On Wednesday 3rd August, Limerick City and Limerick Bastille Day Wild Geese Festival will be the focus of RTÉ Nationwide with a programme dedicated to the tremendously successful third edition of the festival which was held from July 15th to 17th.
The Nationwide team came to Limerick on Saturday 16th July to film the festival's afternoon of activities in the Hunt Museum garden, including the Living History Camp, set up by reenactors from En Garde, the Franco-Irish Historical Society, showcasing the uniforms, guns and objects used by Irish soldiers who fought in the armies of France between 1635 and 1815.
The afternoon also included a boules tournament and performances from students of the Limerick School of Music and members of the St. Mary's Prize Band, as well as a special dance routine prepared for the occasion by students of Scoil Uí Ruairc (some of them as young as six!).
Later that day, the Nationwide team filmed the Honora French & Irish Sustainable Couture Show at St. Mary's Cathedral, a sold-out event attended by nearly 500 people, and in which over thirty French and Irish designers displayed their latest creations. This exceptional event was organised as part of this year's festival in partnership with the Holman-Lee Agency and the Embassy of France in Ireland and with the support of Limerick City and County Council and a number of sponsors (Hugh Campbell Hair Group, the Beauty Atelier, Legato, Canteen, No1 Pery Square, O'Briens Wine and La Patisserie). One of the aims of the fashion show was to promote a more sustainable and inclusive fashion industry. The event was attended by Deputy Mayor Cllr Kieran O'Hanlon and His Excellency Vincent Guérend, Ambassador of France to Ireland.
Commenting on the event, Dr Loïc Guyon, Honorary Consul of France in Limerick and founder and co-organiser of the festival said: “The Honora French & Irish Sustainable Couture Show was named after Lady Honora Burke, Patrick Sarsfield's wife, whose looks and charisma made a strong impression on the royal court of Saint-Germain, near Paris, where she and her family settled after the Flight of the Wild Geese in 1691.
"The show which was held in the magnificent surroundings of St. Mary's Cathedral was organised with the utmost professionalism by the Holman-Lee Agency and put Limerick in the spotlight of the fashion world for one night. Some attendees said that the show was on par with the kind of fashion shows one would see in Paris and this was our objective from the start. I am really grateful to Celia Holman-Lee and Asta Lee for all the efforts they put into it and I feel privileged to have worked with them to make this amazing event happen in Limerick."
It is hoped the Honora Sustainable Couture Show will become a regular feature of the Limerick Bastille Day Wild Geese Festival in years to come.
The annual summer festival, launched in 2019 by the Consular Agency of France in Limerick and the Limerick City and County Council, was co-organised this year by Alliance française Limerick and the Limerick Civic Trust. The organising committee, which was co-chaired by Dr Loïc Guyon (for Alliance française Limerick) and Ms Patricia Roberts (for the Civic Trust) consisted of the following volunteer members: Fionán Coughlan, Michelle Daly-Hayes, Marie Hackett, Celia Holman-Lee, Dr Sandra Joyce, Asta Lee, Brian Moloney, Michael McCarthy, Dr Mairéad Ní Bhriain, Dr Orfhlaith Ní Bhriain, Tom O’Brien, Cian O’Carroll, Con O’Sullivan and Dr Matthew Potter.
The festival concluded on Sunday 17th July with a ceremony and concert at King John's Castle during which the Irish Chamber Orchestra and special guests performed “Symphony 32”, a musical piece written by French composer Erick Falc'Her-Poyroux in honour of the centenary of Ireland's partial independence and conducted by Irish-French maestro Robert Houlihan.
