Published: Wednesday, 21st July, 2010 5:00pm

Back, bigger and better than ever!

Festival of the Erne Director, Mark Leonard presents the 2010 Lady, Aoife Corby with one of her many prizes on Friday night.

Thirty four years and counting! The premier festival in this region, Belturbet's Festival of the Erne, is back and promises to be bigger and better than ever this time around.

Originally initiated in 1974, the festival is regarded as one of the highlights of the year in this county and beyond and will feature a multitude of events (a whopping 48 in all) catering for all ages.

"The festival has gone from strength to strength over the past decade and more," states Hugh Kenna chairman of the organising committee.

"Thirty-five of our events this year are perennial favourites, while we have added 13 brand new events - many of which are free of charge - to add to the whole Festival of the Erne experience."

They say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery and the Erne organisers have witnessed scores of festivals popping up around the country based loosely on their model, which is a mix of fun and entertainment for all in a friendly and welcoming atmosphere.

This year's festival takes place from July 25 to August 2. The Belturbet Festival of the Erne is, incidentally, the envy of many across the country as it has a recognised slot on the calendar each year, beginning in late July and always running for ten days leading up till the August Bank Holiday Monday.

"At the beginning of the year," reveals Hugh, "we met and considered shortening the duration of the festival [the Festival of the Erne takes place for ten days] but we decided to knuckle down and we have actually added more events this time for what promises to be the most action-packed festival we've ever had."

The Festival of the Erne, of course, is synonymous with the Lady of the Erne competition. That pageant, celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2010, traditionally takes place a week before the festival begins, to allow the newly-crowned winner a week to enjoy her success and ensuring that she is in good time to officially open the festival itself.

This year's Lady of the Erne competition was compered once again by UTV's Paul Clarke and proved an outstanding success, according to director Mark Leonard.

"This was another magical night and I'd like to thank all involved and congratulate Aoife Corby on winning the title for 2010," said Mark, a Limerick native who has been instrumental in the ongoing success of the Lady of the Erne this year, following on from the sterling work of Brendan Fay and the late Herbie Dunne.

"People traditionally come back from England and America for the festival," points out Kenna, who described the festival as "a focal point for the whole community and a celebration of our town".

The festival originally began in response to demand created by a successful annual angling event. Fishermen arriving from the UK and further afield to take to the Erne discovered what a vibrant, quaint and welcoming town Belturbet was and decided to return with their families. As a result of the extra influx, the Festival of the Erne was born. The rest, as they say, is history...

"We can't wait to get the 2010 renewal up and running," stated Festival PRO Daniel Leonard.

"We have so many new attractions, such as Ireland's strongest man Glen Ross and a host of other new attractions. Plus, all of the old favourites, including pig racing, the ever-popular fancy dress and much more."

List of Events

Mini World Cup 2010

All week

With Peggy Gray and David Seevers (art exhibition)

Trout angling competition

Open week at Belturbet Golf Club

Best garden competition

Children's art competition

Best window display competition

Scarecrow competition

Bar extensions throughout the town

Belturbet Railway Open Day