Ballinskelligs tuning up for ‘Pattern’ weekend festival
THIS Friday marks Pattern Day in Ballinskellig and, as is always the case in the south Kerry village, they’ll mark the Feast of St Michael and the arrival of October with no little ceremony.
“We’re celebrating our Pattern Day on September 29, and each year we build a little festival around it,” an excited Dessy Cronin of Coiste Baile na Sceilge told The Kerryman this week.
“What you get is three days of celebrations from Friday [September 29] to Sunday [October 1], including rounds of St Michael’s Well; guided walks; a concert with Cór Cois Abhann and Iveragh Male Voice Choir; Music and Dance; and a photographic exhibition.”
The events begin at 10.30am on Friday with rounds of St Michael’s Well, and a talk by Denis McSweeney on the History of the Ford Motor Company is billed to take place later in the day from 8.30pm. From midday on Saturday, a guided walk will take in the likes of St Michael’s Well and the Monk’s Trail, before a choral performance gets underway in St Michael’s Church from 8.30pm.
Weather permitting, Sunday will see the festival take to St Michael’s Abbey from 11.30am, and this will be followed by tea and scones in the community hall. There will also be plenty musical entertainment throughout the weekend, with ceol and craic scheduled for 10pm on both Friday and Saturday in Tig Rosie.
Another attraction, an exhibition of old photographs from Ballinskelligs and South Kerry taken by Dómhnall Ó Máirtín in the ‘50s and ‘60s, will be open to all in the Community Hall throughout the weekend, and Dessy promises a trip down memory lane for all visitors.
Further information can be obtained by visiting or messaging the “Ballinskelligs Community Centre” Facebook page, emailing coistebks@ eircom.net, or phoning (066) 947 9111.