The exciting programme of the 2025 Limerick Wild Geese Festival was revealed at a special event at No.1 Pery Square Hotel & Spa on Monday 9th June.
Organised by Alliance Française Limerick, the festival is an annual commemoration of the Flight of the Wild Geese and a celebration of the historical friendship between Ireland and France. Organising committee members Michelle Daly-Hayes, Loïc Guyon, Lorna Hodkinson, Randel Hodkinson and Paul O'Brien took a large crowd of attendees through the programme of this year's festival which will be held from 3rd to 6th July.
A pre-festival event sponsored by the prestigious French cognac brand Hennessy will take place on 26th June as part of Limerick's Twilight Thursdays and will consist of a series of performances of local rappers and traditional musicians in Mother Macs, Mickey Martins and The Commercial.
On Thursday 3rd July, the festival has partnered with the Limerick & Clare Wine Lovers Club for a French sparkling wine summer party at No.1 Pery Square. On Friday 4th July, during an evening at the LPYMA hall, a very rare 17th-century manuscript will be presented by Irish company Heavey Technology to the Limerick Museum.
The Jacobite manuscript was purchased in London by Heavey Technology to be put on permanent display in Limerick. The presentation of the precious document will be followed by a public lecture on Jacobite armies by historian Dr Harman Murtagh.
On Saturday 5th July, during a short morning ceremony, the Mayor of Limerick and the Ambassador of France to Ireland will unveil new improvements made to the Patrick Sarsfield monument by the Sarsfield Committee (a group of Limerick and Garryowen residents) including an explanatory panel, restored lighting so the statue can be lit up at night and restored lettering on the pedestal.
The day will continue with the traditional Living History Camp in the garden of the Hunt Museum by reenactors from En Garde (The Franco-Irish Historical Society) and with animations from the Saint Mary's Prize Band, Scoil Uí Ruairc, Conradh na Gaeilge, the Saint Mary's Men's Shed and the Limerick School of Music. New this year: there will be a barbecue (by the Hunt Museum Café) and crepes by Bon Appetit creperie.
July 5th will end in style with the annual Wild Geese banquet that has become one of the most anticipated events of the Limerick summer and which, this year, will be held in St. John's Church.
100 guests will be able to enjoy a drink reception (sponsored by Mickey Martins), a delicious 5-course dinner (prepared by chef George Casey), fine wines sponsored by O'Briens Wine and a shot of Thomond Gate Limerick Whiskey while enjoying great musical entertainment (provided in partnership with the Limerick Opera Festival).
The last day of the festival, on Sunday 6th July, will see a parade march through town led by Band 1 of the Defence Forces and including many members of veteran associations, reenactors and some local community groups. The parade will be followed by the festival's annual flag-raising ceremony supported by the 12th Infantry Battalion of the Defence Forces at the UN Peacekeepers Memorial.
Finally, a free concert will be held in Saint Mary's Cathedral bringing together five exceptionally talended artists (Lorcán Mac Mathúna, Martin Tourish, Daire Bracken, Yonit Kosovske and Wolodymyr Smishkewych) who will take the audience on a poetic and musical journey through the past and the shared history between Ireland and France.
The Limerick Wild Geese Festival, now in its 6th edition, is organised with the support of the Limerick City & County Council's Festivals & Events Grant Scheme and of the French Embassy in Ireland.
The 2025 edition is sponsored by Conradh na Gaeilge, Heavey Technology, the University of Limerick, Moët Hennessy, Mary Immaculate College and Bus Éireann. The full programme and booking links for all the free and paid events can be found on Limerick.ie or on the festival's social media accounts.
