Taste the magic of Siamsa Killeedy with fun for all the family

KILLEEDY is gearing up for a weekend of ceol agus craic and is inviting people from all over the county to join with them in celebrating their musical and natural heritage.

Siamsa Killeedy is the latest initiative being undertaken in a parish that has demonstrated its energy, resilience and get-up-and-go attitude in barrowloads in recent years.  And, says chairwoman Joanne Larkin, the hope is that it will become an annual event.

The weekend opens on Saturday, September 15 with the show,  “The Big Do Down the Hall”. This is a locally scripted show which will feature a cast of locals in a wedding day skit with ‘top table’ characters guaranteed to raise the roof with laughter. It will take place  in Raheenagh Hall at 8.30pm and will have its very own “Afters” in Casey’s Pub when Kevin McCarthy will provide the music.

The big action will be in Ashford on Sunday when the Family Fun Day kicks off at 2pm in the soccer field and the car park of the Ashford Tavern. There will be lots of fun games for young and not so young to take part in and open air music will be provided by the Killeedy Wren Boys and The Shambollixes.

A novel event will be the Fairy Daddy Race. “It is just a bit of fun. We have 15 men ready to take part. We will blindfold them, bring them by car to different locations 10 or 15 kilometres away and then challenge them to get back to Ashford as fast as they can. The first home will be the Fairy Daddy,” Ms Larkin explained. The men all have sponsorship cards so the hope is the race will bring in some money.

The Siamsa Killeedy event is intended as a fundraiser for the Ashford Tavern project. This project involves transforming the old pub into a community hub with a Teach Cheoil, a community gym and a youth space as well as a kitchen, bathrooms and meeting rooms.  Planning permission for the project has been granted and is expected to cost €250,000.

The project failed to make the cut under the  Leader programme for community facilities last year but a  new application for a different stream of funding has now been lodged with West Limerick Resources. But the community must also raise up to €80,000 to ensure the project can go ahead.

About half of this money has already been raised, mainly through a Buy a Brick initiative. It is hoped that Siamsa Killeedy will go some way towards closing the gap.

Visitors to Killeedy on the weekend of September 15 and 16 are encouraged to bring their walking shoes as it will be an opportunity to walk part of the Ashford Broadford Walking Trails.