A host of tantalising performers have been lined up to entertain Carlow audiences this month as part of the annual bi-lingual festival Féile an Fhómhair.
The autumn festival runs over 10 days from October 9 to 19, and boasts a programme to rival any festival in the country, according to organisers Glór Cheatharlach.
Top of the billing will be funnyman Des Bishop, who recently entertained audiences with his antics while learning the Irish language in the hit RTÉ show ‘In the Name of the Fada’. Bishop will appear on Friday, October 10, in the Dolmen Hotel.
Romance could be in the air as the increasingly popular Céilí Amór takes up residence at the Carlow Town Hurling Club on Saturday, October 11, its first venture outside Dublin. The Céilí offers men and women the opportunity to meet with a host of friends in a fun-filled evening of dance.
A traditional open air concert in the courtyard of Carlow Courthouse will round out the first weekend of the festival, with performances by leading traditional acts Téada and Uisce Beatha as well as the Dolmen set dancers dancing to Billy Kirwan’s céilí music.
The spotlight will be firmly on the Sean-Nós tradition for the second weekend, with workshops on Sean-Nós singing and dancing as well as a night of traditional singing featuring Mairéad Ní Fhlatharta from An Spidéal, Connemara and Macdara Ó Conghaile from the Aran island of Inis Oirr.
The festival will open on National Tree Day on Thursday, October 9, and organisers are encouraging nature trips, visits to the forests and strolls in the woods while the environmental travelling exhibition ‘Irish Wildlife’ will be on view at Carlow Shopping Centre throughout the festival.
Féile an Fhómhair also encompasses the great outdoors with the autumn walking féile in association with Carlow Tourism on October 11 and 12.
There will be a number of bilingual events for children and families, including storytelling, a table quiz, drama and a treasure trail, along with seisiúin, céilithe and set dancing and a weekend bookfair of books ‘as Gaeilge’.
A ‘cinemobile’ will show movies ‘as Gaeilge’ for children and adults on October 14 and 15 while exhibitions running during Féile 2008 will include ‘The Barrow Valley Painters’ in the Seven Oaks and ‘I Smile At Life’ by Annabel Konig’ in Artforms Gallery on Charlotte Street.
For further information on Féile an Fhómhair and for booking reservations contact Glór Cheatharlach, Carlow Gateway Business Centre, Athy Road on (059 ) 9158105 or 085 1340047 or email emma@glorcheatharlach.ie.
