Festival to coincide with Irish Open in bid to showcase village

A HUGE village party has been organised in Adare to coincide with the Irish Open Golf Championship, which takes place there from May 15 to 18.

The festival aims to showcase the tourism village to the thousands who will visit the golf tournament and the millions who will watch coverage on Sky Sports.

Local schoolchildren turned out yesterday to launch the Adare Festival.

The festival which is in its second year is organised by the Adare Business Association and is supported by Shannon Development, Fáilte Ireland, AIB Bank, McInerney Homes and Limerick County Council.

The festival committee have developed a programme of events which offers a mix of local tradition and culture to all visitors. The festival will kick off in style on May 15 with a special performance by Liam Lawton in the Holy Trinity Abbey Church. The performance will feature the Holy Trinity Abbey church choir and all proceeds will go to the church development fund. Other highlights will include a courtesy train to and from the golf course every 20 minutes.

A food and & craft market will be set up in the village park.

Local pubs will host traditional music while dances will take place in the village hall.

Speaking about the benefit of the Irish Open and the upcoming festival for the village, Adare Festival co-ordinator David Fitzgerald said: “Following on the from the success of last year’s festival the village has once again come together to put on a fun-filled festival that can be enjoyed by all the family. With the Irish Open once again in Adare Manor, we have a fantastic opportunity to showcase the village of Adare to an enormous audience and enhance the village’s reputation as a premier tourist destination even further. We will be going all out to give a big Adare welcome to all the players, fans and media attending the Irish Open by dressing the village streets from head to toe with fabulous flags and flowers. With music, theatre and so much more planned, we believe that everyone who attends the festival will get a real taste of what Adare is all about.”

* Details of the Adare Festival are available by contacting the Adare Festival office in the Adare Heritage Centre at 061 396255.