Sonia "Sunny" Jacobs spent five years on death row in Florida in the US, and 12 years in prison. Seven years ago this month, she was released after her conviction was overturned. While facing the death penalty, she took up yoga and meditation and made her cell into a sanctuary.
Currently, Ms Jacobs teaches yoga, relaxation and stress reduction in Los Angeles and has become something of an expert on facing death - of any kind. She has travelled and lectured widely, has spoken at Amnesty International gatherings, and a book of her memoirs, MeanTime, is to be published shortly.
Along with US musician Steve Earle, who has a particular affection for the west of Ireland, she is due to appear at a celebration concert, "Surviving the Death Penalty", in Galway's Town Hall Theatre later this month. The man behind the event and a fellow participant, is Peter Pringle. He was sentenced to death and spent almost 15 years in Portlaoise prison before his conviction was quashed.
Currently suing the State, Mr Pringle has set up a trust in association with solicitor Greg O'Neill, which aims to work towards ending death penalties across the world, and to help victims of miscarriages of justice in this country.
As Pringle points out, there is no provision for free legal aid in such situations. He says few victims have the ability to pursue their own case in the way he did. If he hadn't been able to do so, he believes he would still be in prison, notwithstanding his innocence.
Galway Town Hall Theatre is one of three venues for the fundraising concerts in aid of the Lazarus Trust, as it has been called. That first gig will take place at 8 p.m. on October 26th, with tickets at £10 on sale at the theatre booking office (091569777). Concerts will also take place in Belfast, at Transport House, High Street, at 8 p.m. on October 27th, and at Liberty Hall, Dublin, on October 28th.
Foul play of another kind is one of the themes of Baboro, the international children's festival, which opens in Galway tomorrow and runs until Sunday.
Both foul play and furry fables recur in many of the shows listed for this year's programme, which boasts more than 100 events and an extended outreach programme for three- to 12-year-olds.
English companies participating include the Travelling Light Theatre, with Into the West, the Storybox Theatre with Half Chick and Two Tales - based on a traditional Spanish tale - and Mimika Theatre with Landscapes, a performance described as suitable for children with special needs.
Catherine Wheels Theatre from Scotland present Martha, the story of an old woman whose life is changed by a goose; Compagnie Coatamundi from France present their Zany Waves, and our own Puca Puppets will perform a double bill of The Town House and Country Mouse and The Tortoise and the Hare.
Baboro's programme also includes readings by popular children's authors, including Siobhan Parkinson and Gabriel Rosen stock, and a display of works from the Irish Museum of Modern Art's collection at Galway Arts Centre, Dominick Street.
In Loughrea, Co Galway, preparations are afoot for the Bowes Academic Fellowship and Fraternity of Literary Esoterics (BAFFLE) presentation of its third annual festival on the bank holiday weekend, October 22nd to 24th. "What a moment" is the theme of this year's gathering for poets - inspired by an incident during the Battle of Aughrim, 1691, when General St Ruth, who is generally believed to be buried in Loughrea, had his head blown off by a cannonball.
Among those participating will be Senator David Norris, Michael Hartnett, Tony Curtis, Pat Boran and Mick Parkin, a former bricklayer from Glasgow. All poems entered in this year's event will be included in the BAFFLE millennium time capsule, which is to be "launched" on the opening night. The winner will be awarded the title of BAFFLER of the year - which has to be hard to beat. For further details and bookings, contact Fionnuala at (091) 841295 after 6 p.m.
This coming weekend, Renvyle celebrates Oliver St John Gogarty at the country house hotel he created in Connemara. Eight speakers, including the author's grandson, Guy Williams, and Bill Grantham, former editor of Variety magazine and an O'Casey authority, have been enlisted, and archaeological rambles with Michael Gibbons are also promised.
The cost is £160 a person for two nights dinner, bed and breakfast. Details can be obtained from Renvyle House Hotel at (095) 43511.
Finally, a postscript to the forthcoming Connemara Sea Week, which opens in Letterfrack, Co Galway, this Friday and was mentioned here last week. Mountaineer and writer Joe Simpson, author of Touching the Void, will participate. For bookings and inquiries, contact Leo Hallissey at (095) 41034, 43443 or fax (095) 41112.