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This year, Cloonacool Sheep Festival opens on Thursday 21 September at 9pm with an old-fashioned cabaret night in the company of Eurovision winner Charlie McGettigan.
On Friday 22 September, the local school community will display an innovative art project, followed by a disco for children and then later in the evening an 80s disco for adults.
A walking treasure hunt will take place on Saturday 23 September starting at 10am and, later in the evening, there will be a festival dance with Stuart Moyles at 9.30pm.
Sunday 24 September is the final day of the festival and there will be a sheep and dog show. Both shows are to attract a variety of visitors from across the country.
Community spirit
Speaking on the event, festival chair Ado McIntyre said: “The one thing we didn’t lose in Cloonacool was our community spirit, our ability to work together as a community. Our first festival in 2019 was designed to restore our heritage and our traditions.”
On picking a theme for the festival, Ado said: “Sheep and sheep farming seemed to be the obvious theme. We developed a very enthusiastic core group to help organise the festival. It was just ourselves really, farming lads and people with an interest in maintaining our community life.
"We start planning early each year for our festival in late September. We put a series of events in place and within that we focus on a few main points.
"Firstly, the event is for our local community; secondly, we put ourselves out there for other communities to come and enjoy; and thirdly, we try and put in place a series of events that appeal to a wider public.”
Entry into the festival is free, but the site does contain numerous ways in which patrons can support the project.
The main fundraiser at the festival is the sale of draw tickets with a top prize of €1,000 or five breeding ewes.
Further details about the event will appear regularly on their Facebook page and everyone is welcome to attend any or all of the festival events.
Contact 087-251 2030 or Ccloonacoolsheepfestival@gmail.com.
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