Cherry Orchard Arts

This year’s Ballyfermot Cherry Orchard Arts Festival recorded an “unbelievable” turnout for the eclectic range of events that were held throughout the week.

From July 8 to 12, the festival welcomed all from near and far to the sun-soaked parks and community centres around Ballyfermot for an array of performances.

Over 20 venues across Ballyfermot, including the Civic Centre, the Candle Centre and the Orchard Centre, hosted a variety of events including music, poetry performances, and photography exhibitions.

Over 1,000 people turned up to the opening event of the festival in Cherry Orchard Park, where a Summer Family Fun Day, hosted by FamiliBase, Cherry Orchard Equine Centre, NeuroVibe Tribe, the Orchard Centre & Liffey Partnership, kicked off for all ages.

The Jeremiahs, a traditional Irish music group played the first concert of the festival, held on July 5  in the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption, to a sold-out crowd of 400 fans.

A favourite for many was the daily hour-long concert held in Tesco car park, which lifted the already-high spirits of the locals as they ran their shopping errands.

On July 6, the Civic Centre was transformed into a gallery by photography group, Studio2, to showcase a new exhibition titled ‘Capail an Bhóthair’, which captured the lives of locals and their love for horses.

The festival came to a close on July 12 in Markievicz Park with the final Family Fun Day of the Summer, which attracted another huge crowd.

The Family Day included more musical performances and plenty of fun and games in the sunshine, wrapping up another successful Arts Festival.

Festival organiser Gerry McCarthy expressed his delight at this year’s turnout: “It was a great opening Saturday up in Cherry Orchard, we had about 1,000 people in attendance – it was unbelievable.”

“We’ve also had workshops like flower arranging, and a copper-craft workshop as well, which were all booked out. There’s been so many things that have drawn great crowds.”

The festival also hosted community events such as Afternoon Tea in the Ballyfermot Family Resource Centre, which brought people from all ages and backgrounds together for an afternoon of chat and entertainment.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme