Tuam takes time to celebrate past glory

The rest of the country might be commemorating the 200th anniversary of the 1798 Rebellion, but in the north Co Galway town of…

The rest of the country might be commemorating the 200th anniversary of the 1798 Rebellion, but in the north Co Galway town of Tuam celebrations of a different kind are taking place between June 5th and June 21st.

The first-ever City of Tuam Festival marks the 800th anniversary of the death in 1198 of Ruairi O Conor, a local chieftain who was the last high king of Ireland. During the reign of Ruairi and his father, Turlough, Connacht became Ireland's leading province for the only time. Tuam was Ireland's ecclesiastical headquarters in the 1100s, while nearby Dunmore was the country's political capital.

This festival celebrating Tuam's glorious past is the brainchild of the local Church of Ireland dean, the Very Rev Ian Corbett, and was organised with local business people. It will feature music, 12th-century art, theatre, pageantry and a summer school entitled "A Vision of Connacht in the 12th Century".

Concerts will be given by De Danann, Dolores Keane, The Saw Doctors, Gary Hastings, the Douglas Gunn Ensemble, Cois Cladaigh and Galway Early Music, while the Tuam Theatre Guild will re-enact the coronation of Ruairi in St Mary's Cathedral. There will also be a pageant in Cong Abbey, where Ruairi died. Exhibitions will include photographs, paintings and local artefacts, including Tuam's famous high cross.

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Meanwhile, the Summer School, which runs from June 12th to 14th, will feature talks from Dr Peter Harbison, academic editor of the Royal Irish Academy; Dr Sean Duffy and Prof Roger Stalley, both from Trinity College Dublin; Dr Colman Ethchingham, of NUI, Maynooth; and Dr Raghnall O Floinn, of the National Museum.

The festival is already attracting a lot of interest in Tuam and further afield. For Dean Corbett it is a question of "the past providing the inspiration to build up the west again". More information at (093) 24463.