Viking-themed event marks the launch of the Lucan festival
By Aideen O'Flaherty
EXCITEMENT is building for the Lucan Festival, which was officially launched on Tuesday with a Viking-themed event at Kenny’s Bar in Lucan Village.
A group of between 25 and 30 people, including the event organisers and local politicians, got together to launch the festival, now in its 11th year, ahead of the three-day event which will take place next month.
Mayor Vicki Casserly at the launch on Monday
A key highlight of the festival will be the placement of a 40ft-long Viking longship at the Lucan Weir, while the Italian Ambassador’s residence will play host to a historic walk and a Viking village.
Joseph Reid, one of the event organisers, told The Echo: “The launch was very good, everyone was very positive.
“We had 11 of our Vikings who came down, the Sarah Curtis Dance Academy performed and the Italian Ambassador was also in attendance.
“The festival will be a bit of fun and it will also show the history of the Vikings – we want people to know about the history.”
A number of events will take place during the course of the festival, with the festival beginning with a free talk by a local historian on Wednesday, September 4, at 8pm in the Presbyterian Church about The Invincibles and The Phoenix Park Murders.
A free two-hour-long historical walk will be led by Joe Byrne on Thursday, September 5, and will start at 10.30am at the bus stop opposite the Circle K garage, and at 8pm that evening Joe will have a talk and slide show on the history of Lucan in the Presbyterian Church.
On Friday, September 6 at 10.30am in the Presbyterian Church, there will be an interactive forum between fourth year primary school students and senior citizens.
On Saturday, September 7, there will be a walk in the historic grounds of Lucan House, where visitors will see a Viking village, the oldest cemetery in Lucan and various other attractions.
Admission is €5 at the gate from 1pm and children under 12 are free.
There will be a Model Railway and Photography Exhibition in St Andrew’s Parish Centre from 2pm to 5pm and admission is also free, and an art exhibition will be held in Lucan Presbyterian Church and admission is free.
The culmination of the festival will take place on Sunday, September 8, when the village will be closed to through traffic from 10am to 7pm.
Sunday will be a Family Fun Day in the village, where there will be a Garda Open Day, food stalls, community stalls, street entertainers, bouncy castles and Vikings at the weir, and there will be two stages of live music.
TAGS Lucan
