Flannery's Mounted Head

Project Partner:
Note Productions

Date: 16 September 2005
Venue: Father Matthew Hall

Project Description:
‘Flannery's Mounted Head’ was a Cork 2005 and Note Productions commission of a new work by Cathal Coughlan and arguably the most expansive interpretation of concerns of Coughlan’s recent solo work

Taking inspiration from the history of the institutions of Coughlan’s native Cork, it tells the story of Flannery, a credit controller who finds the answer to his need for transcendence in the inhalation of petroleum fumes, in the person of a mysterious young woman and in his long journey to express his 'messianic' side. With asides pillaged randomly from Walter Benjamin’s unfinished ‘Arcades’ project, and savagely satirical, Flannery's Mounted Head is a fearless exploration of the terror built from banal dreams, such as those that litter the margins of Irish consumerism.

The concert featured Cathal Coughlan and an enlarged Grand Necropolitan line-up including the acclaimed improvising pianist Steve Beresford, with live imaging from Rob Flint and installation interventions from emerging Irish artist Linda Quinlan.

In a departure from the operating mechanisms of the recorded music industry, Coughlan made a decision that the songs would only be performed in a live context. Plans are currently underway for various mixed media presentations in 2006. As Coughlan puts it:

"The universe is shrinking. Real estate is prohibitive. Since all non-commercial material, but recorded music in particular, must now retreat into the most compact, vapourised format possible, I have decided to go one stage further by creating a work which will never be recorded or 'promoted', and which the audience may only 'consume' by attending live performances."

Cathal Coughlan is a key figure in Irish music, having been lead singer in the acclaimed Cork group Microdisney. He later formed the raucous and controversial Fatima Mansions. Coughlan has released three well-received albums of solo material. He has provided soundtrack music for feature films including Johnny Gogan's ‘The Mapmaker’ and has taken singing roles in French composer François Ribac's contemporary operas ‘Qui Est Fou?’ (2001) and ‘Petit Traité du Jardin Botanique’ (2004).

Flannery’s Mounted Head