The Excitement is building in Donabate and Portrane in anticipation of the Bleeding Pig Cultural Festival 2023, coming soon to a venue near you! People often ask where did the festival get it’s unusual name. The Bleeding Pig Cultural Festival takes it’s name from a rock formation deep inside a cave on the cliff walk between Donabate and Portrane. An arrangement of the erosion in the rock looks like the shape of a pig, and in certain tidal conditions, when the light is just right, the rock formation drips with iron-laden, red-coloured water, looking like the pig is actually bleeding! In 2013 when a name was being sought for the festival, this name was chosen because the feature is on the walk linking Donabate to Portane. The festival kicks off this year on Thursday September 7th with a Trad session in the Brook Pub in Portrane, starring renowned Uileann Piper Eamonn Galldubh agus a chairde, and featuring members of Comhaltas Leithinis. Everybody welcome for some craic agus ceol!
Over the following 10 days until Sunday September 17th there is a full timetable of events with
something of interest to all cultural tastes and audiences of all ages. Some highlights of the festival include:Craft Workshops for children and adults; Gala Concert in St. Patrick’s RC Church featuring the Young Dublin Symphonia and more; Mol an Óige, a showcase of some of the fun-sized talent on the peninsula! A festival favourite;Pizza Trad, or Céilí dancing and complimentary Pizza in the sun! Short Film Festival in St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland over 3 nights; Open Mic for Comedy, Music, the Spoken Word and more;Guided Tours of St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland, Martello Tower and Newbridge House; Art and Photography exhibition; September Miscellany featuring the Chinkwell Writers with musical interludes; Historic walk and talk in Portrane; Casino Night for some gambling fun and Rat-Pack entertainment; Wellness sessions in The Community Well; Sing-a-long sessions; Short plays from the Donabate/Portrane Dramatic Society; BioDiversity walk and talk at Turvey Island Hide; and lots more! Check out the Bleeding Pig Cultural Festival brochure, website, Facebook and Instagram for full details of all the events. There will be a raffle running throughout the festival with some lovely prizes including artworks from some of our local artists, and lots more. Tickets will be on sale at all festival events. Some events require advance booking to secure a place. See the website for information about these. Most events in the 10-day festival are free of charge. However, a small cover charge will apply to a certain limited number events, to guarantee attendance. If you would like to get involved with the Bleeding Pig Cultural Festival please contact Eilish McDermott on 0877911833, or any committee member. Come along to any of the the festival events from the 7th to 17th September across the peninsula and let’s embrace our local culture!