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music · Thursday 23 July 2026 · 20:00 
Tempest - Steve Wickham & Deirdre Kinahan
At Roscommon Arts Centre · Roscommon Town, Co. Roscommon
At Roscommon Arts Centre · Roscommon Town, Co. Roscommon
Playwright Deirdre Kinahan and violinist Steve Wickham have been touring Ireland together with a show that sits somewhere between a live gig and a dramatic recital - and it is quite unlike anything else on the summer circuit. On Thursday 23 July they bring Tempest to Roscommon Arts Centre for one night. If you have ever loved The Waterboys, or followed Kinahan’s plays on Irish stages, this is a rare chance to see both artists in the same room doing something genuinely different.
Tempest runs for around sixty minutes and is billed as a hybrid performance. Deirdre Kinahan steps into characters from her award-winning plays - including The Saviour, The Unmanageable Sisters and TEMPESTA - while Steve Wickham accompanies her live on violin and guitar. Wickham has been one of Ireland’s defining fiddle voices since the mid-1980s, a long-standing member of The Waterboys who has also played alongside U2, Sinéad O’Connor, Sharon Shannon and Declan O’Rourke over the years. His approach blends rock and traditional Irish music, and in this setting the playing is close, intimate and improvised around the spoken word. The result is closer to a piece of live art than a conventional gig - layered, compact and worth your full attention.
Roscommon town is on the N61, roughly 45 minutes south of Sligo and around an hour and twenty minutes west of Dublin on the M6 and N61. Bus Eireann operates services from Dublin (Expressway Route 23) and from Athlone and Sligo into Roscommon town, with the bus stop close to the town centre. Roscommon Arts Centre is in the town itself and there is on-street parking nearby as well as car parks a short walk away. If you are coming by train, the nearest mainline station is Roscommon on the Dublin Heuston - Westport / Ballina line, which puts you a few minutes walk from the venue.
Roscommon town has a Norman castle worth a look, and the county is good walking and lake country - Lough Key Forest Park to the north is one of the best days out in Connacht. There is more to see in Roscommon and across Co. Roscommon.
Heading to Roscommon Arts Centre in Roscommon? Roscommon has plenty more to see. Read the Roscommon area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.