The first ever Caravan of Love Festival held in Gyles Quay over the weekend has been declared a complete success by organisers Niall Ferguson and Stewart Agnew.
The first festival goers began arriving in the Peninsula on Thursday evening and despite the torrential rain on Friday night an excited audience were in their seats in plenty of time for top class performances by Stewart Agnew and JamesHumston while headliner Damien Dempsey raised the roof with a strong performance that had everyone on their feet and singing.
Day two had a family fun element with a Pelican Play Zone for children while music lovers were in the Caravan of Love Marquee for afternoon performances by The Stormers, We the Oceanographers, Paul Bailey Band, Mother Made Us, The Sensations.
Saturday nights audience were queuing at the door while soundchecks were going on inside Fergusons Bar and were not to be disappointed by excellent performances from Cian Connolly and Finnian. The Four of Us gave an amazing performance and the audience were once again on their feet, dancing and singing along with Brendan Murphy declaring from the stage ‘What an amazing night – What an amazing setting!’
Mundy who had only returned from the US the previous night was, by his own admission, sleep deprived, not that anyone would have known by the amazing set he performed. Of course ‘Galway Girl’ was a huge success as was ‘July’ which moved into Bruce Springsteen’s ‘I’m on Fire’.
The Festival wound down on Sunday afternoon with more performances in the Marquee, this time from Pete & tara Johnson and Zoe Conway & John McIntyre. Both Niall Ferguson & Stewart Agnew are more than happy that they invested months of tiem and effort to create a festival that celebrated not only national music but supported local musicians and enterprise.
Niall said “This was our first festival here at Fergusons Bar and we’re delighted with how things have gone. It’s not just been down to us, we enlisted the help of a number of local businesses and the people in the area have been verysupportive , so it has been a very positive experience for the area.
Stewart was also happy “It’s been a great opportunity to have our own local talent play on the same stage with legendary names such as Damien Dempsey, The Four of Us and Mundy. It was also fantastic to hear our top musicians tell us how much they enjoyed the Festival.”
The Caravan of Love organisers had a number of thanks:
- Diageo
- Stephen Hand, Stage & Lighting
- All Ferguson bar staff, security etc
- Anthony & Anne Ferguson
- Claire Ferguson
- All performers, both in the Bar and the Marquee
- Local residents for supporting a local initiative
- Photospeed.ie & Carrolls Bookshop
- Fergusons Bar Facebook friends
- Pelican Promotions
- Local press including LMFM, Argus, Dundalk FM and Talk of the Town
And a final huge ‘THANK YOU’ to the audience for supporting Caravan of Love.
