Festival to honour the Barrow comes to Athy
Mary English, Cathy Heffernan, Maggie Owens and Mary Byrne discuss their banner at the recent Future Ancestor workshop ahead of the May festival Photos: Aisling Hyland
FOLLOWING a comprehensive collaboration between four local organisations, Athy Library, and the Blueway Art Studio the ‘Future Ancestor’ Festival returns to the town from 1pm on 16 May in the Library grounds.
“This is part of Diversity Week and is to honour the River Barrow and all its history, tradition and biodiversity,” said Angelina Foster, an eco-artist at Blueway Studios, and the driving force behind this initiative.
The festival originally began in 2024, but had to skip last year due to financial pressures.
Now with help from Kildare County Council, and the Heritage Council they get to return to their beloved banks – and have already began holding preparatory workshops.
“We’re so lucky to have the Barrow, and to have this amenity for the future,” said Angelina.
“The Moth Project started on Good Friday when we went out onto Kilberry Bog moth catching with Athy Sing and Sign, Chris McKenna from Kildare Wildlife and Dr Maedbh Boylan, Biodiversity Officer for the Council.
“Then there is ‘Rafta Berba’ with the Athy Men’s Shed, where they are restoring an old traditional Irish riverboat, that probably would have just gone to landfill otherwise.
“We eventually hope to have it as a River Parade, like in Bosch in the Netherlands with huge river floats, that’s our inspiration.
“This project is led by Neasa Doran-O-Reilly, a professional furniture maker specialising in the circular economy.
“It’s original builder was Jackie Mons who only died last year, but was known nationwide for his craft from his workshop in Oughterard, Co Galway.
“The third local group is ‘Crann Taca’ in collaboration with the Anchor Youth Club, and is led by Emily Rainsford, the muralist of ‘Berba’ the Goddess of the River on the gable facing the Shackelton statue.
“They are exploring the biodiversity of the River Barrow, which, not a lot of people know, but it is designated a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).
“They will be hosting an exhibition of their artists books at the Festival.
“The fourth is the Greise Youth Theatre doing a performance called ‘One Voice, One Action – Make a Difference’. It is based on what the local river creatures would say to us if they could talk ... all four projects have grown wings,” remarked Angelina.
