Something For The Weeke... - Financial Unions

Self-described artist, costume designer, maker of things, art director, stylist and DJ, Margaret O'Connor is best known for her work as an accessory designer, worn by celebrities ranging from Kate Moss and Debbie Harry to Lady Gaga and Finbar Furey!

Based in her native County Clare, O'Connor interprets Irish tradition and historicism through her colourful creations, notably her popular 'notions' range of jewelry.

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We asked Margaret for her choice cultural picks...

FILM

Poor Things is a 2023 film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and written by Tony McNamara, based on the 1992 novel by Alasdair Gray. It blew my socks off. The custom designer Holly Waddington hit the nail on the head with this one. The use of big puffed sleeves rich fabrics with light silks, the latex raincoat but in a pastel lemon, the sexual undertone on choice of fabrics was so subtle. Over all pieces were so refined and connected and told a story. I loved the wit, humor and casting, the art direction, every thing about this movie excited me. I was a big fan of Yorgos Lanthimos's past movies like The Favorite and The Lobster but Poor Things was definitely the movie for me this year. The fine detail down to the fashion styled postcards given out for free at the screening was just a lovely touch of class.

MUSIC

Grace Cummings is a new artist I've fallen in love with. She has new music out soon and if the first two songs on her EP are anything to go by, it’s going to be interesting. I've also been playing Common Man on repeat. Three new records I’ve bought this month are...

Number one comes from Clare twins Julie and Branwen Kavanagh. They're in a band called Twin Headed Wolf. They have created a haunting masterpiece, Alterwise. Both twins have two very authentic and different sounds. I do love the art work and design on the vinyl by Branwen and Dan McDonnell. Dan is an American artist and folk singer who also is a person to catch live. You can find him in Stoneybatter at the Walsh’s sessions or online under Spitzer Space Telescope - another very talented painter with an original singing voice.

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Record number two is by a trio called Rufous Night Jar. The record is on pre-order at the moment and it'll be out in June. I saw them play together last year in Dublin and loved what I heard. Branwen Kavanagh co-arranged, together with Anna Bishop and Zoé Basha, they pulled together a wee Irish folk supergroup.

Record number 3 is Naoise Roo's Emotionally Magnificent. Naoise is one of my favorite Irish voices of this time. She is not afraid to bare all for her music, and this record is a must-buy for a headphone moment. She is apologetically herself, and that's what makes her so good.

BOOK

The last book I read was The Watchers, written by a friend, Galway based horror writer A.M. Shine. The book is called The Watchers. I really loved this story. The book has now been turned into a movie directed by an American filmmaker, Ishana Night Shyamalan. It was shot in the west of Ireland and Olwen Fouéré plays one of the main characters. I know Olwen because I dressed her for a Irish language film, Radha. I’m really looking forward to seeing my two pals work on the silver screen this year.

THEATRE

I went to see Louisa Ni Eideain's play Dopa-Mean Girl in Smock Alley, Dublin and it had me in stitches. She’s a very gas woman. Her show was about herself and having ADHD. She used props and some cúpla focal. I would highly recommend catching her upcoming shows in the summer. She’s a star.

I’m from a big family of 8, so growing up there was always laughs and slagging. Comedy is one of my go-to things. I may have been late to the party with Canadian sitcom Schitt's Creek, but I binge-watched all the seasons. I love it so much, not to mention that Moira's fashion very much ticks the boxes for me.

GIG

Well I'm DJ-ing in Mexico this Friday for a woman-supporting-woman event in Oaxaca, so that's something I’m excited about on a personal level. I’ll be playing some Italian disco, punk, African beats and world tunes.

The last amazing gig I saw was by Seamus Fogarty. He's an Irish singer based in London. I went to see him in Limerick in Dolan's when he was doing an Irish tour. I like his use of different sounds and he's very funny, Seamus is a true artist and not to be missed. I bought his album Bag of Eyes on vinyl and was delighted I finally got to catch him. 5 stars for Seamus. His live gigs completely match the standard of his records. Van Gogh's Ear and Nuns are two bangers.

I would also really recommend the Wide Away festival in Brixton on Saturday 25th of May. It’s not that expensive to fly from Ireland and it’s a one-day festival, so well worth it. I went last year and that introduced me to so many new bands, such as Glass Beams and Molchat Doma. It was deadly to see Dublin band Gilla Band playing in a big tent and they created quite the stir.

ART

Firstly, on the Irish front my pal, Cork-born visual artist Aideen Barry is working with Peter Gabriel on his new album art with a group of high profile artists, so I’m excited for the world to see her art and hear his music. Internationally, I was DJ-ing in Bristol for a charity fundraiser for Palestine, organised by my long time pal, Fermanagh woman Cat O'Shea, a savage musician and roaster/coffee specialist. She opened her coffee shop Radical Roasters and is really making shapes in the coffee world. When I was there in Feb I saw a print of a painting hanging on her wall by an English artist, Alister Canvin. It was of a car on fire. I then researched his work and think he's an amazing talent, so I would recommend checking out his paintings. He's my new favorite artist I didn’t know. I love it when art catches you like this.

RADIO/PODCAST

My good friend Polly recommended a French radio app called Radio France last year; there's an eclectic choice of music, and I like sticking this on sometimes so I can get a random mix of stuff I normally don’t know about or even understand - one thing I do know, the tunes can be different. I also heard a podcast called How to Fail with Elizabeth Day. I was very impressed with Gillian Anderson's honest interview about sex, body image and rebellion. She didn’t really do what she was told in the Hollywood world and suited herself instead, and this made me laugh with delight. There’s a lot of pressure in the film/TV and media industry to look and be a certain way but we are all human, making mistakes and life happens. I highly recommend How To Fail podcast to hear about people who have made a comeback after a fall or when times were difficult. I loved Gillian Anderson’s punk spirit.

TECH

My favorite at the moment is Duolingo for my Mexican Spanish, and Shazam to catch some new Mexican tunes. A game changer for music nerds.

THE NEXT BIG THING

The Next Big Thing for me is in Ireland is Clara Tracy. She’s another strong Fermanagh woman. A classically trained piano player, Clara is not afraid to delve into the left of field. Her work is always changing, and I really don’t know what she will do next musically or artistically. The cover of Clara's new album Black Forest, is painted by Salvaltore of Lucan. Clara even had a Black Forest gateau spinning on her record player at her album launch! She’s a force, so watch out world! Clara Tracy is going to getcha.

Find out more about Margaret O'Connor's work here.

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Culture Visual Arts Design Fashion Schitts Creek Something For The Weekend Gilla Band Poor Things

Something For The Weekend: Margaret O'Connor's cultural picks