THE roads will be closed in Stoneybatter later this month to make way for a fantastic weekend of celebration and family fun featuring music, dance and even afternoon tea with Mrs Doyle from Fr Ted.
The first ever Stoneybatter Summer Festival is being built on the success of the Northside suburb winning the Pride of Place award for best urban heritage village in Ireland last year.
Judges noted that despite many challenges, the area had retained a wonderful sense of community and village life.
A dedicated Pride of Place Committee has been working on the festival since that great victory for the area and has come up with an event that promises to be one of the best festivals of the summer in Dublin.
“The entire community is deeply engaged; all the businesses are participating; and the range of events and activities is extensive,” said Pride of Place Chairperson, Joe Costello.
“While the festival promotes the rich history, heritage and strong community of Stoneybatter, the organisers are keenly aware that Stoneybatter is one of the many urban villages in Dublin and wish to extend a warm welcome to all Dubliners to come and join us in our mid-summer celebrations.”
The festival runs on the weekend of June 23-25 and will be opened on the Friday with a message from President Michael D Higgins and launched by Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Brendan Carr.
On Saturday it’s Open House Day in Stoneybatter when local businesses, community services, museums, art galleries, churches and even private homes will be open to the public.
Local restaurants will have special festival menus and pubs will feature music all day.
There’ll also be tours of Stoneybatter landmarks and a concert in Grangegorman in the evening.
Sunday will be the standout day of the festival with Stoneybatter closed to traffic for the first time ever to facilitate visitors.
The main event will be a Family Fun Day with a wide range of activities for young and old.
One of the highlights of the day will be Afternoon Tea with Mrs Doyle.
Local resident Pauline McLynn of Fr Ted fame with assistance from Anna Nolan of the Great Irish Bake-off will judge cake and sandwich competitions with tea-cosies specially knitted by Mrs Doyle herself as prizes for the winners.
The Stoneybatter Summer Festival will finish up on Sunday night with a concert of music, song and dance for the senior citizens of the Stoneybatter area.
Nearly all events are free and further information and updates are available online at www.stoneybatterfestival.ie and Facebook.com/prideofplaceStoneybatter.