Chairperson's Address

On behalf of the Organising Committee of the 43rd Annual Birr Vintage Week & Arts Festival...

..it is my great pleasure to once again welcome artists, performers, musicians and Festival-goers from all over Ireland and beyond, to experience our thriving community spirit, enjoy our glorious hospitality and share in our celebrations of Birr’s heritage and culture. We encourage you all to wear vintage costume, attend as many exhibitions and events as you can and soak up all the music and craic to really make the most of the Festivities!

We wish to extend special thanks to: All the clubs, societies and venues who host events during the week; Birr Town Council; Birr Garda Siochána; Birr Fire Brigade; Central Fire Station (Tullamore); Civil Defence; Marian Hall Committee; Order of Malta; Birr & District Motor Club; Birr Lions Club; Birr Chamber of Commerce, Dooly’s Hotel; Ann Quinlan; David Manzor; Abby Noyce, Speedy and Brendan, Brendan Garry and Pat Guinan. I would like to especially commend the Festival Committee, community groups and individuals for their enthusiastic voluntary spirit, vital to a successful Festival. Again, it’s been my honour to be Chairman and my privilege to work with such talented people. Sincere thanks to our funders and sponsors who recognise the enormous positive impact of the Festival on the towns’ commerce and community development and who support our plans and events so generously. Birr Pubs continued commitment to the Festival is gratefully acknowledged and very much appreciated. We are delighted to welcome back the Gleeson Group (Tipperary Water) for a second year, and we also welcome Heineken on board! We encourage all Festival Patrons to acknowledge the generosity of our Sponsors and to support those who support the Festival!

Finally, thanks to all of YOU who support our fundraisers and Festival events. It’s your Festival – we wish you a very enjoyable week!

Liam Dumpleton
Festival Chairman

Festival Committee 2011

Chairman: Liam Dumpleton
Vice-Chairperson: Michelle de Forge
Hon. Treasurer: Dermot Maher
PRO: Janine Wilson
Secretary: Emma Nee Haslam
Parade Coordinator: Orla Watkins
Committee: Veronica Alexander, Fred Boulton, Sarah-Jane Cleary, Brian Corrigan, George Dempsey, Brendan Fogarty, Keith Grainger, Hazel Greene, Caroline Guy, Denis Hoctor, Heather Joyce, Susan Molloy, Martina Needham, Cyril Stanley, DJ Wilson.

Vintage Shop-Window Display Competition

in association with MidIreland Tourism

Calling on all shop owners to enter the Festival spirit and dress your window in vintage style to remember days gone by. Winner to be announced on Sun 7 Aug.

Vintage Photographic Competition

Enter your photographs illustrating the spirit of Birr Vintage Week & Arts Festival 2011!
Non-returnable entries by 12 noon on Fri 12 Aug. to David O’Meara, Pharmacy Plus, Birr (Sponsor of 1st prize, with thanks!). Entries will be displayed from Friday 12 August

Vintage Costume Competition

in association with Birr Chamber of Commerce

Get into the festival spirit by dressing in period costume and be in with a chance to win great prizes! Look out for special treats for those in Vintage Costume, kindly offered by our wonderful sponsors! Please support those who support the Festival. Costumes available from Ann O’Meara, Midland Costumes 057 9120147 and Eileen Flanagan, Esmeralda Costumes on 086 1000220.

Parade Route

The Festival committee would appreciate if the parade route as outlined on the map above could be left free of cars from 10am– 6pm and the Marian Hall Car Park left free for parade participants only from 12–4pm on Sun 7 Aug. Thank you for your co-operation.

Traffic Diversions

With thanks to Birr Gardaí
In the interest of safety and enjoyment of the Festival, local traffic diversions will be in operation during the Festival week. Disruption will be kept to a minimum and your co-operation is very much appreciated.

Parking Restrictions

To provide space for some Festival events and to enhance your enjoyment of these events, parking restrictions will be in place within the town throughout the week. Please obey the temporary notices.

No Hawkers or Ticket Sellers

We urge the public to only purchase goods from official Festival sellers. Only stall holders with Festival permits will be admitted to trade.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information contained herein is correct, no responsibility is accepted for any errors or omissions.