Image provided by Sueann Moore (Outreach Development Worker, Ringsend Community Services Forum)
Community Week will take place in Dublin 4 from April 25 to May 2 with events that residents of all ages can enjoy.
The festivities will be launched on Monday 25th in the Catholic Young Men’s Society Hall on Irishtown Road. Lord Mayor of Dublin Críona Ní Dhálaigh help kick off the celebrations by hosting the launch of Raytown Rising, an exhibition celebrating the history of Ringsend and Irishtown. Further information on that event can be found in this article.
The South Dock ‘16 Society will present a performance of 25 to Clanwilliam, a short play about the Battle of Mount Street Bridge that will be brought to life by a group called “The Volunteers”. The play can be seen in Ringsend College from 7pm on Wednesday 27th, the day after the 100th anniversary of the event, for a fee of €3 paid at the door, which opens at 6.30pm.
Wednesday 27th will also see a pub quiz in which a team or two from pubs in the community can compete. The competition can be entered for €20 per team with all money being put into the prizes, and anyone who wishes to take part can contact Barbara in the Ringsend & Sandymount Community Centre at 01-6604789.
On Friday 29th from 5-6pm, registration will take place for the Soccer Blitz, which occurs in the Ringsend & Irishtown Community Centre. The free event will happen the following day, with 5-7 year olds and 8-10 year olds competing against each other.
Saturday will also see Ringsend Park being home to the 2016 Ringsend Dog Show. Registration for this event takes place from 9am on the day, and dogs will be judged in 10 categories based on their breeds, the skill of their handlers, grooming and their ability to perform tricks.
Other events to enjoy that week include a pool competition, several 1916 exhibitions, a screening of the movie A Terrible Beauty on Wednesday, live graffiti art on Sunday, the Ringsend Rose pageant on Friday night and a hurling match on Saturday at 7pm.
The week’s celebrations will conclude with the May Day Parade in which Margaret Keogh, the original Ringsend Rose who was shot in Stella Gardens on the eve of the ceasefire of the War of Independence, will be honored. The parade will begin at the Ringsend and Irishtown Community Centre at 2pm, and afterwards there will be plenty of entertainment including music, prize-giving, clowns, face-painting and bouncy castles. Organisers encourage both children and adults to come dressed as characters from 1916.
By Kevin Carney
