I’m a Blue Jean Country Queen

I recall when I was weaned

On rock ‘n’ roll and golden soul

And faded denim jeans…

It was while ploughing in his Massey Ferguson 188 one day in 1987 that Patrick Farrelly – then a member of Carnaross Macra na Feirme – heard the opening lines of a Philomena Begley song on the radio. And the seed for the Blue Jean Country Queen festival was sown.

Today, it is one of the biggest events on the Macra na Feirme calendar, and is estimated to bring in excess of €70,000 to the local economy every year. But what does it take to keep a festival on the road for 30 years – and what does it mean to a rural town like Athboy? Afterall, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing, and in recent years, there were mounting fears that it would have to be moved to a nearby town, due to funding issues for a festival of its size.

Festival chair Aiveen Cully-Dunne says: “€20,000 is the figure we have for the cost of the Blue Jean Country Queen Festival. Of this, 30% would be covered by sponsorship, with the rest being catered for by the accumulation from festivals of previous years.” The community and local businesses of Athboy prevailed, however, and kept the festival afloat, with Athboy Credit Union in particular giving it an incredible boost by offering a three-year sponsorship deal.

to the rescue

“We couldn’t just stand by and let something like this walk away, it rallies the whole community together. The credit union is a community organisation and the festival itself fits perfectly with the ethos of this,” says Nick Murphy, manager of Athoy Credit Union.

Other local businesses have also rowed in, with sponsorship from Flood’s Bar, local designer Darran Smyth, Peter Derby, and Firepan Photography, among others, allowing it to grow from strength to strength.

Mary Flood from Flood’s Bar says: “Everyone is in good form and gets something out of it. It brings in great crowds.”

Approximately 2,000 visitors from across the country are expected to visit the festival, with both the Darnley Lodge Hotel and The Lawrence hotel booked out entirely.

David Sheridan of Darnley Lodge expects to have between 30 and 50 staff members on any given night across the weekend and hopes to take on up to 15 extra staff to cater for the festival. “It’s a huge festival for the community of Athboy. It is our biggest weekend of the year, we are completely booked out. If we could have more like it, it would be fantastic,” he says.

The Planning

It takes a huge team to get the festival from planning to the stage, with an AGM taking place during the summer to elect a new committee for the coming year. The process begins in August with the festival’s chair Aiveen Cully-Dunne and secretary Claire Gough taking the helm.

“There is a lot of running and racing in the lead-up to the festival,” says Aiveen. “We have to collect everything from t-shirts and sashes to marquees. We are very lucky with the committee we have and how willing they are to help.”

Of course it is difficult to cater for everything over the course of the weekend. “We had hailstones during our fashion show one year. We were all rushing for umbrellas,” laughs Aiveen. “There have been no major disasters. The festival couldn’t take place in 2001 due to the outbreak of foot and mouth – but that couldn’t be avoided.”

Highlights

“I love when the banquet is over and the queens gather in a room together for a few minutes before announcing the winner. Then they go into the marquee and it is like a red-carpet moment,” smiles Aiveen.

“I love meeting all of the new queens,” adds Claire. “You get to watch them go from being so shy and quiet, to then growing and becoming so friendly and close to one another.”

The committee is kept busy throughout the year with contacting bands, judges, sponsors, host families for the queens and much more. This process is made much easier with the help of Aoife Mooney, Lauren Garry, Eamon Cassells, David Daly, Patrick Brogan and many others who get involved in the organisation process.

Top Attraction

The festival caters for all ages with lots of events spread across the whole weekend, including a street carnival and craft fair, queens karaoke, Athboy Credit Union BBQ and Lark in the Park. There is a huge build-up to the Sunday night of the festival. This proves to be the biggest night of the weekend, with the overall Blue Jean Country Queen being announced at midnight.

Once selected, the queen is encouraged to represent the festival by promoting themselves and the organisation of Macra na Feirme, as well as taking part in their local community and in Athboy with invitations to events such as Athboy’s St Patrick’s Day Festival. “This is not a pretty-girl competition – it is a lovely girl competition,” concludes Aiveen. “It is for someone with the whole package.” CL

For further information, visit www.bluejeanfest.com