The Gorey May Bush Féile 2024

The Gorey May Bush Féile is an annual intergenerational community led festival in Co. Wexford. Through an exciting programme of FREE events the festival promotes, documents and shares the May Bush tradition and the wider customs, traditions and cultural connections of welcoming in Bealtaine in Co. Wexford & beyond.  

 

There are events to suit all ages. Schools, families, nursing homes, community groups/organisations, businesses, music/singing/dancing/writing groups and community artists across Co. Wexford are the faces and voices behind this festival and everyone is invited to be part of it!  You can keep up with us all and see the FREE Féile events through:

https://www.facebook.com/thegoreymaybush
 

As has been done in previous years the Féile invites the community to put up their own May Bush and get involved with the programme of FREE events centred around the communal May Bush at Gorey Civic Centre.

 

Events this year include:


1. Annual May Bush | Egg Shell Decorating Competition: There are some lovely prizes from local businesses – Making Music Gorey and Gallivanting.ie up for grabs! 

To get involved you can email your photos to thegoreymaybush@gmail.com

 

2. May Bush Decorating & Traditional Song Workshop for Families with Rachel Uí Fhaoláin: Gorey Library on Saturday April 27th at 11am – 12.30pm 

Booking required through Gorey Library: 

https://wexfordcoco.libcal.com/event/4203920

 

3. Let’s Decorate the May Bush: The Gorey May Bush, Gorey Civic Centre, beside the Circe Pavilion on Sunday 28th April at 6pm.

Join us from 6pm on Sunday 28th April for what promises to be an extra special outdoor community evening of traditional music, song, poetry, stories and dance while we share and exchange our traditions around welcoming in Summer.  Bring a chair, your instrument, a song, story or poem & your dancing shoes and be part of this wonderful community celebration.  Fáilte roimh chách. “Let’s Decorate the May Bush, tá Bealtaine anseo”. If you would like to perform on the night please get in touch by emailing: thegoreymaybush@gmail.com

 

Special guests on the night include: 

Gorey Pipe Band

Uilleann Piper Mark Redmond

Ceoltóir Óg 2024: Cliodhna Ní Chuilinn

Rinceoir Óg 2024: Shifra Dunbar

Amhránaí Óg 2024: Chulainn Ó Faoláin 

Songs of the Wexford Coast Community Choir 

Our annual crowning ceremony for the May Queen & King 

 

4. “A Penny on the May Bush”:  The Gorey May Bush, Gorey Civic Centre, beside the Circe Pavilion on Tuesday 30th April (May Eve) at 6pm. 

Join us at 6pm at The Gorey May Bush, Gorey Civic Centre, beside the Circe Pavilion on Tuesday April 30th (May Eve) as we dress ‘An Sceach Gheal’ and “shower pennies on the children” as was the tradition.

 

5. Bread and Cheese: Hawthorn History, May Folklore & Song with Lorraine O’Dwyer & Rachel Uí Fhaoláin: Gorey Library on Tuesday 30th April (May Eve) at 7pm.

Lorraine O’Dwyer, Foraging and Folklore Guide will be sharing tales from local traditions and superstitions on the Hawthorn Tree, what makes one a fairy tree and not the other, why it’s known as Bread & Cheese Tree and why so many of our Rag Trees are hawthorns? Lorraine will also be bringing along her own homemade Hawthorn chutney to taste! 
Traditional Singer & Folklore Collector Rachel Uí Fhaoláin will be exploring May Folklore & Song from Wexford and beyond. As part of the conversations, Rachel will be sharing her work on The Nursing Home Project, residents recalling their own beliefs and practices, along with some local voices and accounts from her wider research and collecting work. 
Both Lorraine & Rachel look forward to developing important community conversations around welcoming in Summer, on May Eve in Gorey Library.

Booking required through Gorey Library: 

https://wexfordcoco.libcal.com/event/4203929

 

6. Creating Community Gathering Areas in Co. Wexford: Thanks to the support from the Environmental Department at Wexford County Council again this year we are continuing our work with communities, distributing “An Sceach Gheal” to help create community May Bush gathering areas in Co. Wexford, so that communities can come together outdoors each year, as was the tradition, to decorate the May Bush and help welcome in Summer. If you’d like to get involved in this beautiful shared tradition please get in touch by emailing: thegoreymaybush@gmail.com

 
7. Collaboration between The Gorey May Bush Féile 2024 and The Nursing Home Project: As part of this collaboration the residents & staff at Oakfield Nursing Home received their own May Bush on April 19th and participated in a sharing and exchange of May Bush traditions & general May Folklore; with some great songs and singing too. We are looking forward to welcoming in summer together!
 
8. Online Premiere Screenings filmed & produced by John Ó Faoláin: As part of The Gorey May Bush Féile various roles for young musicians, dancers and singers have been created down through the years to encourage engagement with our culture and heritage.  Along with being special guests and leading the music, dancing, singing at the community celebrations, the young people’s talents are spotlighted through performance & film. These performance pieces from our Ceoltóir Óg 2024 (Cliodhna Ní Chuilinn), Rinceoir Óg 2024 (Shifra Dunbar) and Amhránaí Óg 2024 (Chulainn Ó Faoláin) will be premiered on our Facebook page throughout April and May. Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sí… 
 
Keep up to date with our Facebook page as we continue to shape and grow our community Féile. Bígí linn!   
 
The Gorey May Bush Féile 2024 is supported by County Wexford Arts Department as part of the Small Arts Festival Scheme in partnership with Arts Council Ireland.
 
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