*Mountshannon. Photograph: Eoin O’Hagan
No green-light has been given on the return to mass gatherings in Ireland prompting the cancellation of hundreds of planned festivals across the country.
Mountshannon Arts Festival goes ahead this weekend but in a new guise. It has entered into a partnership with Scariff Bay Community Radio to present the festival in a wireless fashion that will be broadcast this Sunday while on Saturday they will be making the most of social media to air a special interview.
On their official Facebook and YouTube pages, Mountshannon Arts will broadcast former Wexford hurler Diarmuid Lyng in conversation with actor and yoga teacher, Timmy Creed. They will also be the special guests on this week’s edition of Sportsline, the Scariff Bay Community Radio sports show presented by Leo Doyle and Pat McNamara.
Scariff Bay will broadcast three programmes from the festival on Sunday online and on 88.3 and 92.7FM. At 2pm, Mike Hanrahan will speak of his music career and cooking background to Carol McNamara.
Identity in poetry and prose will be explored by Roisin Bugler at 2:30pm on her show ‘A Flow of Words’.
Co-hosts Carol McNamara and Orla McGovern are on air from 8pm with ‘Stories from the Shore’. They will be connecting with storytellers on their theme of waters and the wild to regale listeners.
Eoin O’Hagan of Scariff Bay told The Clare Echo, “The Mountshannon Arts Festival has embraced both social media and importantly FM as they seek another avenue for this annual festival to save it from being cancelled”. He said the community station was delighted to assist the hard working volunteers “to reach out across the waters of Lough Derg and into the homes, cars and houses of our listeners on FM and also our diaspora all over the globe”.
