Irish Festival Awards
The main signal fire at Festival of the Fires 2011
Greetings from the Hill of Uisneach! Sadly, we did not win anything at the Irish Festival Awards despite being nominated SEVEN times in an assortment of different categories. It seems there is no stopping the brilliant Electric Picnic, so congratulations to John Reynolds and all his crew on their record haul of awards. When it comes to a big event, there really is no other festival in Ireland like it. Congratulations to all the other winners, including our fellow Westmeath festival ‘Body & Soul’, held every June in Ballinlough Castle, and also to Life Festival, the dance festival with a difference held at the beautiful Belvedere House Gardens and Park near Mullingar. Congrats also to all those involved in keeping the flame burning for the late, great Rory Gallagher. The annual Rory Gallagher Festival in Bundoran is like the man himself, free-spirited and a little wild.
Hopefully we’ll pick up an award some day! We were delighted and honoured to be nominated for so many awards, particularly as it’s still early days for this rekindling of Ireland’s oldest festival. As an independent, sponsor-free, non-commercial event it was great to be in such high esteem with the people behind the Irish Festival Awards.
In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled to these pages and to www.facebook.com/festivalofthefires for an announcement on the 2012 event.