April 2001
IRISH CZECH & SLOVAK SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
Mystery Czech Village (Gracehill, Co. Antrim) discovered in Antrim!
Gracehill, a beautifully preserved 18th
Century village in Co. Antrim, will be the subject of this year's annual
Frank
Drechsler Lecture by Alex Blair. Alex Blair who is head of the
history department at the nearby Dalriada School, Ballymoney and local
historian will deliver the lecture on the "Moravian Village of Grace Hill"
The village was founded in 1759 by Moravian Evangelists
led by John Cerrick (1718-55) the first Moravian evangelist in mid Antrim
who arrived in Ballymena on 9th August 1746.
The picturesque village is 3 km from Ballymena has
many old buildings which still stand around the village green. The village
is unique in that there existed a living Czech community in Ireland for
over 200 years! Thus we can say that some precedents for the Irish Czech
and Slovak Society are well set.
The lecture will be held at the Embassy of the Czech
Republic at 7.30 pm on Friday 20th April. Address: 57 Northumberland
Road, Dublin 4.
ANNUAL SUBSRCRIPTIONS REMINDER
Dear members, it's that time of year again when
we must ask all of you to dip into your wallets and pay the now overdue
annual subscription for Membership of the Irish Czech and Slovak Society
for 2000 to 2001. These subscriptions allow the society to host an array
of events and help maintain and grow the cultural links between Ireland
, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. All of this would be almost impossible
without your contributions. Individual membership is £10, family
membership £20, and Company membership £50. Please respond
as over 90% of membership subscriptions have not been paid!
Subscriptions should be sent by cheque to the Treasurer,
Mrs. Elizabeth McElhinney, 1 Cherrington Drive, Shankill, Co. Dublin. All
cheques should be made payable to the Irish Czech and Slovak Society.
Thank you all again for your support.
Velikonoce
(Easter)
Yes those of you with
even an inkling of the traditions associated with this day in Central Europe
will either put on their running shoes or bring some padding. Yes the annual
"thrashing" that is administered with willow whips, and dousing with water
is about to begin (the water is usually thrown by everyone at everyone).
Followed by presents of painted eggs, sweets and slivovice (plum brandy)
drinks for the men. Common in both the Slovakia and the Czech Republic,
this is a fun day, especially in the villages. So watch your backs?
Events of General Interest
Private
View by Vaclav Havel. A satire about bourgeois obsessions. Playing
at Bewley's Café Theatre, Grafton St. 12.50pm until April 21. Bookings
Tel: 086-8784001
Moravian
Philharmonic Orchestra perform works by Mozart, and Irish composer
Gerry Murphy. National Concert Hall, Dublin. 8pm 23 April. Tickets Tel:
01 475 1572
Cultural Events in Slovakia
Czech-Slovak
film festival The Czech-Slovak film festival Project 100 - 2001, which
aims to bring international films that have never appeared in Slovakia,
will run from March 15 till end of May.
Exhibition:
"Country Changes". Internationally famous Slovak painter Emília
Cisáriková exhibits pastel paintings of Slovak landmarks,
many of the picturesque Orava region.
Admission free. Open Tue-Sat 16:00-19:00. Galéria Ardan,
Lermontovova 14. Bratislava Tel: 5249 1197. Exhibition runs till April
20 and some of the paintings are for sale.
Cultural Events in the Czech Republic
Exhibition:
The
Glory of the Baroque in Bohemia: Life and Death in Baroque.
From April 27 to October 28. Kinsky Palace (Palac Kinskych) Prague 1, Staromestske
nam. 12,
Frank
Lloyd Wright: The Living City. The founder of modern American architecture
Frank L. Wright (1867 - 1959). Municipal House (Obecni Dum) Prague 1, nam.
Republiky 5. Until April 15.
Jaroslav
Rössler - Photographs, Collages, Drawings. Jaroslav Rössler
(1902-1990) in the international context is one of the pioneers of abstract
constructivist photography. This, as of yet, Rössler's largest exhibit
and consists of all types of his work. Municipal House (Obecni Dum) Prague
1, nam. Republiky 5 Until May 20.
E-Mail Request
Please help us to inform
you of our events in a quick and efficient manner by sending us you e-mail
address so that we can eliminate members from our ?snail-mail? list. Please
forward e-mail details to:
mark.griffin@anpost.ie