'It definitely is farewell Flat Lake’

Jenny McGovern

It’s with a heavy heart that the organisers of the so-called 'Son of Flat Lake’ have abandoned their plans to revive the popular summer festival.
A group of Monaghan residents had hoped to revive the popular Flat Lake festival this August, but the Celt has received confirmation that it is no longer possible due to the one of the driving forces planning to move away from the area.

The arts and music festival proved a huge success under the direction of original organisers, Scotshouse based film director, Keith Allen, and Clones author Pat McCabe, but they reluctantly called it a day in 2013 due to other commitments. The festival attracted such luminaries as the late Seamus Heaney and the Pulitzer prize winning playwright Sam Shepard.

Wife of Kevin Allen, Laura Madden, who had been behind the attempted revival told the Celt: “I’m very sorry to say that we have had to cancel the festival as I am going to be relocating to Wales this summer with my children and my withdrawal has caused the organisation to become unviable. We had hoped to be able to carry on with it but without a family member involved, there are too many hurdles to make it salvagable.”

Brains
A statement on their website further elaborated: “Due to an unavoidable change in circumstances the festival’s future has become unviable, and so after much deliberation and discussion and evenings wracking our brains in the hope of coming up with a miracle solution, we have decided to put it to bed one last time. It definitely is farewell Flat Lake.
“We have so many incredible memories of its five years under the helm of Pat McCabe and Kevin Allen that perhaps it’s better to keep it that way. Sure sequels are usually disappointing anyway. A massive thank you to all our crew, volunteers, the people of Scotshouse, Monaghan Arts Office, fans, bootleggers and trespassers who all made five weekends in a field in Co. Monaghan truly memorable.”