Crawley Irish Festival 2014 – Hawth, 21 September
Crawley Irish Festival – Sunday 21 September 2014 at the Hawth, Crawley, RH10 6YZ
The 19th Crawley Irish Festival will take place at The Hawth, Crawley on Sunday 21 September with live music, Irish dance and GAA Sports. Starts from Midday.
For the third year running, the event will have no entry cost and free entry to music and dance stages. So come along and enjoy the craic!
So keep Sunday 21 September 2014 free in your diary for Crawley’s biggest Irish Festival ever, now at a new venue! Visit us from 12 noon at The Hawth Theatre Grounds, Crawley, West Sussex – just a short while from Gatwick Airport.
Live Music: The Main Stages will showcase some of the best Irish acts from Britain and Ireland. Whilst the Trad Stage features the best traditional and folk acts from throughout the UK and Ireland.
Main Stage
MC Gerry Molumby
- 12.00 NOON – Emerald Element – Paul Stanworth
- 1.15 – TBC
- 2.30 – Opening Ceremony with Gerry Molumby with VIP guests TBC
- 3.00 – Mustang – Pat Nugent
- 4.30 – Jimmy Cricket (Comedy)
- 5.00 – Reel Strings – Eddie Hurdman
- 6.00 – MAIN STAGE CLOSES
TRAD Stage
MC James McDonald
- 12.00 NOON – Brogue Irish Folk – Larry Kenny
- 1.00 – Bearú – Nuala Dalton
- 2.30 – James Mc Donald and Special Guests
- 4.30 – The Devine Family – John Devine
- 6.00 – TRADITIONAL STAGE CLOSES
CEILI Dance
- 3.00 to 5.30 – Celtic Crunch
7 Hour Music Session
MC Patrick O’Connell
- The Brendan Behan Pig and Whistle Band together with Ciaróg are central to this area where all the bands playing the other stages put in 15 to 20 minutes each adding to this 7 hour music session. This proved a real success last year and with Jimmy Cricket and some added extras will add a great ‘craic’ to the day.
Live Dance: Irish Dance displays have always been popular at the festivals and the Open Dance Competition attracts competitors from all over the the world at the Irish Dance Stage.
Lots of live dance demonstrations from local dance schools and Set Dancing for the rest of us. Enjoy! Crawley is the proud home of some wonderful Irish Dancing Schools. The dance stage will see many of them participating on the day.
So enjoy a great day with some great entertainment.
Live Sport: GAA Sport also has an important role to play with live action being played out on the big screen right in the heart of Crawley.
We will e televising the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship as the tournament reaches the Croke Park, All-Ireland Final.
Donegal v Kerry.
All-Round Family Fun: Families and children will be well catered for with stalls and an amusement area for all-round family fun.
Children are catered for in the festival play area, a fair, football, art, songs and storytelling by Deirdre O Byrne with particular emphasis on Irish traditions and folklore.
And there’s more:
- In the Tennyson Room Ty Galvin of the Brighton Irish Society will give a talk on Corkman Tadhg Barry (his Great Grand Uncle) one of the unsung heroes of the War of Independence.
- A celebrated photographer Gerry Molumby has a fantastic display of his Irish photos from all over.
- Ned Dunbar is on hand to demonstrate the art of butter making.
- An Siopa… don’t forget to call and stock up on your Irish Produce.
IrishTV.ie (Filming)
IrishTV.ie (who broadcast on Sky 191 and Freesat 400) are visiting with a film crew to record this year’s festival. The show will be televised the following week.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
All proceeds from the Crawley Irish Festival are invested in community projects to assist in the promotion of Celtic and Irish cultural activities in and around Crawley.
ADMISSION IS FREE
Admission is the best value family day out in the southeast because it’s absolutely Free! That’s right, it’s free. Nothing, nadder, zip!
Support
The Crawley Irish Festival is supported through funding by the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs; Emigrant Support Fund, Crawley Borough Council and West Sussex County Council.
