Araglin Carnival is back!

The first carnival in Araglin took place during the summer of 1957 - the event continued uninterrupted until 2020, when a global pandemic was declared.

Covid-19 probably isn’t going away any time soon, however, progress is being made and slowly but surely, the country is getting back to something resembling normality.

While still curtailed by restrictions, the top table of Araglin Carnival committee convened a meeting recently where a debate took place on the possibility of staging a carnival for 2021. Scheduled for 45 minutes, the meeting went on for almost 3 hours. Encouraged by their charismatic chairman, Jeremiah O’Brien from the Mountain Barracks, it was eventually agreed that the carnival tradition would continue - albeit in a shortened format.

THE PROGRAMME OF EVENTS

Araglin Carnival 2021 gets underway on Wednesday, 21st July with a car treasure hunt, commencing and concluding in the community field - there’s an entry fee of €20.

On Friday, 23rd July, a colour run, starting and finishing outside Araglin Hall takes place. An open air quiz, with John Browne from Ballimadock setting the questions, takes place in the field on Saturday evening, 24th July at 7pm. The carnival culminates with a family fun day and open air concert in the community field on Sunday 25th - the special guest is Derek Burke of Crystal Swing fame.

GOOD TO BE BACK

News that Araglin Carnival is taking place shortly has given everyone a lift - the aim now is to host a safe event, that will celebrate all that’s good about rural living.

(Pic: John Ahern) GOOD TIMES TO RETURN: Chairman of Araglin Carnival, Jeremiah O’Brien (centre) pictured at the launch of the 2018 programme with concert promoter, Conor ‘Roxy’ O’Brien and amateur darts champion, Richard Whelan. Having been cancelled last year due to Covid-19 restrictions, the carnival is all set for a dramatic return.