After all these years it’s still hard to capture what Other Voices is all about. Many travel to Dingle for the vibe alone. Others are interested in checking out emerging Irish artists playing in the Co Kerry town’s many pubs. Some are seeking in-depth conversations at Ireland’s Edge, a series of talks at the Skellig Hotel. Still more spend the afternoons listening to Jim Carroll interview a succession of guests at his Banter series at Foxy John’s.
This can create a brilliantly surreal atmosphere. The Cork actor Eileen Walsh regales the packed Banter crowd with stories from her creative life. The human-rights lawyer Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh is in town to speak at Ireland’s Edge – as is Eamon Ryan, the outgoing minister and former Green Party leader, on Friday, the day of the general election. RTÉ’s director-general, Kevin Bakhurst, somehow finds time for a sit-down interview too. Two Orwell Prize-winning journalists, Fintan O’Toole of The Irish Times and Carole Cadwalladr of the Observer, are giving talks. When he introduces Saturday evening’s proceedings at St James’ Church, the festival’s spiritual home, Philip King welcomes an audience member, Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the world wide web.
The gig everyone is looking for a golden ticket to is Laura Marling’s at St James’. The folk superstar had been here in 2011, but she was too ill to sing. This time she has no such issues, her perfect voice enrapturing the audience.
The energy in this small venue has a way of creating special moments, as with Ashley Thomas, aka Bashy, on Saturday night. Drawing from his recent album Being Poor Is Expensive, his first in 15 years, the grime artist and actor delivers an astonishing performance that brings many in the pews to tears. It is an appropriately spiritual gig, a set of beautiful tenderness. How Black Men Lose Their Smile is particularly impactful.
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He’s happy to oblige when young men approach him for photographs outside Benners Hotel, chatting to local teenagers who know his work because of his role in Ronan Bennett’s Netflix series Top Boy, in which he plays Jermaine Newton.
The following evening the church belongs to the outrageously talented Dublin artist Rachael Lavelle, who performs songs from her 2023 album, Big Dreams, a work of ruminative existentialism, which land with utter precision. Lavelle calls performing in the church a dream come true. Live, Lavelle’s work has a cleansing effect on the body and mind, often easing you into an almost meditative state. Fionn Regan’s return is also welcome, and beautiful.
Much more raucous are the many gigs taking place across the town, some inside small pubs, others in almost-hidden stages at the back of buildings. The Galway indie rockers NewDad are hugely impressive. Elaine Mai’s midnight set is also excellent. At the back of Geaney’s pub on Friday night, the young Tallaght rapper Curtisy delivers a spirited performance. His debut album, What Was the Question, is one of the Irish records of the year.
On that stage on Saturday night, Kean Kavanagh and his band perform a brilliantly robust set that is followed by a surprise gig from Kojaque, his fellow Soft Boy Records cofounder; it is one of the weekend’s highlights.
At times the venues can barely contain all this activity. Queueing for acts in small spaces can be time-consuming, a balancing act that can leave some retreating for a quiet drink or a reset of their schedule, or taking the time to sit at the back of Benners to watch a live-stream of the church gigs.
But it’s the honesty of connection that prevails. At Foxy John’s, when the ornithologist Seán Ronayne speaks about his work, several audience members shed tears as he gently details the wonders of nature.
With all the noise and distractions of a hectic world, what audiences are told before gigs at the church rings truer than ever: turn off your phones and just be in the moment.
