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| Clonmel Junction Festival | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Music, visual arts, food, comedy, dance, theatre |
| Begins | First week in July, 1-10 July 2022 |
| Frequency | Yearly |
| Location(s) | Clonmel, Tipperary, Ireland |
| Years active | 23 |
| Inaugurated | 2001 |
| Website | www |
Clonmel Junction Festival is an annual festival held in Clonmel in Ireland. The festival, which was established in 2001, typically starts on the first weekend of July and runs for seven days. It is a multi-discipline arts festival with theatre, dance, music, food, and visual arts. A 2009 article in The Irish Times described it as a "particularly vibrant festival", noting that it takes place in "a town with no committed performing arts venue".
History
Early years
Clonmel Junction Festival was established in 2001 by the now defunct Galloglass Theatre Company. It featured four theatre shows, one comedy performance and a small number of traditional music performances in local pubs.
In 2002, the festival expanded its format to include rock music featuring Damien Rice and Kíla. A participation program was also introduced this year. The program involved local school children creating street art that was put on display for the duration of the festival. This subsequently became an annual program which, as of 2009, involved over 300 children every year.
2003 featured the premiere of Des Dillon's Teac a Bloc. This was also the last year that the festival was run by the Galloglass Theatre Company.
Independence
2004 saw Clonmel Junction Festival became an independent organisation run by a board of directors. It expanded in 2005, increasing from a six-day event to nine-day event, with performances from KT Tunstall, Yair Dalal and Máirtín O'Connor.
2006 saw the festival bring Nofit State Circus to Clonmel for five shows. As part of the 2006 festival, there was also a celebration of newly established Polish community within Clonmel, in a mini Polish Festival.
In 2007, a collaboration was organised between Body Mind & Soul, visiting artists from Malawi and Maslow, a local band. Sensazione, an eco-theatrical fun fair, was the headline event in 2008. Along with this, several other theatre world premières took place during the nine days including 'Raw', a creation of the aerial dance company Fidget Feet in collaboration with the festival and funded by the Arts Council. There were also performances from Paul Brady and The Blizzards in 2008.
As of 2009, the festival was reportedly "attracting almost 10,000 people to its ticketed shows". The 10th Clonmel Junction Festival took place in 2010, the focus of the event shifted to circus. The festival featured circus acts from Ireland and abroad, including Fossett's Circus and Les Parfaits Inconnus. The music line up included Cathy Davey, Republic of Loose and Mick Flannery. It also featured the premiere of Me Seeing You 2, by the Iseli Chiodi Dance Company commissioned by the festival, South Tipperary Arts Office and the Excel Centre.
2020s
Elements of the planned programme for the 20th festival, in 2020, were "presented online" owing to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland. A specially constructed dome was used for a number of festival events in 2021. The 2024 festival was titled "Legacy X Next".
References
- "The Clonmel Junction Festival, nine days packed with theatre and music. – July 3rd to 11th 2004", Munster Express, p. 47, 2 July 2004
- Crawley, Peter (3 July 2009). "Theatre at Clonmel Junction Festival". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
- "300 children will create banners for Junction Festival". nationalist.ie. 21 May 2009. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
- "Maslow". breakingtunes.com. Archived from the original on 12 August 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
- "Junction Festival Program". tipperarystar.ie.
- "Clonmel Junction Festival (2009)". discoverireland.com. Archived from the original on 1 May 2009.
- ""Circus takes centre stage at Junction Festival" |The Nationalist, May 6th 2010". Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- "'Dance Residency'|southtipparts.ie". Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
- "The show must go online: Irish festivals respond to Covid-19". Irish Times. 16 May 2020.
- "What's in a name? Inside the Clonmel Junction Festival". rte.ie. 2 July 2021.
- "Festival Programme 2024" (PDF). Clonmel Junction Arts Festival. Retrieved 2 January 2025.