2020 FolkTas Grant Award

The 2020 FolkTas grant was awarded John Hickey to develop a themed concert, “Recalling Young Irelanders”, that will entertain and inform audiences about the Young Irelanders who were exiled in Van Diemen’s Land.

The key elements to the proposal are:

1. Development of a script that includes relevant music (mainly tunes and songs from
   the 19th century) and an entertaining, and historically accurate, narrative. This will
   include pertinent quotes from documented writings of the exiles. The concert will
   have a length of about one hour.
2. Rehearsals with selected performers and revision of the script, and music, as
   needed.
3. Completion of the script, and of a double-sided A4 handout that summarises the
   story of the Young Irelanders in Tasmania, and of musical items from the concert.
   Two forms of the themed concert are envisaged:
   1. A larger form that would include multiple performers (up to 6) who could deliver
      the concert at potential locations like the Cygnet Folk Festival and Westbury’s St
      Patrick’s Day Festival.
   2. A compact form with 2-3 performers, that could travel more easily and deliver the
      concert at events such as the National Folk Festival and the National Celtic Festival,
      and perhaps to non-conventional venues such as at the Port Arthur Historic Site.