BY ÁILÍN QUINLAN
BALLYDEHOB will host Morris
dancers from the UK and
Breton dancers from Brittany
as part of a brand-new festival
celebrating the local tradition
of sand-boating.
Pirates will also be a feature
of Ballydehob's new Fastnet
Maritime Folk Festival – the
fifth annual festival run by the
village – which will focus on sea
songs and shanties with traditional
music and dance from
Ireland and abroad.
The idea behind the festival,
according to organiser and musician
Richard Miles, is to celebrate
and promote the village's
old tradition of sandboating.
'In the 19th century, the government
financed the collection
of sand from the beaches –
it was dredged and used as a
fertiliser.
'They used special 'sandboats'
with flat bottoms to collect
the sand. It was a big
source of employment in this
area – Ballydehob, Skibbereen
and Sherkin. A lot of local families
were involved,' he said,
adding that Ballydehob still has
a bar called The Sandboat in
memory of the tradition.
'There is a strong maritime
tradition in Ballydehob, and
this festival will feature everything
from Morris dancers
from the UK to Breton traditional
dancing, to a group of
shanty singers from Wales,'
said Mr Miles, who explained
the festival will run in June.
'Shanty songs are traditional
sea-work songs,' he said,
adding that the festival would
also feature a number of traditional
Irish music sessions as
well as stalls, street music, a
craft market and a car boot
sale.
'We will also have a bestdressed
pirate competition and
street busking. We very much
want this to be a community
festival and not one which is
just based in the pubs, so the
community hall will be a very
important venue.'
Miles got the idea for the festival
one day as he thought
about the village's maritime
tradition, and was intrigued by
the concept of sand-boating.
The Fastnet festival will be
the fifth annual festival run by
villagers:
'Ballydehob is the land of festivals
– our festival season begins
in March and doesn't end
til nearly November,' said Mr
Miles.
The season in Ballydehob
kicks off on March 30th with a
traditional Irish song and
dance festival which runs until
April 1st. This is followed by the
international jazz festival,
which runs from May 4th to
7th.
The Fastnet Maritime Festival
will this year take place
from June 15th to 17th. August
brings the Ballydehob Village
Festival, which runs from 11th
to 19th, while the Old Time
Threshing Festival runs on October
27th and 28th.