MUSIC FESTIVAL:THE ORGANISERS of a music festival taking place today in Limerick believe the rest of the city is only catching up with them.
Great Friday, which buses people to a secret location in the countryside, was first devised to flout the Good Friday drink ban.
Armed with cans and bottles, revellers are ferried from the city to a mystery location where they can see 30 different acts, 12 of them unsigned bands.
Organiser Cathy Flaherty said yesterday: “Good Friday is a day off work but there was nothing to do because everything shut down. Normally on a day off you can go to the pub and meet friends so we started this party. That was eight years ago and it looks like the rest of Limerick has finally caught up with us.”
Some 600 tickets for the mini festival (which cost €30 each) normally sell out, with buses running from Limerick city and Cork.
“The pubs opening doesn’t bother us – it’s actually cheaper to come out to us.”
Each year the festival has a theme. A couple of years ago it was “Prohibition” in a nod to the American dry era and in keeping with the Good Friday drinks ban. “We all wore 1920s outfits and snuck our alcohol into the tents,” she said. “This year’s theme is “Pandemic” – it’s all about the swine flu. We’ve got a giant inflatable pig, and will be handing out surgical masks,” she added.
Aside from the live bands, the festival features DJs and other acts from Munster.