By Andy Spearman
Now that the majority of Covid restrictions are behind us, hopefully for good, it is time for us to concentrate on getting Drogheda buzzing again – like the party town it used to be.
Drogheda needs to attract more visitors and one of the best ways to do that is by organising more festivals, especially during the summer.
Not only do festivals attract visitors, they’re great fun for locals too. God knows, after the last couple of years of being cooped up at home, we all need to get out and have a good time.
We all remember the fantastic time we had at the two Fleadh Cheoils held in Drogheda. The craic was, as they say, mighty.
It would be unreasonable to expect anything on that scale again but certainly we need to have something to look forward to and now is the time to start planning.
Towns such as Kilkenny, Galway, Wexford, Waterford and Cork and many others around the country have multiple festivals every year and the spin-off for local businesses, and employment, is huge.
Wouldn’t it be great if two or three different festivals could be organised every summer in Drogheda each with a different theme – Drogheda Food Festival, Boyneside Blues Festival, Drogheda Comedy Festival or a combination of all of the above rolled into one.
Maybe we should start with one great festival and hopefully get it right first time. I say hopefully because there’s a lot of work and expense involved in running a festival.
The Fleadh experience taught us a lot though so there are plenty of experienced people around who know the pitfalls and the absolute necessities of running a festival.
Apart from the Fleadh there have been several attempts at running festivals in Drogheda over the years.
Anyone who was there will remember forever the festival run by Eamon and Alma Duffy of the Weavers pub back in the early eighties which included the Raft Race and the “Birdman of Drogheda” competition.
“Captain” Kelly’s famous, perhaps infamous, attempts to fly across the Boyne powered by turkeys strapped to his arms are part of the local folklore at this stage. The £5,000 prize for anyone who could fly across the river went unclaimed but everyone had a great time and there were no injuries to man or turkey.
There were barman’s races and pram races and visits by famous people off the telly such as comedian Billy Connolly who packed out a marquee, probably called a dome these days.
Up in Dunleer, also in the eighties, there was the fantastic all- Ireland Soapbox Derby which involved young fellas racing down Knockatubber hill in home-made wooden replicas of Formula One racing cars.
The event was organised by the local Garda Sergeant Pat Roche and was a great hit for several years. It was also popular with locals at the time because Louth County Council resurfaced the stretch of road especially for the occasion.
Accidents in the Workplace play the Purple Session gig at the 2017 Irish Maritime Festival. Photo: Andy Spearman.
The longest running festival in Drogheda was the Samba Festival which was started in 1994 by my good friend, the late Brian Conyngham and his wife Phil assisted by a small but dedicated committee.
Secure funding for such a venture is essential though. The Samba Festival brought thousands of people to Drogheda each summer for 21 years but it was always run on a shoestring budget provided by commercial sponsors and the local authority and it was this lack of financial stability that finally did for it.
The Irish Maritime Festival attracted large crowds to Drogheda Port for the four years it ran but in 2018, the funding was diverted to the Fleadh.
It would be great to see the people of Drogheda reclaim the streets from the ever –present traffic, erect some tarpaulins and let their hair down for a few days and nights to experience the joy and freedom that is so important to fostering the sense of community that is so lacking these days.
People in towns and villages all over the world do it, so why not Drogheda?
