Closing event: Memory of a Free Festival

On Saturday, 20 June at 2.30-4pm to mark the closing of the Limerick iteration of Memory of a Free Festival Ormston House will be hosting an event at the Belltable, Limerick. Tickets are free but booking is essential. Tickets are available on the Belltable website here.

This exhibition is conceived in response to the Carnsore Point anti-nuclear festivals that took place in Wexford between 1978 and 1981. Organised by a coalition of groups, the festivals were attended by thousands of people unified by their shared opposition to what would have been Ireland’s first nuclear power plant. This touring project features contributions from contemporary artists and several individuals who were involved in organising the festival.

This informal event begins with a chaired discussion between performer Susie Kennedy and musician Luka Bloom, both of whom contributed to the festivals. This discussion includes a screening of original footage from the 1978 festival filmed by Ken Lynam. The second part of the event involves a contribution from Alanna O’Kelly who is presenting work in the touring exhibition at Ormston House, Wexford Arts Centre, and Uillin:West Cork Arts Centre. This event includes a sound screening of O’Kelly’s seminal Chantdown Greenham Common.

The exhibition is open to the public both before and after the event at the Belltable.