Fingal International Festival of Voices cancelled

THE Fingal International Festival of Voices, which was due to be staged in Balbriggan from March 12-15, has been cancelled.

The cancellation includes the three Friendship Concerts which were due to be held on Thursday, March 12 in Rush, Malahide and Balbriggan. Any tickets bought in advance will be refunded.

The festival organising committee took the decision after consultations with appropriate Government Authorities and Fingal County Council.

The decision was taken in order to ensure that every appropriate precaution is taken to protect public health against the Covid19 corona virus. 

Festival director Michael T. Dawson said: “With 64 groups due to participate this weekend, it is an enormous disappointment that the festival we imagined will not now take place. 

“The situation is unprecedented for Ireland but we believe that this course of action is the most responsible we can take.

“We have been overwhelmed by the support from our sponsors, choirs, barbershop groups, local community and businesses which, despite the recent development, have fuelled our belief that the festival is going to be a significant event on the Irish festival calendar and will have an enormously positive impact on the local area.” 

Despite the festival’s cancellation, a number of international groups have already arrived in Ireland. 

This has provided an opportunity to stream the festival from closed sessions with these fine groups from Canada and the USA.

A schedule of the narrowcasts will be published today. This will ensure that the festival will live on, even to a limited extent, for people in Balbriggan, Fingal and around the world. 

Mr Dawson added: “We hope that this will give people an idea of what the festival would have been like and will encourage interest for 2021 when the Festival of Voices will be bigger, brighter and even more entertaining than this year would have been.”