03.09.2013
Tallaght Church Prepares to Blossom for Unique Flower Festival
St Maelruain’s Church in Tallaght was in full bloom yesterday evening (Monday September 2) for the launch of the St Maelruain’s Flower Festival which takes place from September 26 to 29. This is the first time such an event has been held in Tallaght and organisers hope that it, and the associated crafts festival, will highlight local talent and serve as a focus for the many positive things happening in the area.
Welcoming people to the official launch, parishioner John Donoghue said that the parish wanted to make the festival a big event for Tallaght. “We want to portray a positive image of Tallaght and do something that the people of the area can be proud of,” he commented.
The rector of St Maelruain’s, the Revd William Deverell, outlined the history of the church and the site which has been a place of worship since the eighth century. Mr Deverell said that Tallaght was Ireland’s best kept secret and added that the area had great local spirit thanks in part to the local newspaper. “The people involved in the flower arranging and the crafts and the musical talent are all local… I’m looking forward to a positive gathering event here at the end of the month,” he said.
Part of the proceeds from the flower and craft festivals will be donated to the Tallaght Hospice Homecare Team of Our Lady’s Hospice, Harold’s Cross. Representing the hospice, Ann Julian said the homecare team makes 10,000 visits annually caring for people of all ages, liaising with GPs and service providers and supporting patients’ families. She said budget cuts in recent years had had to be plugged by fundraising from local communities and thanked the parish for their support.
Launching the festival, the Mayor of South Dublin, Dermot Looney, said that he was delighted to see so many people come out to support the event. As a teacher in the local St Dominic’s National School, he said that they worked to instil a sense of pride of pride in Tallaght amongst the pupils. He explained that St Maelruain’s Flower Festival and the Festival of Hands would help inspire a similar sense of pride among adults in the area.
“I hope this festival brings a lot of people into Tallaght,” the Mayor stated. “There is a lot of negativity in the press about Tallaght but events like this help present a positive picture of the area. The local community deserves some positive promotion.”
While the flower arrangers for the festival are local, the event is being designed by Richard Haslam, a member of the Interflora gold medal winning team at Chelsea and Hampton Court flower shows in the UK. He is well known throughout Europe, America, South Africa and Japan.
The theme of the flower festival will be ‘The Circle of Life’. There will be 23 flower arrangements in the church, each representing a stage in the circle of life. In the adjacent parish centre there will be a Festival of Hands which will feature exhibits by local crafts people through the media of art, photography, calligraphy, knitting and stitching, handmade cards, handbags, jewellery, stone work, woodturning, silk painting and nail art. Local man Benny Myers, Beekeeper of the Year, will be present to talk about beekeeping and tell tales of Tallaght in years gone by.
The festival will open on Thursday September 26 at 7.30 pm with a concert in the church featuring choirs from The Now and Then Production Company, The ICA, The Leinster Singers and the Firhouse Community College.
The festival will close on Sunday September 29 with a closing Songs of Praise service at 5.00 pm when the rector will be joined by Archbishop Michael Jackson and Roman Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin Eamonn Walsh.
Profits from the flower festival will go towards the ongoing restoration and upkeep of St Maelruain’s Church with a percentage being donated to Our Lady’s Hospice in Harold’s Cross.
Admission to the festivals is €8 per adult with children under 14 going free. For further information and details of how to get to St Maelruain’s Church see www.stmaelruainsflowerfestival.com.
Photo caption: The St Maelruain’s Flower Festival was launched last night (September 2) in Tallaght. The festival will take place in the church from September 26 to 29 with a craft festival taking place in the nearby hall. Launching the festival was the Mayor of South Dublin, Dermot Looney (second from right). He is pictured with Janet Edgely (organiser), Ann Julian of Our Lady’s Hospice in Harold’s Cross, which will receive a donation for the Tallaght Hospice Homecare Team from the festival’s proceeds, rector of St Maelruain’s, the Revd William Deverell and Regina Donoghue (organiser).