Arts picks: Don Mescall

HIghlights of 2023

Don Mescall

Songwriter, producer, singer, old church custodian

Best County Cavan arts event: Culture Night. What an amazing event, truly incredible that there were so many interestingly wonderful things happening in the county.

One to watch: No Vendors. Energetic and original little rock band, great songs, great vibe. Bound for great things. Watch this space.

Best book: My Fathers House, Joseph O'Connor. Since reading Star of the Sea and Redemption Falls I've been a fan of Joseph as a writer. I'm never disappointed. Wonderful writer. My Fathers House is based on a true story which to me makes it more compelling.

Best music: Iris Dement 'Workin on a World'. Sometimes I feel its the almost responsibility of a songwriter to touch on controversial subjects. Its a way of perhaps to highlight things in a way that gets the point across without preaching.

Best theatre: The Road to Joe, Glass Mask Theatre. The masterful Cillian O’Gairbhi plays the role of both twins. Full of strangeness and madness and sadness, but still in the back of your mind you've experienced or seen or have been aware of something like it in your own upbringing. Wonderfully directed by Rex Ryan.

Best podcast: I'm Not Here to Hurt You - the story of Ireland's most polite bank robber.

Really grabbed me how a quite normal and regular man could fall into a completely dark world due to circumstances beyond his control.