New music and arts festival planned for Athlone in April
A new event will be added to Athlone's cultural calendar in 2025, with the inaugural hosting of the Cróilár music and arts festival from April 4 to 6.
The festival is designed to showcase a diverse line-up of musicians, storytellers and artists, and it will be officially announced at a launch event in the TUS Athlone campus this Friday, November 22, at 6pm.
One of the organisers is biopharmaceutical entrepreneur and Mount Temple native Jack O'Meara, who said the Cróilár festival would pay homage to "the beautiful churches, historical sites, and iconic old pubs" of Athlone.
"The vision for this festival is to bring together an eclectic mix of Ireland’s up-and-coming musicians, messers, and storytellers for a unique cultural experience, nestled away in the Irish heartlands (croílár)," said Jack.
"We hope this builds into a meaningful calendar event over the years to come, and helps solidify Athlone as a destination for arts and culture."
Friday evening's launch of the Croílár festival will showcase live performances from some top emerging Midlands musicians, while the organisers will give an overview of the plans for the festival. A special guest is also due to speak at the launch.
In addition to Jack O'Meara, the organising team includes Athlone's Ellen Harney, who will be taking the lead on artistic direction, another Midlands native Eddie Connolly who has experience of running music festivals, and Athlone's Colum McDaid.
Artists who have been announced for the festival to date include four-piece Dublin-based band Of All Living Things, Comedian Amy Walsh, up-and-coming Tullamore music artist Serka, and Irish guitarist and singer-songwriter Dubh Lee.
The Cróilár festival will be launched in the Engineering Building at the TUS Athlone campus on Friday, from 6pm, and free tickets for the launch can be booked on Eventbrite here.
Friday's gathering will be followed by a screening of the Ann's Pub short documentary film in Flannery's pub, Sean Costello Street.