Féile na Bealtaine: Dingle locals and blow-ins unite for May fun and pagan rave
The Pagan Rave at Féile na Bealtaine. Picture: Eoghan O'Sullivan
Féile na Bealtaine has been running in and around the Dingle peninsula every May bank holiday weekend since 1994. “Who leads it? Who’s it for? Who gains from it? Who suffers? We don’t know!” states the ‘about’ page on its website. It also says it remains “true to the festival’s deep roots in a rural community”.
That’s evident from even a cursory glance at the extensive list of events, with local artists Honora O’Neill and Clodagh Edwards launching their exhibitions at the Dillon Gallery, while a short walk up the road at An Díseart church, the short film I mBliana (This Year) is screened.
It comprises snapshots of every month of the year taken in locations all over the peninsula. It’s introduced with the filmmakers explaining that they left the car at home and hitched, cycled, walked to their destinations, the limitations of the experience showing just how much effort and emissions lie behind such shoots. The soundtrack is made by musicians living locally too, again adding to the community feel of Féile.
One of the star attractons of the festival is the Pagan Rave, featuring masked mummers, otherworld creatures, and people of straw, all in the space out the back of Nellie Freds’ pub. It’s like a mini festival experience, where attendees are encouraged to go feral, to go free. It’s a treat for the senses. Look over here at a rap call to arms from on high! Look at the firepit! Look at the dancers in amazing costumes on stage! However, this is the first year it’s been ticketed and over-18s, and it’s disappointing to see lines of children having to stand at the railings inside peering in. Hopefully they’ll rectify that next time round.
Hug mòr don Dingle Druid.#Peig
— Sláine (@SlaineNi) May 5, 2024
Dochreidte, dèanta ag Sinéad Kavanagh os na Gleannta.
I love where I live... did I mention!?
🥳 pic.twitter.com/dKTP2mG4kr
The events on Sunday kick off early in the morning, while Cormac Begley and Lemoncello draw a calm crowd to the beautiful gardens at An Díseart. The sun is beating down as Begley, recently returned from Taiwan and some shows with Michael Keegan Dolan’s Mám, beguiles and fascinates with his concertinas as is his wont.
Like the instruments themselves, there are times when he leaves the listener breathless. He storms into ‘To War’ towards the end and it feels like we could all take off. Lemoncello are a two-piece who have just released their self-titled debut album on the storied Claddagh Records. Theirs is a more gentle, lilting folk music - perfect for a Sunday afternoon.
That outside the walls, down the streets of Dingle, is a parade featuring, among other characters, a huge Peig Sayers doling out hugs, shows what a special, varied event Féile na Bealtaine is, for locals and blow-ins alike.
