Fourth festival was another great day

Well, the weather teased for the morning, but then the rain decided to stay away and it was just a great 4th Kilcullen River Festival, writes Brian Byrne.

And the crowds came. All afternoon they walked down the town, a steady stream of families mainly, all intent on making the most of the last weekend of official summer.

Once again, the organisation mostly worked very well indeed. Any few hiccups were there just to make it a proper Irish occasion.



The bands played. Oh boy, did they play. There is some wonderful rock talent in Kilcullen. And a surprise for guitarist Ger Wall, who was awarded the first Kilcullen Festival Music Award, by the vote of all the music scene in Kilcullen.

Richly deserved too, Ger has not just given tremendous musical enjoyment to his band's own fans, but has also generously worked with upcoming young local guitarists for many years, giving them the benefit of his talent and experience.



The Barman's Race was once again won by Amber from McTernans, who wasn't first in the race, but was ahead of her competitor who had the same level of unspilt drink to enable her to win the tie that transpired.



The new Kildare Chowder Cook-off was won by Fallons, thanks to a popular vote from a stream of festival participants who toured the competitor tureens in the Heritage Centre. They now go on to the National Chowder competition in Kinsale.



There seemed to be some confusion about who won the raft race, but McTernans and O'Connells seemed to be in the frame somewhere. And the Tug O War, well, we left after The Spout beat Joeys and were waiting to face a very fresh O'Connells.



The real winners of the Festival were the people who came along, enjoying a great day, great food and drink, great entertainment on the environs of the Liffey as it runs through Kilcullen.

And not a bad incident to be seen. Says something important, again, that we can have a great day out in a very mixed environment in Kilcullen, and just enjoy it. Well done, the organisers, the restaurants who provided great food, the bands, the stallholders, the many hundreds of people who thronged the square and the bridge, the entertainers.

That's Kilcullen, really.

(We'll have all the pictures of the day in place by the morning.)

Kilcullen River Festival 2013

(12.14pm) Well, it's now under way, the 2013 Kilcullen River Festival, writes Brian Byrne The road is closed, the food is cooking, the music's tuning up for the afternoon.

You can keep an eye on the pictures through the day here, and we'll find a couple of other things to do as the fun goes on.

Canoe trips for River Festival

Kilcullen Canoe Club is offering guided trips along the river as its part of the Kilcullen River Festival, next Sunday writes Brian Byrne.

The trips, in the club's Canadian canoe, cost €5 per adult and €3 per child. Family rates are available, and the trips can be pre-booked by contacting the club, but it's also OK to just turn up on the day and wait for a turn.

In addition to seeing Kilcullen (and the Festival) from a different perspective, trippers may get to meet some of the diverse bird life we have along the banks and in the river, including the swans (above) and the heron.

(Meantime, if you want to have a bit more knowledge of the environment along the river before you take the trip, come along tonight to the launch of the Biodiversity Survey commissioned by Kilcullen Community Action.)

All in place for Kilcullen's big festival

Mary O'Neill and John Courtney at the launch night of the River festival.

Festival to be bigger than everIt'll all be happening in Kilcullen next Sunday for the fourth running of the Kilcullen's River Festival, which has grown out of all proportion to the expectations of local businesses who organise it.

Reptiles, river fun, great food and rock 'n' roll are all in the recipe that makes the event the perfect official end to the summer in mid-Kildare.

New this year is a Chowder Competition in which restaurants in and beyond Kilcullen will be competing for a place in the National Chowder Competition in Kinsale.

There's also a new Cross-River Challenge where a blindfolded goalie tries to prevent scores wearing giant gloves. The regular Raft Race and Tug-O-War competition are already fully subscribed and will once again provide uproarious entertainment.

A big lineup of local bands will play throughout the afternoon, and two surprise music events are promised, including a debut number from a local songwriter relating to Kilcullen's association with the River Liffey.

All the time, those who come along for the best of family fun can browse through the Tented Village with restaurant foods, shops, entertainment, arts and crafts, tricky tricksters, bouncy castles and sumo-suit wrestling.

The Barman's Race is another highlight, as is the annual Lions Duck Race raising funds for local charity, sport and cultural endeavours.

It all gets going at midday on Sunday, and the town will be closed to traffic for the event. Diversions and ample car-parking will be signposted.

Key sponsors this year are Kilcullen Centra, Fallons, Bardons, Nolans Butchers, Trevor Hull Media and Joeys Bar & Restaurant. There's also wide-ranged support from many other Kilcullen businesses.

Launch of River Festival 2013

A good turnout last night to the official launch of the Kilcullen River Festival 2013. More details of the event, being held on Sunday 25 August, later.