Féile an Fhómhair has an amazing programme of events

FÉILE an Fhómhair, Carlow’s popular autumn bilingual festival, has an amazing programme of events lined up. Organised by Glór Cheatharlach and running from 26 September to 5 October, the festival celebrates all things local and environmental.

There’s music and song, concerts and performances, talks and workshops, sean-nós dancing, table quizzes, an Irish language film, a schools’ art competition as well as set dancing and walking weekends. There will be lots of opportunities to speak Irish in everyday settings, including at Lambert’s Coffee House, Moka Café and Teach Dolmain, all in Carlow town.

The festival starts on Friday morning, 26 September, with a bilingual spraoicheist, or quiz, for primary schools at 10am in Éire Óg clubhouse. Later that evening, St Mary’s Church of Ireland will be the venue for an event reflecting on the life of Ernest Shackleton and the polar explorer’s Carlow connections in music and song, with narration by John MacKenna.

A very special event on the festival line-up is a concert titled ‘Choirs for Gaza – Ceol na gCór’, when several parish and community choirs and vocal groups will combine for an evening of songs, hymns and psalms as Gaeilge, while a reflection will be given by the Poor Clare Sisters.

The concert will take place in St Clare’s Church, Graiguecullen on Thursday 2 October at 7.30pm and is being organised as a token of solidarity with the people of Palestine. Donations will be accepted on the night, with all proceeds going towards the relief of hunger and suffering in Gaza.

The Seven Oaks Hotel is the place to be on the opening weekend of Féile an Fhómhair when dancing enthusiasts from Donegal to Tipperary and Galway to Wexford will travel to Carlow to enjoy a feast of set dancing at the annual and extremely popular set dancing weekend running from Friday to Sunday, 26 to 28 September.

There will be workshops each day and a Céilí Mór each night, with dancing to such well-known outfits as the Abbey, the Brian Boru and the Johnny Reidy Céilí Bands. Beginners as well as seasoned dancers are all welcome to the event, with set dancing classes given by Syl and Liz on Saturday and Sunday mornings, while a free Sean-Nós workshop will be on offer from champion dancer Irene Cunningham on the Saturday at 12.30pm.

Young people are invited to take part in the many events being planned for them during the festival. As well as table quizzes for primary and post-primary students, there will be a trip to the IMC Cinema at the Fairgreen Shopping Centre for exclusive screenings of the award-winning Irish language film Fidil Ghorm. Suitable for primary school pupils in fifth and sixth classes as well as for post-primary students, the film with subtitles will be screened at IMC Cinema at 11am on Monday and Tuesday mornings, 29 and 30 September. There will also be a public screening of the film on Tuesday evening at 7pm.

The ever-popular autumn art competition for primary schools will run throughout the festival when pupils in first to sixth classes are invited to create a painting or artwork on the theme of An Fómhar and prizes will be awarded to the best efforts in each class category.

The second weekend of Féile an Fhómhair will focus on the great outdoors with a total of 16 walks organised by Carlow Tourism. Walkers, both seasoned and those not so experienced, will enjoy the popular Autumn Walking Weekend, which will feature a whole raft of talks, walks and hikes taking place over the three days.

There are events to suit varying levels of ability, but the leisurely bilingual Sunday afternoon walk along the Barrow Track from Maganey to Carlow on Sunday 5 October at 2pm will be particularly suitable for those new to the walking scene.

The full festival programme is available from Glór Cheatharlach and on facebook.com/glor.cheatharlach, while printed copies of the brochure can be picked up at Carlow Library, Carlow Tourism, Lambert’s Coffee House and Visual.