Get a taste of Bandon town’s rich history
By Alex Redmond
As part of National Heritage Week, the Bandon Walled Town Festival takes place from Saturday 17 to Sunday 25 August. The history of the town will be explored and celebrated through a series of lectures, guided tours and family friendly activities, taking place across Bandon.
On Saturday 17 August, the library will a host special guest from Trinity College, Dr Marcus Collier. He will discuss the biodiversity of the old medieval town walls. This talk can be booked by emailing bandon.beag@gmail.com.
On Sunday 18 August, the Take me to the River Programme will host a family event, to educate people on the life in Bandon’s rivers.
Come along and be a water hero and learn what lives in our waters.
A series of historical lectures will take place in Bandon Town Hall and Bandon Library. An array of historical aspects of the town will be explored, beginning with a talk from Isla Jeffers on Monday 19 at 8pm. She will speak of her family’s impact and influence, as a major business owner in the town as well as its largest employer, owning a mill, grocery and bakery. Other lectures will follow on 21, 22 and 23 August on topics from a history of the Bernard family in Bandon to a deep dive through the origins of the modern Irish whiskey industry as well as the an exploration of the traditional cures that have survived.
There will be three guided tours taking place during the festival, starting on 20 August and ending on 24 August with a guided walking tour of Bandon.
Various other festivities throughout the week include: a day of music and story telling on 24 August, finishing with a performance from Cork Baroque Orchestra in the Bandon Methodist Church at 7pm and a family fun day at Riverview Shopping Centre on 25 August.
That will run from 1-5pm and will feature battle re-enactments, circus skills, drop-in workshops, facepainting and puppet shows.
Heritage skills from blacksmith to smoking and felting will feature along with craft and food stalls and live music.
The festival is made possible by the generosity of sponsors and the support of the Heritage Council, Cork County Council and Fáilte Ireland. For more info, visit https://bandonhistory.com.