Renewed festival flavour at Féile na Tuaithe

Renewed festival flavour at Féile na Tuaithe

Áine Ryan

IT may be a tad too early in the year for saving the hay, but at Féile na Tuaithe at the National Museum of Ireland – Country Life over the weekend, the seasons merged into a medley of colourful traditions and innovative artisan adaptations. Thousands of people converged on the village of Turlough, a parallel sylvan world to the political cliff-hangers at the other great festival taking place: the Local and European Election count, down the road at the TF Royal Theatre.  
Bakers and beekeepers, blacksmiths and basket-makers, craftswomen and artists created a bohemian atmosphere along the undulating avenue, which leads to manicured gardens and the wonderfully atmospheric museum. The gallery of tents and marquees offered demonstrations and exhibitions of customs and practices, complementing the traditional peasant world celebrated on the terraced galleries within the museum.
In the food tent there were Jackie Meenihan’s mountains of dilisk and carrageen filled with nutritious vitamins, tubs of Redmond Cabot’s tangy Chilli Lime Hummus and Olive Tapenade, loaves and cakes from Castlebar’s famous Cherry Blossom Bakery and yummy slices of Rua’s melt-in-the-mouth cakes and bakes.  
Across the lawn, June Bourke of Westport’s Craft House and Back to Back homespun wool was busy, while the Castlebar Concert and Marching band played ‘Sweet Caroline’. In a shaded recess, Denis Wright of Claremorris, armed with his legget (thatching tool), was building a miniature house using such natural materials as water reeds and rice straw.

Welcome return
After a three-year hiatus, the west’s biggest free family festival attracted thousands of people when it returned over the weekend with added quality attractions, such as working dogs, whose lakeside acrobatics entertained the crowds. There was also an array of innovative art installations secreted around the grounds, celebrating the theme of ‘Traditional Farmhouse Fare: Farm to Plate’.
Speaking about the return of the festival, Raghnall Ó Floinn, Director of the National Museum of Ireland, said: “I am delighted that the National Museum of Ireland through its Country Life branch is able to bring Féile na Tuaithe back to Turlough Park this year after a gap of three years. I’m particularly grateful to Mayo County Council for their collaboration – without their support, this would not be possible.
“If the Museum of Country Life is very much about the lives of ordinary people in rural Ireland in the relatively recent past, Féile na Tuaithe links traditional and contemporary craft practices. It is an extension of the museum’s remit to bring the craft dimension of the lives of our recent ancestors to public attention in an enjoyable and family-friendly way,” he said.

MORE www.museum.ie