ARDEE TRANSFORMS INTO FLORAL DELIGHT
RTE’S MARY KENNEDY PERFORMED THE OPENING CEREMONY FOR STUNNING NATIONAL WEEKEND EVENT
Stunning creativity and a warm welcome were in store for the thousands of visitors who flocked to Ardee for the bi-annual national flower festival organised by AOIFA, the Association of Irish Floral Artists, at the weekend.
Two beautiful venues - St Mary’s Church of Ireland and the Church of the Nativity of Our Lady - were transformed by the colour and imagination of more than 60 displays of the work of the members of some of Ireland’s best floral art clubs who produced magical creations on this year’s theme, Celtic Way.
Enthusiasts from all over Ireland made the trip to Ardee on Saturday and Sunday to enjoy not only the very best work done in floral art in Ireland this year, but also to browse the trade stands and get refreshments at the Ardee Parish Centre.
In addition, there was an exhibition of paintings on the theme of floral art in Ardee Library, which was organised by Padraig Lynch, opened on June 6 and featured the works of Brian Kieran, Oonagh Phillips, Lillian Regan, Carmel Callan, Kathy Barry and Thomas Ryan RHA.
In addition, at the parish centre, the beautiful works by art students from Ardee Community School adorned the walls, with musical interludes throughout the weekend from Ardee Concert Band.
RTE presenter Mary Kennedy performed the official opening on Friday evening, with a camera crew from Nationwide filming at the festival for a show that will air at a later date.
Getting the event together was a mammoth task for AOIFA president, and member of the Ardee club, Candy Holten, along with the committee which included local women Josie Callan, Olive Martin, Veronica McMahon and Theresa Synnott. The main sponsors of the event were Louth County Council, ABP Food Group and Ardee Credit Union, along with dozens of smaller donations from the local business community for the fund-raising raffle.
Ms Holten praised the community for the way that businesses and voluntary groups came together to support the event being held in Ardee and said she was very grateful to not only Canon Peter Murphy PP, Rector Ian Jameson and Canon Joyce Moore for allowing them to use the churches, but also to all the floral artists who volunteer to take part in the festival, which this year helped raise thousands of euro for the Irish Association for Cancer Research, an organisation that represents cancer researchers on the island of Ireland.