Once Upon A Sound
Hosted by Dónal Dineen
Talk / Discussions >>>
The Mick Lally Theatre, Druid Ln, (off Quay Street)
Dónals Guests include : Artist Joy Gerrard, Robbie Blake (Tonnta music) and Jenni Moran (@hiluncheonette).
20:00-21:30 hr, Friday, September 25th 2026
Tickets €15 ( Ticket holders are invited to join us later as we continue into the night with dancing till late at Dónal Dineen’s Backstory! )
Dónal Dineen is an Irish DJ, radio presenter and film maker. A pioneering force for a generation of music fans, Donal is renowned for his deep passion for music as well as a curator of unique multi-disciplinary events. Current projects include the music podcast Make Me An Island podcast and a documentary film Dance to Remember which premiered at the Kerry International Film Festival in 2025.
Dónal will be hosting a special live edition of his Once Upon A Sound video series at the AATE Festival where he'll be exploring music as a source of inspiration for creative minds working in other media.
Taking our cue from the Desert Island Discs programme first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1942, Dónal’s guests will be invited to choose a selection of audio recordings as a jump-off point for a discussion about the role sound plays in their practice.
Dónal Dineen’s Backstory >>>
Tickets €10 on the door.
>> Doors from 10pm
Ticket holders for the above talk are invited to join us as we continue into the night with Dónal Dineen’s Backstory special!
Acclaimed Irish DJ Dónal Dineen’s Backstory Dance has been a mainstay of the music scene for the past decade.
This event follows directly after the Once upon a Story event. Tickets can be bought for the Backstory part of the evening only on the door if capacity allows, or book for Once upon a Story and get access to the full evening of events.
For this special AATE Festival edition at The Mick Laly Theatre, Dónal will be playing an extended set which is like an alternative guide to the musical universe. The unerring attention to detail on the quality of the music and the atmosphere generated on one heady night after another has become the stuff of legend.
Tickets €10 on the door. (€5 with valid student ID).
Contributors include;
Joy Gerrard was born in Co. Tipperary and lives in Belfast. She graduated with a BA from National College of Art and Design, Dublin and an MA and MPhil from the Royal College of Art, London. Gerrard is known for work that investigates different systems of relations between crowds, architecture and the built environment. Using Japanese ink on paper and canvas, Gerrard makes detailed ink works and large paintings which re-create political protests from around the world. Recent subjects include Climate change, Palestine Resistance, ICE marches and Women’s equality. Gerrard’s crowds are often viewed from above in urban environments, indicating media surveillance. In her work, the figure of the crowd represents an expression of collective agency. She treats built environments and public spaces as equal participants within the images: providing context, physical constraint, but also symbolic power. Moments of protest are thus figured against enduring historical architectures, the built environment providing a representational analogue for the legal, constitutional and customary space of protest, resistance and democratic expression.
Jennie Moran is a visual artist whose work explores hospitality as a creative and connective philosophy. Blending sculpture and food, she founded Luncheonette, an art/hospitality project at National College of Art and Design in 2013. She lectures widely, mentors in organisational hospitality and curates discursive events. She is chair of the Oxford Food Symposium and the Dublin Gastronomy Symposium. Jennie is the author of 'How to Soften Corners' and was named Best Emerging Voice at the Irish Food Writing Awards.
Robbie Blake is a vocalist and composer-performer based in the Gaeltacht of An Spidéal, Co. Galway. A philosophy and music graduate, Robbie’s work explores the expressive possibilities of the human voice in collaborative, interdisciplinary and community-driven contexts. Informed by research across artforms Robbie’s work is fuelled by practices of care, listening and collaboration. Robbie is the Artistic Director of Tonnta, a vocal ensemble dedicated to new music.
Recent collaborations include SALT by Vanessa Earl, Monuments with choreographer John Scott, Don’t Anticipate the Ending digital exhibition for the Museum of Literature Ireland with Brian Friel scholar Dr Zosia Kuczyńska and choreographer Jessie Keenan, and short film Leide Beag / a small clue commissioned by Galway 2020 and University of Galway. Recent and upcoming performances include Spem in alium with British vocal ensemble I Fagiolini, The Warm Up by Jane Deasy for Cork Midsummer Festival and The Call by Holly Herndon & Mat Dryhurst at the Serpentine Gallery, London.
Make it stand out
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.