre narrativa mitica in versi in Dymer (1926), opera poetica basata su sequenze metriche arcaiche riproposte però con notevole virtuosismo.
Nel 1929 abbandona l'ateismo degli anni giovanili e si converte all'anglicanesimo. Invero la conversione alla Fede Cristiana, fu causata dalla profonda amicizia con quel fervente cattolico e, forse, più famoso amico, che fu J.R.R. Tolkien. Con lo stesso ardore che aveva dedicato alle ricerche ermetiche, Lewis si mette allora a propagandare la Fede espressa nella Bibbia: opere come The Pilgrim's Regress (1933), The Problem of Pain (1940), A Preface to Paradise Lost (1942), Christian Behaviour (1943), Beyond Personality: the Christian Idea of God (1944) e The Four Love (1958) ne sono l'evidente risultato e susciteranno l'ammirazione di lettori d'eccezione come Karol Wojtyla e Joseph Ratzinger. Scrive anche penetranti saggi critici come The Allegory of Love (1936) - fondamentale contributo alla comprensione della poesia amorosa medievale, e Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature (pubblicato postumo nel 1966), e l'autobiografia Surprised by Joy (1955).
Nel 1933 entra a far parte del circolo The Inklinks (i Sommessi), di cui erano membri anche Tolkien e Ch. Williams.
Nel 1954 è nominato docente di Storia della Letteratura Medievale e Rinascimentale presso il Magdalene College di Cambridge.
Nel 1957 sposa, in ospedale, la poetessa americana Helen Joy Gresham. La donna è affetta di cancro osseo e morirà tre anni dopo. Il dolore causato dalla morte dell'amata porterà l'autore a scrivere il diario A Grief Observed (1961). Poche altre volte uno scrittore si era offerto così apertamente alla fragilità umana; nudo ed indifeso all'occhio del lettore!
Ma Lewis va ricordato anche (e soprattutto) per il suo capolavoro fantasy per ragazzi - i sette racconti lunghi che compongono le Chronicles of Narnia (1950-1956) - e per l'essere stato il fondatore di un nuovo genere letterario: la fantateologia. I suoi romanzi fantasy 'per adulti' infatti, pur non essendo di propaganda religiosa, illustrano molto bene le idee teologiche dell'autore: la trilogia composta da Out of the Silent Planet (1938), Voyage to Venus (1943) e That Hideous Strength (1945), è un ampio affresco sull'eterna lotta tra le forze del Bene e le forze del Male - che qui si combatte a livello interplanetario, prima su Marte (Malacandra nei romanzi), poi su Venere (Perelandra), infine sulla Terra (Thulcandra) - in cui «si trova di tutto, dalle grandi passioni Umane alla scoperta dell'Assoluto».
The Screwtape Letters (1942) e Screwtape Proposes a Toast (pubblicato postumo nel 1965) narrano invece, in forma epistolare e con sottile ironia, i falliti tentativi del diavolo Berlicche di istruire il nipote Malacoda nell'arte della tentazione. Questa sorta di geniale catechismo rovesciato fu letto ed apprezzato da don Giovanni Calabrese (il futuro santo) che ne rimase colpito al punto da instaurare con Lewis un rapporto epistolare protrattosi fino al 1954. Ne nascerà una splendida corrispondenza, scritta interamente in latino, e meritoriamente pubblicata in Italia nel volume, con traduzione italiana a fronte, Una Gioia Insolita (1954).
L'autore muore di cancro a Cambridge nel 1963.

• C.S. Lewis Foundation >>

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Scritto da: askatasuna 27/08/2006 22.23

...e che moglie...

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Sposato da molti anni con Dolours Price, ex-membro dell'IRA, in servizio attivo in Inghilterra negli anni '70.

Il 15 novembre 1973 Dolours Price, insieme alla sorella Marion, a Hugh Feeney e Gerard Kelly, cominciano uno sciopero della fame affinché venga riconosciuto il diritto di scontare la pena in Irlanda del Nord. Le due sorelle subiranno l'alimentazione forzata per 166 giorni, mentre i due uomini per 205.

[Modificato da jay.ren 27/08/2006 22.36]

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Scritto da: jay.ren 27/08/2006 22.15
mmm... riprovo

ho volutamente escluso coloro che gravitano intorno al mondo delle sette note, variamente disposte a formare differenti melodie ed accompagnate, a volte, da parole.

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Mhh... si si, già...i cantanti sono tanti, non citiamoli se no l'elenco sarebbe troppo lungo e il topic ha un numero limitato di pagine...



Proseguirei ricordando altri "allegri guitti canterini" :
gli ASH

La loro miglior referenza sono le parole del trombone Paisley che nel 1997 disse di loro "sono un cattivo esempio per la gioventù del Nordirlanda". La loro fottutissima colpa era quella di avere un ottimo seguito in entrambe le comunità.

[Modificato da admin/moris 27/08/2006 22.42]

* Seamus Ball - Attore
* Amanda Burton - Attrice
* Willie Carson - Foto cronista e giornalista.
* Joyce Cary - Scrittore
* Phil Coulter - Cantautore
* Seamus Deane - Scrittore
* Roma Downey - Attrice
* John Duddy - Pugile
* Bronagh Gallagher - Attrice e cantante
* Neil Hannon - Frontman de The Divine Comedy.
* Martin O'Neill - Ex-manager del Celtic Football Club

Seamus Heaney



Nato a Derry
Poeta, scrittore e letterario.
Premio Nobel per la letteratura nel 1995


Seamus Heaney, nasce nel 1939 a Derry da una famiglia cattolica. Nel 1976 si stabilisce a Dublino dove insegna letteratura inglese fino al 1984, anno in cui è chiamato dall’Università di Harvard a insegnare discipline classiche (rhetoric and oratory).
Nel 1989 vince la cattedra di poesia a Oxford. Nobel nel 1995, come poeta, viene considerato un esponente del regionalismo letterario, con un forte richiamo alle tradizioni, alla terra, al mito delle origini.

Nella raccolta di saggi Preoccupazioni, riferendosi alla propria poesia scrive: “penso alle tematiche personali e irlandesi come fossero le vocali e la consapevolezza letteraria nutrita dall’inglese le consonanti”. Alla sua opera prima Deat of a Naturalist (1966) seguirono Door into the dark (1969), Wintering out (1972), North (1975).
Con Field work (1979) avvenne una svolta nella sua poesia. Station Island (1984) raccolta di poesie che prende il nome da un luogo di pellegrinaggio cattolico nella contea di Donegal. Viaggio allegorico narrato attraverso una polifonia di voci.
Il poema è inteso come uno scontro tra due imperativi: restare fedele all’esperienza storica collettiva, o mantener fede alla propria soggettività.

L’incontro con le ombre della sua vita personale che appartenevano alla realtà irlandese: l’archeologo, il militante dell’IRA, Joyce stesso, dovevano “articolare le rivendicazioni dell’ortodossia e la necessità di respingere quelle stesse rivendicazioni”.
Tra gli anni 70 e 80, quando le tensioni politiche tra cattolici e gli ultra unionisti erano all’apice, il poeta affascinato dal ritrovamento archeologico di corpi di duemila anni fa scoperti mummificati nelle torbe danesi con chiari segni di morte violenta, compone poesie come “The tollund man” (in “Wintering out”) nelle quali associa il destino delle vittime sacrificali dell’età del ferro ai ‘martiri’ politici dell’Irlanda del Nord. Opere che sollevarono numerose critiche: si pensi al giudizio di Neil Corcoran, che giudicava equivoche tali mitologie.

La migliore poesia di Heaney è quella lirica, che riprende la freschezza e il diretto contatto con la natura e l’antica tradizione gaelica. Del 1991 è “Seeing things”, in cui è un ritorno vigoroso alla fisicità, alla fedeltà a “the grain of things”, alla venatura e alla fibra stessa del mondo.

[Modificato da admin/moris 27/08/2006 22.40]

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Scritto da: jay.ren 27/08/2006 22.25

Sposato da molti anni con Dolours Price, ex-membro dell'IRA, in servizio attivo in Inghilterra negli anni '70.

Il 15 novembre 1973 Dolours Price, insieme alla sorella Marion, a Hugh Feeney e Gerard Kelly, cominciano uno sciopero della fame affinché venga riconosciuto il diritto di scontare la pena in Irlanda del Nord. Le due sorelle subiranno l'alimentazione forzata per 166 giorni, mentre i due uomini per 205.

[Modificato da jay.ren 27/08/2006 22.36]

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Ma dai... questa non la sapevo proprio!
Il buon Stephen sarà stato ben felice allora di interpretare Ned Broy, anche se nel film per ragioni di copione gli fanno fare una brutta fine (in realtà invece non lo beccarono mai e divenne capo della polizia del Free State).

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Scritto da: admin/moris 27/08/2006 22.36
* Phil Coulter - Cantautore

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autore dell'inno della nazionale di rugby irlandese "Ireland's Call"

Van Morrison è nato a Belfast nell'agosto 1945

Non è un cantante... peggio : è diventato famoso come DJ (ovvove !)... Massì, mettiamolo lo stesso, non sarà la sua volgare presenza a mandare a quel paese lo spirito intellettuale del topic




David Holmes

David Holmes è un DJ nordirlandese, musicista e compositore. Holmes è nato il 14 febbraio 1969, ultimo di dieci figli.

Holmes inizia a fare il DJ nei pub della nativa Belfast all'età di 15 anni. Il suo primo brano di successo è stato "DeNiro", con Ashley Beedle, nel 1992. Nella prima metà degli anni 90 conduceva due famose serate presso il Belfast Art College conosciute come "Sugar Sweet" e "Shake Yer Brain". E' risaputo che gli Orbital scrissero il brano "Belfast", pubblicato sul loro omonimo debut album, dopo aver suonato in una serata "Sugar Sweet".

Holmes ha pubblicato This Film's Crap Let's Slash the Seats, nel 1995. Uno dei brani del disco è stato inserito nella colonna sonora del film Pi. Daltronde lui stesso ha affermato che che l'ispirazione per il disco gli era venuta da film e da colonne sonore. La canzone che apre il disco, "No Man's Land," è stata ispirata dal film In the Name of the Father di Daniel Day-Lewis . Nello stesso anno, ha collaborato anche all'album Infernal Love della rock band nordirlandese Therapy?.

Nel 1997, Holmes ha pubblicato Let's Get Killed, descritto come colonna sonora di un film immaginario.

Nel 1998, Danny Devito gli ha commissionato la colonna sonora del film Out of Sight di Steven Soderbergh.

Nel 2001 ha partecipato alla la colonna sonora di un altro film di Soderbergh, il remake di Ocean's Eleven, con brani tratti da Let's Get Killed e Bow Down to the Exit Sign.

Dopo un mix album, Come Get It I Got It del 2002, Holmes ha pubblicato David Holmes Presents The Free Association (2003). Questo non andrebbe considerato un album solista ma l'album di una vera e propria band infatti la Free Association comprende altri 4 musicisti con cui Holmes ha anche effettuato un tour.

Ha remixato brani degli U2, dei Manic Street Preachers, dei Primal Scream, di Page & Plant, e di Ice Cube.

Prima di intraprendere la carriera di musicista Holmes ha fatto il parrucchiere e il cuoco. Per breve tempo ha anche gestito un locale, il Café Mogwai, a Belfast, vicino alla Queen's University.


Colonne sonore

* Resurrection Man (1998)
* Out of Sight (1998)
* Buffalo Soldiers (2001)
* Ocean's Eleven (2002)
* Analyze That (2003)
* Code 46 (2003)
* Stander (2003)
* Ocean's Twelve (2004)

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Scritto da: billingham 27/08/2006 23.03
Van Morrison è nato a Belfast nell'agosto 1945

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Verissimo : mi ero scordato che "Van The Man" nacque proprio a Belfast...