Success of Mearescourt festival spurs other events
The Music at Mearescourt festival in September paved the way for other such events that are now being rolled out across the county, according to comments made at a recent Strategic Policy Committee meeting.
Miriam Mulrennan, Westmeath arts officer, said the Mearescourt three-day event was “fabulous”. She recalled that it was a celebration in the grounds of Mearescourt House and 300 people attended shows on Friday evening and Saturday and Sunday afternoons and evenings. “It was beautifully run,” she said, adding that it was “really appreciated by the attendees”.
Ms Mulrennan said that following the Mearescourt success, the government has funded a second Local Live Performance scheme. “Coming from Mearescourt essentially, this is the first scheme where we have a weekend of events.”
This latest programme kicked off with performances by the Sheerin family, Cronin, Bobby and the Blunts, The Blizzards and more. Ms Mulrennan and her crew are working with events managers and venues around the county and it is expected that there will be about 25 performances between now and the end of the year.
They are supporting in the order of 50 artists, crews, riggers, lighting and sound engineers – people who had a particularly brutal experience due to Covid restrictions.
Ms Mulrennan said that the Music Generation programme continues to be the flagship they always hoped it would be and is now reaching about 7,000 children in an active and meaningful way.
There are instruments moving around the county in boots of cars, very safely, she said, adding that the programme has “really resonated for us in schools, community settings and with local bands and groups getting involved”.
Looking ahead, Ms Mulrennan said next year they want to promote Westmeath as a filming venue and are collaborating with Laois and Offaly to get artists into healthcare and wellness settings.
The committee chairman, Cllr Ken Glynn, joined in applauding the success of the Music at Mearescourt venture, saying it was fantastic, a credit to everybody and it “shows what can be done”.
He welcomed the support of Ms Mulrennan and her team for a project close to his heart – The Rocks. It was a simple idea, but it certainly, in the hard times of early lockdown, helped a lot of families and became a big community project, he said.
County librarian, Mary Stuart, reported that the library service had received €10,500, which they spent on providing 13 workshops on the theme ‘Celebration of Diversity’. They are also promoting the Decade of Centenaries and producing documentary style film clips on the ‘big house’.
Among the programmes delivered this year was one by Niamh Shaw, scientist and writer, who explored themes of science, arts and climate change. Creativity in older age, funded by Creative Ireland, features a series of podcasts from people aged 55 and over about lives they have lived and the changes they have witnessed. They have also run a number of community programmes including a parenting talk with Mary O’Kane.
Cllr Glynn and Hugh Farrell applauded the arts and library sector on the work they were doing in difficult times.