Mácnas (pronounced mock-ness) is ( Irish for 'frolicking' [1]) is a performance company based at the Fisheries Field in Galway, Ireland. Its public performances are noted for being "pioneering, inventive and radical" in style. [2] The company has been credited with changing the nature of public entertainment in Ireland and is regarded as highly influential within the field of spectacle performance. [3]
Founded in 1986, the company has performed in over 20 countries across the globe. Its parades have been a centre-point of Halloween, St. Patrick's Day and formerly Galway International Arts Festival festivities in Galway city, drawing crowds of up to 50,000 people on to the city streets. [4]
Mácnas toured alongside U2 as part of the Zoo TV Tour in 1993. [5] The company simultaneously helped to ring in the new millennium in three cities: Galway ( Eyre Square), Dublin ( Merrion Square) and New York City ( Times Square).
In March 2016, Mácnas performed at the opening ceremony of SXSW in Austin, Texas. [6] [7] In November 2017, Macnas performed as the closing act in the Land of Green Ginger programme at Hull UK City of Culture 2017. [8] [9]
Mácnas offices are spread across two locations in Galway city. Administration and rehearsals mainly take place in Fisheries Field. Large-scale construction primarily takes place at a warehouse in Liosban.
The Liffey Press and Macnas have published Macnas: Joyful Abandonment, a 250-page history of the company. [10]
Mácnas (pronounced mock-ness) is ( Irish for 'frolicking' [1]) is a performance company based at the Fisheries Field in Galway, Ireland. Its public performances are noted for being "pioneering, inventive and radical" in style. [2] The company has been credited with changing the nature of public entertainment in Ireland and is regarded as highly influential within the field of spectacle performance. [3]
Founded in 1986, the company has performed in over 20 countries across the globe. Its parades have been a centre-point of Halloween, St. Patrick's Day and formerly Galway International Arts Festival festivities in Galway city, drawing crowds of up to 50,000 people on to the city streets. [4]
Mácnas toured alongside U2 as part of the Zoo TV Tour in 1993. [5] The company simultaneously helped to ring in the new millennium in three cities: Galway ( Eyre Square), Dublin ( Merrion Square) and New York City ( Times Square).
In March 2016, Mácnas performed at the opening ceremony of SXSW in Austin, Texas. [6] [7] In November 2017, Macnas performed as the closing act in the Land of Green Ginger programme at Hull UK City of Culture 2017. [8] [9]
Mácnas offices are spread across two locations in Galway city. Administration and rehearsals mainly take place in Fisheries Field. Large-scale construction primarily takes place at a warehouse in Liosban.
The Liffey Press and Macnas have published Macnas: Joyful Abandonment, a 250-page history of the company. [10]