My 16 to watch for 2016
ALREADY the dignified ceremonies which have marked the opening of this momentous centenary year bode well for the country as we mark the 1916 Easter Rising. Hopefully the international goodwill for Ireland will be reflected in long overdue accolades for Irish artists, athletes, actors, writers and job creators . So in the spirit of the New Year, here are my 16 who will be rising in ’16:
We punch way above our weight when it comes to the stage and screen. Ruth Bradley and Ruth Negga made their name in
Love/Hate and their acting skills will see international fame this year.
Ruth Bradley is centre stage in the bigbudget RTÉ drama Rebellion, while Ruth Negga, from Monaghan, has a host of movies coming out.
She is being highly praised for her portrayal of Mildred Loving in the US movie of the same name about a husband and wife who successfully challenged racial laws.
Three films, Carol, Room and Brooklyn will apparently supply the nominees for best actress, I have no doubt Saoirse Ronan will take the Oscar back to Carlow.
The Irish directors of Room and Brooklyn, Lenny Abrahamson and John Crowley respectively, have soldiered long and hard since they separately made two great Irish films, Adam & Paul and Intermission, more than a decade ago, but their current offerings are world class.
Sticking to acting, young Rex Ryan may have the stage and showbusiness in his blood, through his late father Gerry Ryan, but his performances this year, including his debut in Pilgrim at the Edinburgh Festival, have been marked by hard work, discipline and charisma.
The same applies to Fiona O’Carroll, the stunningly beautiful daughter of Brendan, whose acting – and singing – skills have so far been confined to Mrs Brown’s
Boys.
Once she returns from their sellout tour in Australia and New Zealand I have no doubt that she will get a chance to spread her wings in the BBC – though she protests that her four children are enough to keep her busy!
The 2016 Olympics should see Sports Person of the Year, boxer Michael Conlan, strike gold in Rio. We should also hear the national anthem when Corkman Rob Heffernan does us proud and captures that medal he was so cruelly deprived of in London in 2012 by since-discredited Russian athletes.
It should be the year that Ireland once again takes a Nobel prize for literature. Beckett, Shaw, Yeats and Heaney will be joined by either John Banville or Anne Enright, both of whom are at the top of their craft at the moment.
In radio, the dramatic changes in 2fm have thrown up some talented
broadcasters. Eoghan McDermott we primarily know through The
Voice Of Ireland but his new afternoon show is already demonstrating his considerable on-air skills. And the man he replaced, Rick O’Shea, gets a chance to broaden his formidable talents and has already displayed them ably in The Poetry
Programme.
In music, original band All Tvvins are also set to go from strength to strength this year.
Meanwhile, Nathan Carter may be only 25 years old and although he was born in Liverpool, his parents hail from Donegal and he is regarded as one of our best country and Irish singers. He is also an award-winning instrumentalist who will graduate to the world stage this year.
And finally, I firmly believe the key to our future is job creation.
And every election candidate in the next few weeks should be asked for one idea on how to create real jobs, and not be allowed to lazily drone on about taxing more people even more. They could take a leaf out of the handbook of Jack Teeling, the entrepreneur who, along with his brother, founded the first new distillery in the capital in more than 125 years and rejuvenated Dublin’s Newmarket.
With more than 30 new distilleries – from Drumshanbo to Dingle – these are job creators who don’t whine, they create real jobs.