Music and literature cabaret Muldoon's Picnic announces Irish tour

Muldoon's Picnic, the cabaret-style night of poetry, prose, music and literature by Pulitzer Prize winning poet Paul Muldoon, is returning to Ireland this summer. The show will be playing in Limerick, Donegal, Belfast and Dublin from the 10th through the 14th of August.

Though hosted consistently by Muldoon and the house band Rogue Oliphant, each show will feature a bespoke lineup of artists, musicians and writers — making sure that each night stands uniquely on its own. Guests for the upcoming Irish tour include; Roddy Doyle, Claire Keegan, Iarla Ó Lionáird, Zadie Smith, Zoë Conway, John McIntyre and the members of Horslips, each gracing the stage for four different nights of witty, exuberant performance.

"It’s one of our most basic instincts; to listen to a song, listen to a poem. Even in this era when people have their noses stuck in their tablets, it still works," explains the poet, citing the natural impulse for live shows as one of the event's main inspirations.

The show will kick off at the Lime Tree Theatre stage in Limerick, where Muldoon and the band will be joined by award-winning novelist Kevin Barry, acclaimed Irish poet Vona Groarke, vocalist and actor Lisa Lambe and the members of Celtic-rock pioneers Horslips.

Next they will head to An Grianán Theatre in Donegal, where distinguished poet Maurice Riordan, piano-based singer songwriter Duke Special, poet Hannah Sullivan and internationally recognised author Claire Keegan will take to the stage.

On Saturday, the Lyric Theatre in Belfast will host screenwriter and Booker Prize winner Roddy Doyle, generationally acclaimed poet Saoi Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin, Irish fiddler Zoë Conway and accomplished guitarist John McIntyre as guests for the show.

Finally, finishing up the tour at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, Muldoon will be joined by twice Grammy-nominated singer and composer Iarla Ó Lionáird, Northern Irish novelist and poet Nick Laird, and English novelist, essayist and short-story writer Zadie Smith.

This will not be the first time Muldoon's Picnic, has come to Ireland. It's done two successful tours of the nation — one in 2017 and one in 2019, in addition to ten sold-out seasons at the Irish Arts Center in New York. Hailed by the Times Literary Supplement as "the most significant English-language poet born since the Second World War," the Armagh-native is sure to be an excellent host. It won't be bad for music, either, with house band Rogue Oliphant — who boasts members Chris Harford (Three Colors, Band of Changes), Cait O’Riordan (The Pogues), David Mansfield (Bob Dylan, The Alpha Band), Ray Kubian (Electric Six, Chris Forsyth) and Warren Zanes (Del Fuegos).

See the full lineup of dates, plus booking info, below:

Lime Tree Theatre, Limerick — Wednesday 10th August

With Kevin Barry, Vona Groarke, Lisa Lambe and members of Horslips.
Tickets: €20
Booking: www.limetreetheatre.ie | Box Office: 061 953 400

An Grianán Theatre, Letterkenny — Friday 12th August

With Maurice Riordan, Duke Special, Hannah Sullivan and Claire Keegan.
Tickets: €20, four for €70
Booking: www.angrianan.com | Box Office: 074 912 0777

Lyric Theatre, Belfast — Saturday 13th August

With Roddy Doyle, Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin, Zoë Conway and John McIntyre.
Tickets: £28 | £20 | £12
Booking: www.lyrictheatre.co.uk | Box Office: 028 9344 4867

Abbey Theatre, on the Peacock stage, Dublin — Sunday 14th August

With Iarla Ó Lionáird, Nick Laird and Zadie Smith.
Tickets: €25 standard | €20 concession
Booking: www.abbeytheatre.ie | Box Office: 01 87 87 222