Killarney all tuned up for Oireachtas

FESTIVAL IS BACK IN KILLARNEY AND WORTH MILLIONS TO LOCAL ECONOMY

IT’S billed as the most Irish festival of them all, and the massive Oireachtas na Samhna is certainly a welcome addition to Killarney, especially given that it takes place during the most testing times of the year in terms of tourism. Some 10,000 people descended on Killarney during the 2016 Oireachtas, a celebration of the Irish language and culture like no other. Killarney has become a near-permanent host for An tOireachtas in recent years – 2017 will be the sixth time the town has hosted the festival in eight years – and while this year’s events will take place in the INEC and Gleneagle Hotel for the most part, festivities will also extend to the Brehon Hotel, the Killarney Avenue, the Killarney Plaza, the National Park, and St Mary’s Cathedral. “It’s estimated to be worth around €8million to the local economy,” Councillor Michael Gleeson, a Clasheen resident and keen admirer of the festival, told The Kerryman. “The festival is greatly appreciated in Killarney, particularly during the ‘shoulder season’, which is traditionally the toughest time of the year for the tourism industry.” People of all ages will compete across disciplines that include dancing, singing, acting and storytelling, with the official opening taking place from 3.30pm at the Brehon today (Wednesday) set to include the awarding of literary prizes, most notably the prestigious Gradam Uí Shúilleabháin. The highlight of the five-day celebration will, as ever, be the blue-riband sean nós singing competition Corn Uí Riada, scheduled for 7pm on Saturday at the INEC, but there will be no shortage of events to enjoy, including Thursday night’s concert, “Comóradh ar Fhéile Oireachtais 1987”, which from 9.30pm at the Gleneagle will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Corca Dhuibhne-hosted 1987 Oireachtas. “It promotes Kerry and Killarney culture,” Cllr Gleeson said. “I look forward to it as an opportunity to meet friends from Corca Dhuibhne, Múscraí, and other Gaeltachtaí. “Joe McHugh TD will be there for the festival; when he took up his role as the Minister of State with responsibility for Irish and the Gaeltachts, he didn’t have much Irish, but he has made every effort to learn since. Maybe there’s a lesson there for others; it might be worth following his lead and visiting Killarney this week to engage with Irish language and culture.”