The official opening of Síamsa Sráide will be performed by Ciarán Staunton from New York and recipient of the Michael Davitt Award Mayo for his work on behalf of Irish emigrants abroad. Mr Staunton will highlight the nightmare of the Undocumented Irish in America, Australia, etc, as well as highlighting the negative issues that many experience when they return. This opening is in recognition of the importance of our diaspora in promoting tourism in this area.
Síamsa Sráide creates a focal point for visitors, as well as improving the economy of the town and east Mayo. The opening will take place at 6pm on Friday July 29 in the Gateway Hotel. Visiting diaspora, tourists to the area, and the general public are invited to attend this headline launch by a eminent Irish emigrant and businessmen.
Síamsa Sráide Swinford is a summer street festival with open-air céilí, dancing, heritage day, and international busking competitions. There are also history walks and talks, poetry recitals, a childrens' programme, and sport.
The month of August is generally the high point of the holiday season and where better to spend your holiday than in Swinford. Síamsa Sráide means “Fun on the Street” and is the ideal family festival, with six days and nights of free entertainment. The festival is a loose collection of cultural, artistic, musical, historical and heritage, sporting and children's events. The programme depicts regional and cultural variations typical to east Mayo. It is in these differences that they show their individuality and unique heritage. It is essentially a music festival also. Síamsa Sráide is a complete package, where you can dip in and out, cherry-picking whichever events that seem fun and convenient.
Highlights include, open air dancing nightly to Ireland’s Big Bands, Crossroads Céilí (on a wooden platform ), children's programme, sports events, historic walk and talk, folk music and poetry, traditional Irish music and rock music, street stalls, heritage and drama performances, international busking competitions and entertainment in all the pubs.
Síamsa Sráide will not leave you broke. All entertainment is free and it's a lovely opportunity to meet old friends and local characters, rediscover fun and forget the recession, tap into an event geared for fun. Síamsa Sráide is a family festival.
