The Festival of Finn, North Clare’s premiere festival with four days of activities for children, families and adults alike – will once again take place in the beautiful village of Corofin this May Bank Holiday weekend.
The organisers say this year’s festival promises to be particularly memorable.
All of the favourite events will be back, including the World Stone Throwing Championships, the fancy dress parade and the family-inspired Lark at the Lake. And this year there’s so much more, like award-winning drama, a Bealtaine story time, a walk through local history and a special presentation by a world-renowned photographer.
It all begins on Thursday, May 1 and continues until the evening of Monday, May 5.
A highlight this year, the Corofin Dramatic Society will be stopping in its hometown on the way to the All-Ireland Open Finals to perform its award-winning drama The Weir. One of only nine productions from Ireland to make it to the open finals, The Weir is not to be missed. It will be performed at The Corofin Community Hall on Sunday, May 4 at 8 p.m. FMI and to purchase tickets: https://corofindrama.com/
As always, children and families are at the heart of the Festival of Finn, and this year is no exception.
Bernardo the Magician will keep the children entertained with a fun performance of magic and comedy when he comes to The Corofin Community Hall on Saturday, May 3, at 11 a.m. €5 per child and parents free.
As the festival takes place during Bealtaine, what better time for children to learn about this ancient Irish celebration in a fun way? Storyteller Ruth Marshall will share tales of Bealtaine with her young audience, and lead them in a craft activity. This event on May 4 at 2:30 p.m. at Corofin Community Hall is free but numbers are limited. To reserve a spot, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bealtaine-storytelling-and-crafts-for-children-tickets-1316656508059?aff=oddtdtcreator or look for the link on our Facebook page, Visit Corofin and the Festival of Finn.
Families and children of all ages will want to set aside the afternoon of Monday, May 5, for the Festival of Finn parade, followed by the Lark at the Lake. The theme of the parade this year is ‘Planet Corofin,’ so let loose your cosmic or environmental imagination and join in the fun! The parade starts at the Hall at 12:30 p.m. At 2 p.m., head to Lake Inchiquin for an afternoon of entertainment. Come and enjoy balloon modeling with Tony Baloney, horseshoe throwing, open-air music, a bar-b-que and other refreshments, face painting and games galore. And don’t forget to bring your pooch for the dog show!
Another unmissable event will take place on the evening of May 1, when Corofin native and multi-award winning international photographer Kenneth O’Halloran will talk about his craft and his travels. O’Halloran’s work has appeared in such publications as the New York Times, Time Magazine, Le Monde magazine and Paris Match. His talk begins at 8:30 p.m. at the Corofin Community Hall, following a wine and cheese reception at 7:45 p.m. Presented by Cumann Staire is Duchais Chora Finne.
Of course, the signature event is the World Stone-Throwing Championship, held this year at Fair Lane. Get your throwing arm ready, ladies and gents, and step up to the line to see if you, too, can hit the bottle. Things get underway at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 4, Last year’s champions will no doubt be on hand to defend their titles!
But there’s so much more to suit everyone’s fancy over the course of the weekend, including walks, music, a community market and a trivia night, a film documentary and a book reading
For complete up to date information, see the Facebook page — Visit Corofin and Festival of Finn; or on Instagram, festivaloffinn. Brochures with a full schedule of events are available in most outlets in Corofin. Pick up one today.