Norman Festival announced and Baginbun 850 event to go ahead
FESTIVAL funding of €25,000 has been announced for a Norman festival in New Ross this August, but an arrow was shot across the bow of one of its organisers, Cllr Michael Sheehan for not including Baginbun in the main festivities.
Addressing the municipal council meeting, district manager Mick McCormack said seven other festivals will be funded in part, or in whole, by the council with a grand total of €103,000 being provided.
The St Patrick’s Day Parade will receive €9,000 between funding and staff resources, €4,000 is being allocated to the AIMS Choral Festival, €5,000 will go to the organisation of the Hook on the Sea/Hike to the Hook Festival, €10,000 is being provided for each of the three autumn series festivals: the Kennedy Summer School, New Ross Piano Festival and the Eugene O’Neill International Festival of Drama. €15,000 will be spent on the Christmas Nollaig festivities, with €7,000 being allocated to staff resources for other events throughout the district.
Mr McCormack said €20,000 has always been allocated to a summer festival event in New Ross. ‘It was the Dunbrody Festival under Sean Connick for some time and there was a JFK festival for a number of years and last year we had the Fit Fest. This year there is a proposal established by Cllr Sheehan, Paul Kelly and Pat Kent.’
The proposal document was circulated to all councillors and the local media. Taking place over the weekend of Saturday, August 8 and Sunday, August 9. Norman camps, re-enactment sites at St Mary’s Church, Barrack Lane and the Library Park, an authentic craft fair, a bus tour around the Hook Peninsula, a family picnic, ‘ The Norman Gate Run’ and an opening parade followed by music on a stage at The Tholsel is planned for the Saturday.
As for the Sunday, more re-enactments, music or open air theatre, a craft and food fair at the Dunbrody Famine Ship featuring welsh, Irish and Savannah dishes, is also planned.
The main event is scheduled to take place at 2 p.m., namely The Marriage of William Marshal and Isobel De Clare in St Mary’s Church, where De Clare’s heart is reputed to be buried.
The wedding event will be a ticketed event.
Cathaoirleach Cllr John Fleming asked if funding can be provided for St Patrick’s Day parades in Clonroche, Duncannon and Fethard and was assured by Mr McCormack that €1,000 will be found for each festival to help organisers.
‘It’s hard to get money at this time of the year. A few thousand might be the difference between a parade going ahead or not,’ Cllr Fleming said.
Cllr Michael Whelan said he had no problem with the Norman festival but was struggling to understand how Baginbun wasn’t included when 2020 is the 850th anniversary of the Norman landing and battle at the headland.
‘A Norman festival was run in Carrig on Bannow last year.
It was assisted to the tune of €10,000 as it was 850 years since the Normans arrived in 1169. This programme does nothing for Baginbun or the Hook Peninsula, except for a bus tour that goes around the peninsula anyway. If we were able to give €10,000 to the Bannow Historical Society we should be able to give money to run an event in the Fethard area to mark the battle of Baginbun which was one of the fierest battles of all time when they landed.’
Cllr Whelan said it would be criminal not to have an event at Baginbun, adding: ‘I think the people of Baginbun or Fethard would never forgive us. We could get Hook Rural Tourism to run an event at Baginbun and find €10,000 for them.’
He said the Carrig on Bannow festival cost around €35,000 to run, questioning whether enough funding was being allocated to the New Ross Norman Festival. ’Are we talking about running a full menu (of events) for €20,000?’
The meeting heard that further money would be forthcoming.
Cllr Whelan called for a battle re-enactment to take place at Baginbun, preferably in May, as well as a music event.
A suggestion for the funding to be split between the two festivals was rejected outright by district director Eamonn Hore who said €10,000 is not enough for a festival in New Ross, with €5,000 in staff resources.
Cllr Whelan also expressed concern about the festival date, saying the Normans arrived in Baginbun in early May 1870.
‘ The date of this festival is August 8. I do believe if we look back to last year the Duncannon Sandsculpting Festival was on that weekend. The date of the landing was May 1. I seriously believe a day’s event needs to go on in Baginbun if there is additional money we can gain from the council to extend the programme.’
Cllr Sheehan said both events would contribute to the local economy.
‘What you see in front of you is tentative. The committee wanted to bring this to the elected members for their contribution. We will do our very best to ensure all of the areas are included in the programme of events. It’s not the intention of the festival to displace another festival or to interrupt or uproot it. It’s going to be required an offset of additional money from other agencies. It’s in line with Bord Fáilte and the Norman Way in the past.’
Cllr Sheehan said the itinerary can be amended.
Mr Hore said New Ross is being highlighted as a Norman town as part of Ireland’s Ancient East. ‘ Fáilte Ireland are encouraging us to go in that direction. We have claimed the whole Norman Way. If you split it there will be two events. There is no additional monies this year, but I think if we go back to the tourism section we will get something. I would say support would be there so we need the people from Baginbun and Fethard to come up with a proposal and the tourism section will assess it. I believe we won’t be found wanting.’
Mr Hore said the Baginbun event can be completely standalone from the Norman Festival.
He said the council plan to complete the Norman Way signage in south Wexford this year.
Cllr Anthony Connick said there was an issue last year with a festival. ‘Only for the council we were in awful trouble. If these festivals are not going to go ahead we should be notified early,’ he said.
Mr McCormack said the council will have oversight on it, adding that he thinks the festival can be funded with around €20,000.
‘I don’t think there is a huge cost involved apart from insurance and health and safety.’
The festivals budget was unanimously passed.