Carnivals, Marquees and Festivals (267 listed and counting)

Long before the heyday of the showbands, Irish people were crazy about dancing. Thousands of parochial halls around the country were built for dancing, drama, meetings and a wide variety of entertainment (usually to benefit the church).   

It is difficult, historically, to pinpoint exactly when the modern idea of the carnival (with accompanying marquee and dancing diary) got its start in Ireland. We have found references to "carnivals" taking place in the late 1800's but these actually seemed to be more like garden fetes with afternoon lunches served and a variety of activities including things like cock fighting and rabbit coursing.

The photo above is from the Killala Easter Carnival marquee in April, 1980 (click on the photo to enlarge).

As early as the 1920's and 1930's, local carnivals were a growing trend but they were still usually one day events. It would be 1939 before we found several adverts for carnivals which lasted a week or more and included a full programme of dancing. It wasn't long before anyone trying to raise money (athletic teams, specialty clubs, political groups, or religious organisations) looked to run a carnival as their main source of annual funding.     

By the late 1950's, carnivals were a staple of life, especially in rural Ireland. Every parish had a carnival! The carnivals (later to be known more as festivals) would run for usually about two weeks anytime between April and September. Early carnivals would provide a wide variety of entertainment over the span of the two weeks and were usually accompanied by amusements which would travel from town to town (much like the circus) and set up shop in the next field. The scheduled events would always include at least 3-4 dances (featuring top orchestras of the day), 2-3 Ceili nights (this would often include waltz competitions), a fancy dress ball, a play or two put on by the local drama society, and maybe even a movie or two.

The sheer number of carnivals which were run is almost impossible to quantify and the only record of their existence is in the advertising pages of local papers. We will be doing our best to uncover and list every carnival or festival we can find, but it is likely we will fall far short of the actual number. The bigger carnivals were mainstays of the local entertainment calendar and ran on the same two weeks for 20 years or more. Others came and went, depending on their success in raising money, while many eventually morphed into a totally different kind of event, like the festivals we see across Ireland today.   

Once a mainstay of rural social life in Ireland, the marquees (like the ballrooms) have all but disappeared. In the 60's and 70's most marquees were set up in fields for a couple of weeks by local organizations, like the G.A.A. club, to help raise funds for their annual operations, or to build a new clubhouse, or even fund a trip to play teams in the States. They were generally held in summer to take advantage of the "good" weather. Rarely ever dry, they usually consisted of a tent, some chairs, and a very wobbly stage (plywood sheets on empty beer kegs).

For bands, marquees were both a blessing and a curse. Usually they were well attended, being the single most important social "event" of the year for locals. In fact, the opening and closing night of a festival were usually guaranteed a packed house. On the other hand, facilities were extremely limited and in many cases, non existent. Bands had to change clothes in their vans, or behind the stage, or if they were lucky, a local house nearby where tea was served. Of course, if it was raining, the marquee was a nightmare. Click here or on the cartoon at left from the 1981 Festival of Avondale programme to get a better idea of the local view of marquee dancing!

Electrical power was usually dicey at best, and rarely strong enough to power a band's P.A., lighting rigs, and other gear. Stages were usually constructed of makeshift wooden platforms often teetering on empty beer kegs. The tent robbed the band's sound of all clarity and for miles around, all you could hear was the thud thud thud of the bass. It was like playing into a wet rag, literally. 

Still, many musicians consider them part of the "good old days," before the disco lights, before the hotel extensions and supper dances. A time when the evening's entertainment depended on a band's ability to keep the audience up and dancing, or on that rare occasion, when whatever the band was doing was so good, people just stood and watched (the showstopper)!

To show just how diverse the events scheduled at festivals could be, here's the full page schedule of events from the 1981 Festival of Avondale, Rathdrum. Enjoy the memories!

A PARTIAL LIST (VERY PARTIAL!) (click on highlighted names for more details)