Inniskeen Road July Evening Festival

Best Tourism Event Finalist - Monaghan Business & Tourism Awards

Tell us about your business and team:

The story begins with local poet Patrick Kavanagh. One day, he sat on the bank along the Inniskeen Road, just watching what was happening. He took out his pen and paper and immortalised the hustle and bustle. All the events, sights, sounds. The essence of his famous poem has since become the Inniskeen Road July Evening Festival organised by the Inniskeen Enterprise and Development Group.

Describe the best thing about your service:

The object of the festival is to attract both young and old, locals and tourists and to appreciate Kavanagh’s country, the place that inspired the great poet. There will be events for everyone, from a children’s pop-up library, an art competition, an art exhibition, local history lectures, walking and cycling through the parish, as well as storytelling, enactments, a barn dance, and a family barbecue. Saturday afternoon, the whole community dresses up in 1920s fashion for the High Nelly Cycle, visiting all the céili houses, and getting the best of Inniskeen’s hospitality.

What’s the best business advice you’ve ever been given?

Listen first, build second - but never stop listening to the community.

What does the future hold for your event?

The Development Committee are delighted to have support of Monaghan County Council and work closely with the Patrick Kavanagh Centre. All of the groups work together with hospitality businesses and other interested parties promoting the festival and increasing the number of tourists to an area that has so much to offer.