HEARTLANDS SERIES: Local music festivals bring tourists and many other benefits too

Local festivals have always been a part of life in Tipperary, indeed a big gathering was mentioned in the famous Knocknagow book about “The homes of Tipperary” by CJ Kickham.

Looking at rural festivals in the Tipperary Heartlands in 2023, we think about many festivals in parishes including one of the most successful, Cut Loose Country Music festival in Holycross.

The chairman of Holycross Ballycahill GAA club, Michael Ryan says their festival is a great success: “We have had the Cut Loose Country Music Festival running every year now for ten years, outside of the two that we missed due to Covid 19.

“We started off small scale, as a fundraiser trying to eliminate a GAA club debt and selling tickets locally. Over the years it grew and there is a very big demand for Country Music, there  has definitely been a revival in it across Ireland. 

“It has been great fun. The local villages - both Holycross and Ballycahill - would have benefited from it. It has been a great community event and it is now one of the top country festivals.

“The artists themselves are looking to come back each year and are promoting it in their own concerts leading up to it,” says Michael.

Other local areas held festivals too this year. Upperchurch was the venue for the  Hoolie in the Hills which was a two-day music festival headlined by Rebel Hearts.

It drew the crowd in August to the village which previously hosted the popular Ned of the Hill festival back in the late 1980s and the 1990s. 

This summer as well the Devil's Bit Music Festival was held in Killoskehan, on the Templemore side of Borrisoleigh. Likewise in Clonoulty, each summer the West's Awake music festival has grown.

The Liberty Music Festival in Thurles  is Ireland’s Premier Outdoor Tribute Bands Festival.  This festival boasted some of the best Irish and UK Tribute Acts and is already pencilled into the calender for 2024  in the picturesque Town Park.

Féile Beag at Hickey's Pub, Thurles is another. The recent Feile Classical also brought big names to the town such as the late Sinead O'Connor among other artists of the time.  

The local hinterland benefits from a festival. Speaking from his own experiences in Holycross, Michael Ryan says it taps into old Irish traditions of coming together: “Maybe post Covid there has been something about outdoor events and gatherings that has been part of an old Irish tradition too that has been going back to old Macra na Feirme events and before.

“That type of gathering or meeting at the crossroads is leaning into something from the past that we haven't thought enough about.  I also noticed in Holycross at the festival this year - and I was at the one in Upperchurch as well - the age profile is now very mixed.

“It is intergenerational which is a lovely thing to see in a community where you have grandkids, grandparents and all are at something similar at the same time.

“It gives them a story or a narrative  to remember collectively which isn't always the case with the big indoor concerts where people might pay €100 to see someone in Croke Park or in the 3 Arena,” says Michael.

One aspect of the local summer festival is the return to the parish of people who are living in cities or abroad. The benefit of a local gathering cannot be underestimated for social reasons as much as economical ones according to Michael Ryan:

“We would find that over the years in Holycross it has built up a network and a whole social media presence beforehand of people wanting the date early on so they can book holidays, tickets to be on sale before Christmas so they can get them for someone as presents and so on.

“People now plan their two weeks in a local area because the concert is on and because they know they are going to meet so many neighbours and friends as well at an event like that. For us it is Country Music, and we find that people travel from all over the country.

“Local B and Bs, restaurants and taxi services all benefit from that economically too,” the Holycross GAA chair says. If it is nurtured, a local festival can bring a lot of different types of tourism to a largely rural county like Tipperary: “There are so many sides to it.

“There are the shops, the restaurants - the ones in Holycross all do well out of our festival - but there are also things like signage having to be purchased beforehand. There are a lot of ingredients that go into a festival even down to sand and gravel in a wet year getting entrances and exits secured and obviously the drink side of it is huge and the staffing of that.

“There are a lot of side industries that would benefit from successful festivals, security groups and so on and there is a licensing agreement now in place with Tipperary County Council for village festivals that are over a certain size so they have to comply with regulations which means spending money.

“Every community and every festival is different. Ours is GAA based and we would have over 200 stewards drawn from all aspects of hurling, camogie and Ladies Football all helping out on the day. The Upperchurch context might be different to that again.

“The Devil's Bit as well, they are all different but still there are some common elements around the security side, the licensing side, the application side and people contact each other and help each other out from time to time regarding resources.

“Overall festivals add greatly to the tourist experience and enhance the life of locals.” It takes energy to put on a big festival but it can be worth it says Michael Ryan:

“Look, there are risks to everything and every new venture. The weather is huge, I mean look at the massive show in Dualla this year and they cancelled that because of bad weather.

“That is the one unknown but I think the social advantages to a community coming together and the memory that you are creating for future generations as well as the volunteerism are all really important. The clean up operation afterwards too.

“It can be very important for a community and sometimes it is called social capital. It comes from that kind of social event. Planning it, reviewing it and continually improving it for the following year to adjust to new tastes - all that is really good and it keeps communities on the alert.”