Drumroll please its the heart of ireland festival

Maria Bourke was on Market Square, as promised, at 6 o'clock this evening, and after apologising for being on Mullingar Time, she told us what her plans are as Aifric Kiernan provided the drumroll...

... and, it's The Heart of Ireland Festival on July 11-12, 2015.

The heart of The Heart of Ireland is a competition for over 50s, said Maria, apologising that the young girls who participate in the Rose of Tralee, which inspired her in coming up with this concept, are not eligible.

The ultimate prize will be the Heart of Gold, which will go to a person who 'is not a saint, but a well-rounded individual who possesses a strong character, a generosity of spirit and a gift for story telling'.

More on the details in due course. 

The main point made and repeated at the launch earlier is how this new festival has so much potential to help Mullingar, and, as Maria said, how she and the other members of her small organising committee have done "as much as we could do with the resources we had" and now they are appealing for support to move it forward.

Gerry Duffy and Robert Troy, TD, spoke to remind everyone what a great town Mullingar is and what an opportunity this new festival offers, similar to the bid for the Purple Flag, for which judging day is December 12.

See www.heartofireland.ie, which will be developed as the festival approaches. More details in next Tuesday's Westmeath Examiner.