AllaboardfortheMaritime
THE Irish Maritime Festival in association with Virgin Media is back … and it’s bigger and better than ever.
Taking place in Drogheda Port next weekend, the festival celebrates maritime history and heritage alongside brilliant musical performers, delicious food and lots of family friendly fun.
We caught up with Festival Director Mary T. Daly of Louth County Council and Capt. Martin Donnelly of Drogheda Port to find out: Ships, Ships and more Ships;
“Our largest flotilla of ships yet” opened Captain Martin Donnelly, Harbourmaster of Drogheda Port. “We are so proud to welcome our largest flotilla yet. The Russian frigate The Shtandart, The Earl of Pembroke and The Phoenix will be the largest and most impressive ships at the Festival this year. We also welcome the much loved motortug Brocklebank from Liverpool, a real workhorse of the Maritime industry.”
Capt. Donnelly continues “Soteria is s back by popular demand,, a real family favourite. And watch out for the beautiful Brian Ború, sailing up the Boyne with a crew of local sail trainees. We are delighted that the RNLI will join us with both new and vintage lifeboats and 2017 sees more yachts than ever visiting Drogheda’s quays to be part of the festival.’
“Top Tip for 2017: get here early. The ships are open from 11.30am to 3.30pm daily. So get to the festival early to give yourself enough time to visit them all” Capt. Donnelly concluded. Food Glorious Food:
“A Taste of Ireland’s Ancient East is our food showcase for 2017. A wonderful selection of local food producers will display their products, offer tastings and sell delicious treats for visitors to take home. TV chef Tara Walker of East Coast Cookery School will give cookery demos each day, using the finest of local food produce and of course, there’ll be nice treats for tasting at the end of her demos. This showcase is hosted by the Boyne Valley Food Series and co-ordinated by Tara Smith, Food Development Officer for the region.” Mary T. Daly explains.
Open from 11.00-18.00hrs both days, it really is a great chance to meet the people behind local produce. For example, meet Barry John Crowe who recently broke the Guinness World Record live on RTE’s ‘Big Week On The Farm’ for making the most sausages in one minute. He smashed the world record of 60 sausages, making 79 in just sixty seconds. Music at the Maritime Music at the Maritime is bigger than ever. Gerry Hodgers of Boyle’s of Slane and The Living Room by Sarsfield’s will host the two music stages. In addition, the Droichead Arts Centre have this year introduced the now sold out “Stowaway Sessions”, live acoustic gigs on the deck of a Tall Ship.
The outdoor Ballast Quay stage will feature some of the hottest new acts from across the North East. “We were inundated with requests to play at the Festival this year” explains Gerry Hodgers. “We have fabulous bands and singer-song writers playing this year including Red Empire, Accidents in the Workplace, Fuzz Gigolo, Moon Looks On and Chelsea Nolan. We are delighted to welcome The Augustinian Gospel Choir, always a crowd pleaser. This year, our youth acts include the young talents of the Phoenix Baton Twirlers and KidKast. Check out www.MaritimeFestival.ie/Music for the full lineup and schedule.”
In The Living Room, Sarsfields are bringing a very chilled out festival vibe with their weekend of electronica. “The weekend starts on Friday night in The Living Room at the Irish Maritime Festival. Move DJs support our Daft Punk Tribute Act. Festival goers on Saturday and Sunday can drop into The Living Room and kick back with a cold drink and listen to some of the best DJ’s, including LayLowLee, Craig C, Andrew K, Emmie Lou, Hicks and Ronan H pump out their chilled summer sound. From soul to hip-hop, funk and jazz, you’ll love the summer vibe in The Living Room.”
Tickets for the Daft Punk gig are available by visiting www.MaritimeFestival.ie/living-room.
The newest music initiative for 2017 is “The Stowaway Sessions”.
The brainchild of Collette Farrell of the Droichead Arts Centre, these sold out gigs see two live music acoustic sessions take place on the deck of The Earl of Pembroke Tall Ship. “Heathers play Friday night with special guests The Carolan Brothers. Saturday night sees the legendary Steve Wickham play supported by Kern.’