It’s 1,400 years since Bealtaine was last celebrated on the Hill of Uisneach, but this weekend hundreds of people are expected to make the trip to the historic Westmeath site for a very special event on Saturday.
Brian Ború, Queen Maeve, the gods Eiru and Lug and Daniel O’Connell are among those connected with one of the most sacred places in Ireland, where more than a thousand years ago to celebrate Bealtaine, a great fire was lit to welcome the summer.
Visible to twenty counties and a quarter of the whole country, the great fire would then radiate to the four corners of Ireland, as similar fires were lit on hills around Uisneach.
Organiser Paddy Dunning is excited about the event, which seems to be a modern pagan pilgrimage complete with a feast, healing and poetry tents, fire-dancers, men on horseback and music, as well as the symbolic lighting of the fire.
He says it will be “a spectacular extravaganza” and already more than 22 counties have signed up to play their part, by lighting a Bealtaine fire.
A family event that is free for children and pensioners, the Festival of the Fires starts in the early afternoon with a lecture on the history and significance of the Hill of Uisneach, considered to be the spiritual and historic centre of Ireland that was known throughout the world as a sacred and magical place.
At 9pm, the music provided by Mundy, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Eireann, Sharon Shannon, and Jerry Fish will come to a stop and firedancers will lead a procession to the summit of Uisneach where the great fire will be lit by four children.
Then, on neighbouring hills fires will be lit all the way to Tory Island in what Dunning says symbolises “the unification of the country” and “peace in the provinces”.
“It’s not a party, it’s a celebration,” he says, pointing out that organisers want to “play down drink and alcohol”, though there will be a small bar.
He wants visitors to “walk away enriched” not inebriated, so they can participate in an event that will “resonate with your DNA”.
Preparations are well under way and visitors can expect to see more than 50 warriors on horseback make their way between tall willow structures and around the stage that he describes as “spectacular”, with fire jugglers on either side.
After the fire is lit, it’s back to the stage near the lake where funky trad musicians Kila will be in their natural habitat with their spellbinding blend of traditional and modern music.
The festival is history in the re-making.
There are a small number of tickets remaining for the event at Ticketmaster outlets and further details are available on www.festivalofthefires.ie
