Write a comment
Local festivals have been a popular part of the summer calendar for many years. Festival fever began in the mid-1970s, with the launch of Newry Canal Festival and the South Armagh Festival, with many more to follow.
parade in Camlough, 1984. Newry Reporter Collection, Newry & Mourne Museum
Collection
A look through Newry and Mourne Museum’s collection reveals many photographs and artefacts relating to those early years. Festivals provided family fun, with parades, fancy-dress competitions, sports, arts and musical events filling the schedule. Raising money for charities was at the heart many festivals.
Based around the canal and the streets of Newry, the Newry Canal Festival first took place at the height of the Troubles, with one of its main aims to create a more positive atmosphere in the town. Staff from Newry and Mourne District Council, local businesses and charities worked together to organise the events. Proceedings were opened with a grand festival parade, with the mayor performing the official duties, sometimes with the help of celebrities, such as Pat Jennings (1984), George Best (1987) and Jackie Fullerton (1989). In 1988 the festival was made up of 106 events with 4,518 participants and 11,700 spectators and raised over £10,000. The festival ran annually until 1994.
on a float at the opening parade of the South Armagh Festival in Crossmaglen, 1985.
Newry Reporter Collection, Newry & Mourne Museum Collection
The South Armagh Festival also took to the streets of many towns and villages in the area in 1975, promising a ‘feast of activities’ for the old and the young. The events were presided over by Miss South Armagh, the festival queen. Festival queens were a feature of many of the local festivals, with some winners going on to become Miss Northern Ireland.
July 1987 saw the first annual Earwig Festival take place in the town. Centred on the High Street and Church Street area of the town, it took its title from ‘The Earwig’, a local character who spread gossip about local people. In later years, a weekly news sheet called The Earwig was left in pubs with a note that any money collected should go to charity. After a very successful first festival, local charities were the beneficiaries of the £3,500 raised. The festival would run for almost 30 years.
Reporter Collection, Newry & Mourne Museum Collection
In Warrenpoint, the Maiden of the Mournes Festival launched in August 1990, promising a programme of entertainment and fun for all. A festival dome in Warrenpoint Square provided the main venue for the nine-day gala. At the core of the festival were the ‘maidens’, who made their entrance in style, escorted across Carlingford Lough, from Omeath to Osborne Promenade by a flotilla of yachts. From here, they were taken on a tour of the town in vintage motorcars. Their itinerary involved touring the local area, taking in the sights, attending banquets and carrying out official visits. Contestants came from Ireland, the UK and beyond, bringing an internation element to the festival. The winner was crowned at a special ceremony in the festival dome, which in its inaugural year was compered by the late Gerry Kelly. The Loughside Festival has now taken its place in the festival calendar.
Festival, 1999, featuring previous winners of the crown.
Newry & Mourne Museum Collection
Over the years, trends may have changed and festivals have come and gone. However, the success of the early festivals set the tone for family fun and the creation of many more lasting memories.
The Museum is currently offering free tours of the main exhibition galleries on Wednesdays at 2.00 pm. These must be booked in advance by calling our Education Officer at 0330 137 4422.
Newry and Mourne Museum is open Tuesday to Saturday 10.00am to 4.30pm. For further information visit our website at www.visitmournegullionstrangford.com/museums/newry-and-mourne-museum, call 0330 137 4422 or email museums@nmandd.org.
