Those Showband Days - a cartoon by Robbie O'Keeffe 1991
© Munster Express (O'Keeffe, Dower and Commerford)Those Showband Days - a cartoon by Robbie O'Keeffe 1991
© Munster Express (O'Keeffe, Dower and Commerford)'Dancing at Lughnasa' describes the lives of five sisters living in rural Ireland in the 1950s. The family is under pressure. Their poverty, the threat of loosing their jobs, their social standing and their worry about each other make them anxious individuals, either inwardly or outwardly. Their house is a pressure pot where five very different personalities try to make the best of their situation, putting on a brave face for the sake of the other sisters. These women expected more from their lives, but through circumstance, their aspirations were never fulfilled. Rows are inevitable. Their transistor, which brings music to them plays a significant role. When music appears, it briefly changes the characters, lifting them away from their everyday reality. It is their expression of fun and of their dreams.