A special day for Yeats – now in its seventh year

You don’t have to be a Yeats scholar to appreciate a good party which is exactly what the Yeats Society are throwing across Sligo town tomorrow, Wednesday 13th June to mark Yeats birthday. And of course there will be cake. A big cake. O’Hehirs Bakery are kindly donating an enormous cake which will be cut on O’Connell Street with Mr Yeats after some poetry in Hargadon’s Pub.

“It’s great to start Yeats season in Sligo with his birthday,” Yeats Society Director Susan O’Keeffe told The Sligo Champion.

“Putting the cake at the centre of the celebrations makes it a birthday,” said Susan, who founded the Yeats Day celebrations back in 2012.

Since then it’s gone from strength to strength and has been extended to five days this year, including the Lily and Lolly Yeats Annual Fine Art and Craft Festival celebrating the legacy of Susan and Elizabeth Yeats. The celebrations begin with children and poetry in Sligo County Library at 11.30am tomorrow, Wednesday 13th June and run until Sunday 17 th June.

Eily Kilgannon and the Anne Carton Creche will be there for the free event.

Other highlights include a first time collaboration with IT Sligo which will play host to a Yeats Day Vintage Variety Show.

Old-fashioned costume is optional so Yeats lovers, locals and tourists are encouraged to dress up! The variety show will be presented by the IT Sligo Choir with music, dance, theatre and poetry in the Glasshouse Hotel at 8pm Wednesday 13th June.

Another first for the festival will be a walk up Knocknarea with poetry readings at the summit at 12.30pm on Sunday 17 th June. Sligo Food Trail are also running a Yeats Tapas Trail - there’s something for all tastes in Sligo at the Yeats Day Festival this week!