THEY rolled in tanks, a fire engine and an ambulance to Kilcullen at the weekend, and the town was closed to all vehicular traffic for six hours.
Bodies were ferried across the river Liffey on stretchers, and an invasion of river rafters who looked like something out of a Mad Max movie ended with jeers and cheers on the Market Square.
No, it wasn’t a national, or even local emergency. Kilcullen’s River Festival brought out individuals and families in their thousands to officially end the summer weekends in a right grand style.
The festival, organised by Kilcullen’s business community with superb help from the army and the gardaí was a complete success with the only sour note being the score at the Kildare/Down football game watched on a large screen during the afternoon.
“We hoped it would work, but this is way beyond what we thought it would be,” says Brian Fallon, one of the group of Kilcullen businesspeople who put the project together. “We have something very successful to build on for coming years.”
Putting numbers on how many came is difficult. But that the Market Square and its extended area, along with the full length of the bridge, were constantly full of adults and children, puts the figure in probably multiple thousands.
They were entertained in the river context by events that included the annual Kilcullen Lions Duck Race, which involved 600 of the plastic bath buddies being herded out of bankside traps by the expert boatpeople of Kilcullen Canoe Club so that they all had a decent chance of a finish at the bridge. The club also gave a demonstration of canoe polo, the first time it was done in Kilcullen.
There was also an inter-business raft race military-devised exercise which involved taking ‘fuel and ammunition’ and ‘wounded soldiers’ across and back the Liffey and took its toll on teams from The Hideout and Bardons. A tug of war in the river finished the river activities.
Back on the banks, the various restaurants and cafes of Kilcullen provided opportunities to taste elements of their menus. Suggesting the thought that Kilcullen could well become the ‘Kinsale’ of Leinster foodies.
For the record, these included The Hideout, Bardons, The Riverside, The Italian Kitchen, Fallons Cafe Bar and Restaurant, and The Good Food Gallery.The Farm and Crafts tents at the back of the Market Square complex did steady business all day until it was time to close the show until next year.
And there’s absolutely no doubt that there will be a next year. “We’ve learned a lot from this first one, and the festival can only get better,” a tied but very happy Brian Fallon said at the end of the day.