The Boyle Arts Festival committee would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to everybody who helped us make this year’s Festival so memorable.
Our ten days of stunning art exhibitions, music, drama, film, literary gems, spoken word, comedy, workshops, outdoor events and children’s activities were a massive success, both from a critical point of view and judging by the large numbers that attended every event.
The impact of Boyle Arts Festival goes beyond entertainment because it fosters a sense of community engagement by bringing people together through shared experiences and appreciation for the arts. The positive atmosphere created by this gathering undoubtedly leaves a lasting impression on both attendees and participants alike.
We would like to thank all those who have supported us in so many ways and without whom; there would be no Boyle Arts Festival. We received tremendous support as always from the people and businesses of Boyle – in terms of sponsorship through our website, attendance of events, provision of premises for exhibition space, voluntary help and of course that wonderful hospitality that welcomed the considerable numbers of visitors to the town from all over the country and further afield.
A very special word of thanks is extended to Chris O’Dowd for coming to officially open our Festival and doing so in such a memorable way.
We are also indebted to The Arts Council, Roscommon Co. Council, the Dept. of Rural & Community Development and the Creative Ireland Programme for their financial support and belief in us.
Publicity is vital to any Festival and we would like to thank BoyleToday.com, Realboyle.com and Úna Bhán Tourism along with all the regional and national newspapers and radio stations for the publicity afforded to us, both before and during the Festival.
There are a number of others we must acknowledge for their invaluable assistance, including Roscommon Arts Officer Rhona McGrath and Roscommon Co. Council for the use of King House as our Main Exhibition and performance space, ‘An Ríoga’ to house the Open Art Exhibition and our ticket and information office and also for the use of the Pleasure Grounds as an outdoor venue. Thanks also to Marian Ahern, for her assistance with the annual Fergus Ahern Award.
We also thank the Committee of St. Joseph’s Hall, Rev. Edward Yendall and Rory & Pearl Anderson for the use of the Church of Ireland and Joan & Belinda Collier for the use of Frybrook House. We are very grateful to all in Boyle Family Resource Centre, The Patrick’s Well, Daly’s Bar, Dodd’s Crescent Bar, Tawnytaskin Community Centre, Trojan IT, Studio11 and the Ardcarne Garden Café for allowing us to use their premises as venues and to Boyle Community Tennis Club, for temporary storage.
As a voluntary committee of ten, we are very fortunate to have a group of local volunteers who are always available to help. Special thanks to Laura Tighe, Bernie Lyons, Perpetua McGee and Elaine Bennett for processing tickets during events, Marian Brogan and Jessica McCauley for running our ticket and information office, Christine Kelly and Brian Doherty for visual art co-ordination, Stephen Tighe and Damien Wallace for assisting with hanging the artwork and all the sitters at the main and local exhibitions. We are very grateful to Donal O’Connor for his assistance with staging, Gerry Golden and Gerry Kielty for managing our roadsigns and flags, along with Aaron O’Connor, Matthew Lawlor and Conor Lawlor for moving and arranging seating and the staff of King House for all their assistance.
We must also commend the Boyle Tidy Towns committee for having the town looking so well in the run-up to the Festival, and also the Gardaí for assisting with our parade and traffic management. Thanks to Dennis & Majella Dodd for providing a meeting space for us over the last year, O’Dowd Solicitors for all their help with licencing and Devine & Co. for auditing accounts. Special thanks also to the Brothers of Charity group and Sparkcatchers for their presentation of ‘Odras & the Boyle River‘, The Dukes of Uke for their fabulous outdoor performance and to Breege Duffy, Bernie Lyons and Eamon McLoughlin for providing music in all the local nursing homes.
We are indebted to Ardcarne Garden Centre, Luxury Wedding Supplies and Damien Wallace for their assistance with dressing the foyer of the Hall along with Sean Carroll and David Kelly for supplying the coolers. Thanks also to the Barry Lowe for co-ordinating the GAA event and Chantelle Kennedy at Pure Flowers for her floral display. To all those who assisted with our opening night parade and the family day, and indeed everybody else who helped with hospitality, selling programmes and directing traffic during events, a very special thank you.
We wish to thank Boyle Musical Society for the use of their lighting, Benny Morgan for volunteering to photograph all of our events, and Barry Lynch for parking facilities at the Church of Ireland.
And finally, we would like to thank all the visual artists, performers and contributors who took part in BAF 2024 and especially all the local artists and musicians, who once again made this year’s Festival so special. Without them, Boyle Arts Festival would be incomplete.
We are constantly working to build on previous years, as it is our mission to offer a Festival that is constantly evolving. Plans are already underway for next year’s Boyle Arts Festival, which will take place from July 17th to 26th 2025, so make a note of those dates now because we are hoping to make it another fantastic and memorable experience.
For more information please visit www.boylearts.com or follow us of Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
The Boyle Arts Festival Committee.
