22/05/2012

Archived item. This item is published here for historical reasons. The information below may be out of date.

at 11.00 am in Tallaght Stadium, Tallaght Mayor Caitríona Jones will close the Bealtaine Festival, the festival celebrating Creativity in Older Age. Bealtaine is co-ordinated by Age and Opportunity, the national organisation working to promote greater participation by older people in society. The name "Bealtaine" comes from the ancient Celtic festival of that name celebrating springtime, freshness and renewal.

Bealtaine was a chance for the novice to discover a talent until then unseen and a chance for a long-dormant skill to find a new outlet.  Sounds Ensemble is an example of this. Sounds Ensemble, under the guidance of Tallaght man,  Terry Clancy allowed people to try their hand at an instrument for the first time and offered a second chance to those who had played in the past but gave up for a variety of reasons.  Other events in which their was full participation was the Dance Workshops, Go for Life Games, Tea Drinking Stories Workshops (very popular!) and the Horticultural Workshops.

The  competition entitled  “It is never too late to be what you might have been” was organised by the Social Inclusion Unit and allowed residents of the County to submit entries using Art, Craft, Writing, Sculpture, Painting, Photographs etc.  This was a huge success with entries from all over the county.  The awards will be presented at the closing Ceremony.

For further information please contact:

Maria Finn, Social Inclusion Officer, Social Inclusion Unit, Community Services Department, South Dublin County Council.  Tel: 086 3803060/01 4149270 or email mfinn@sdublincoco.ie