Cessair

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SoloSIRENs are currently working  on the dissemination of their upcoming participatory performance and sound installation 'Cessair', directed by Jenny Macdonald.

Cessair is a story. Cessair is a little known story. It’s an Irish myth of a fierce and feisty woman who leads a brave journey in a time of floods. It is one woman’s story and it is every woman’s story. Cessair is denied a place on her grandfather’s boat. Rejected and dejected, she regroups and builds three boats of her own, asking for help from 149 other women. She is a leader and she knows how to work in a team. She has vision and she inspires others; she also admits that she needs help and that she doesn’t have all the answers. She is the kind of leader our world needs. 

As the three ships journey from the north of Africa to Ireland, two are lost. 100 stories do not continue. 

SoloSIRENs in partnership with Tallaght Community Arts is remaking this journey as a sound installation and performance at the Civic, Tallaght and Chamber Square in July, 2021. 

As part of the process, we are collecting 100 female, audio stories from South County Dublin, other parts of Ireland, and every continent of the world. We want to share the stories of difficult journeys, unsung heroines, deep love and deep care. We want to add one hundred female voices to a world that still doesn’t listen enough to women. And we want to hear the stories that haven’t been heard enough.  

The stories represent the breadth of what it means to be female. We are collecting stories from women of diverse ages, cultures, bodies, and sexual identities. During the production week, we will collect 50 more stories from our audiences-stories of where we are now and the future we hope to create. We will continue to share all the stories in the months following the production on our website. 

It is time to hear a wide range of stories from a wide range of storytellers. It is time for women to have autonomy over how their stories are told. 

'Cessair' Team

Director - Jenny Macdonald

Producer - Jennifer Webster

Sound Designer - Martha Knight

Musician/Composer - Farah Elle

Choral Facilitator - Pauline Dalton

Choreographer - Deirdre Murphy

Lighting Designer/Technician - Ciara Meehan

Sound Engineer - Fia Kavanagh

For Tallaght Community Arts:

Director - Tony Fegan

Administration - Ruth Clancy

Outreach - Sharon Doyle

SoloSIRENs Collective: 

Ibi Akigbogun,Melody Chadamoyo, Neltah, Chadamoyo,  Sumaira Chady, Aoife Dempsey, Pauline Dalton,  Farah Elle, Sailí Áine Ní Mhurchú, Alma Sanchez, Nicola Whelan.