Local heroes get a chance to shine at Féile na Laoch
THIS year will see many different events and projects covering a whole range of heritage topics. As well as being the European Year of Cultural Heritage, 2018 is also the centenary of universal suffrage, the centenary of beginnings with regard to the War of Independence period (particularly here in the County of Cork) and of course it is also Bliain na Gaeilge, which will see a strong focus on the Irish language. One considerable event of note taking place in 2018 is also the Féile na Laoch Festival, which takes place only once every seven years.
Féile na Laoch (Festival of Heroes) is a very big international, multifaceted festival of all arts which is organized for over a six-month period every seven years across Ireland and internationally. It is dedicated to the memory of the Irish composer and creator Seán Ó Riada and is the only official commemoration of this Irish hero.
This period is to help and facilitate all Gaels, at home and abroad, to renew their identity and self-knowledge. Every community is encouraged to organize a Féile na Laoch of its own during this time of self-renewal and affirmation of self and community.
Each community has its own culture. Each is different and recognizes itself in the heroes its people choose as their exemplars. For the festival, a community names 100 heroes. Some will be common to many communities in Ireland, Scotland and abroad and more will by unique to individual localities. This difference in choice reflects the individuality of communities. Féile na Laoch seeks to demonstrate what we think is good example, what is good advice to our youth and our people generally.
A Féile na Laoch flag will be presented to any group wishing to participate and it is hoped that as many groups as possible, both at home and abroad, will embrace the festival. For more information, see the news section of www.corkcoco.ie/arts-heritage and/ or email oifig@iontaoibheasfodhla.ie.
The Féile na Laoch Festival will incorporate a range of different cultural undertakings and activities, something which the national Creative Ireland Programme has very much at heart. Creative Ireland focuses on empowering communities to take pride in their locality and to express through culture, their love of the people and the place they call home.
Creativity comes in many different forms, and everybody is creative in some manner, shape or form, every single day. Two very much loved creative activities in this regard include writing and music and two recent announcement by Cork County Council’s Library Section will be of interest to many.
Cork County Library and Arts Service Reference Department is currently looking at the possibility of making musical instruments available to borrow through its branch library network on a pilot basis, to allow members of the public to road test their musical skills before investing in a costly instrument.
To get this pilot off the ground, the Library is seeking donations of portable musical instruments no longer in use by the owners and in good condition. Unfortunately wind instruments cannot be accepted for health and safety reasons.
If you have a musical instrument that you’d be happy to donate to the library please email corkcountylibrary@corkcoco.ie or phone 021-4546499. Further information is also available at www. corkcoco.ie/library-services.
Also recently announced by the County Council’s Library Service is the 2018 From the Well Short Story Competition. The competition invites entries from writers aged 18 and over, who are registered library members in any country.
Twenty stories will be shortlisted by writer Billy O’Callaghan and will be announced at the end of April and a winner from the shortlisted stories will be selected by a panel of judges including Billy O’Callaghan, Claire Kilroy and Eimear Ryan.
The winning story and the 19 other shortlisted stories will be published in an anthology by Cork County Council in June 2018. The winning story title will be the title of this publication. The winning writer will be awarded a place on a week-long workshop of their choice at the West Cork Literary Festival 2018 and €250 towards accommodation.
Entries are being accepted up until 5pm on Friday 16th February. The stories cannot exceed 2,000 words and must be previously unpublished/ not accepted for future publication elsewhere. Entries should be sent to the Arts Office, Library Headquarters, Carrigrohane Road, Cork and for further information phone 021 4346210 or email sinead.donnelly@corkcoco.ie.
Ireland has seen many a story written about its maritime heritage and for those with an interest in the seas a roadmap for the development of Ireland’s first marine spatial plan – entitled ‘Towards a Marine Spatial Plan for Ireland’ was published recently by Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government Eoghan Murphy and Minister Damien English.
The Marine Spatial Plan (MSP) will try to balance the different demands for using the sea, including the need to protect the marine environment.
The MSP for Ireland, which will be developed over the next three years, will provide a framework in which specific sectoral policies and objectives can be realised. For further information visit www.housing.gov.ie.
With regard to upcoming events there are many ahead, particularly with the month of February just around the corner.
The first heritage event of the month will take place in Blarney Secondary School on Thursday 1st February at 8pm, and is titled ‘The Forgotten Traditions of Skellicking Day Carnival’.
Organised by the Blarney and District Historical Society, this event will shed a light on the wild and wonderful rituals and customs observed on ‘Shrove Tuesday’; the last day of carnival before the onset of Lent, that were a major part of Irish life in years gone by.
In particular, the period between Epiphany and Lent was a traditional time for marriage and any eligible, but unmarried, men and women were ridiculed and stigmatized on Shrove Tuesday.
Guest speaker Mr. Shane Lehane Lecturer in the Dept. of Folklore and Ethnology in U.C.C. explains all as his talk explores the infamous ‘Skellig Lists’ and associated activities that characterized this time of the year. This illustrated lecture based on new research, utilizing a host of historical, visual and oral sources, also explores the hitherto little-known folk ritual, still extant in Cobh and Blarney. Visit http:// blarneyhistory.ie for more information.
A few days earlier, there will be an interesting talk on the bygone shops and shopkeepers of Clonakilty, taking place in Clonakilty Parish Centre at 8pm on Thursday 25th January. The talk, being given by Carmel Flahavan, will detail the family names of businesses that operated between 1870 and 1920. The story of these shopkeepers is told through a variety of historical sources and throws up some interesting facts and surprises. Above all, the lecture will emphasise the importance of small shops and businesses in the town centre and the importance of supporting them.
Speaking of support, at present there are a few funding opportunities currently open to applications. The Heritage Council’s Community Grant Scheme 2018 remains open until February 9th and Cork County Council’s Municipal District Grant Scheme 2018 is accepting applications up until Friday 16th February 2018. Hopefully a number of wonderful County Cork heritage projects will be supported.