A new North Clare festival is hoping to build sustainable connections between rural Ireland and the Irish Queer Community. Hosted by Common Knowledge in Kilfenora, the Faoin Tuath Festival also aims to create a safe space where members of the Queer community can learn practical construction and environmentally helpful skills in a safe and welcoming space.
The festival is the brainchild of Aoife Hammond and Fionn Kidney, one of the founders of Common Knowledge, and grew out of the monthly Queer Sheds which take place in Kilfenora.
“I wanted to create a festival that I would love to go to. An event where people could come together, learn practical skills, spend time in nature and learn how to engage with the climate. An event where they could also learn to do loads of other lovely stuff and socialise together, see lots of musicians, performances, have a big dance. I wanted to be able to do all of that in the one place and luckily in Common Knowledge we are able to do that,” said Aoife.
“Faoin Tuath means in the country, but we are looking at it as meaning ‘out’ in the country. Our hope is that we can build on this year’s festival and make it into a year on year thing.
“As part of this we want to look at things that make Queer people stay in the country. A lot of people’s experiences of growing up in rural areas are; you grow-up Queer, you leave, and you go to a bigger city. So you’re not so connected with your identity when you are home. That is not everyone’s experience, but it is some people’s experience.
“Now living in rural Ireland, as a Queer person, we are trying to figure out what makes people want to stay in rural Ireland and what might make more people want to move to rural Ireland and feel safe and comfortable.
“Clare is an amazing place because it has beautiful scenery and it’s got such a brilliant cultural heritage as well. You’ve got all the traditional skills and crafts here and then you’ve got the Burren and the sea. It’s a beautiful place to be.”
The Faoin Tuath Festival will include a number of practical skill-sharing workshops including learning how to build a bat box, a Wild Queer Workshop with Lucy O’Hagan, a horticulture event with Dan O’Connor and a Queer Your Guts and Your Brew event with llewyn Máire.
There will also be a host of top class entertainers including Palestinian theatre maker, Amir Abualrob, North Clare musician Branwen Kavanagh, Dublin DJ Bull Horris, the Limerick Based Queer Club collective Dyke Nite, Irish multidisciplinary artist Dylan Kerr and even a Queer Trad Session.
The Clare Queer Shed is a new initiative which aims to address the social isolation experienced by LGBTQ+ people in rural Ireland by creating space for community to come together and share space, skills and solidarity.
Inspired by the Men’s Shed movement, which has had a huge impact in tackling isolation, a pilot programme of six monthly events have been taking place in Kilfenora.
“We have been blown away with the impact that this has had on people and it was clear to us that this was something that we had to keep working on. We wanted to create more of these spaces for Queer communities to come together, especially in rural Ireland,” said Aoife.
“I’ve always had a big Queer community who have been involved and doing things, but that is not there so much in rural Ireland. There is not as much events or opportunities to meet other people from the LGBT community. People are also sometimes nervous to come out in rural Ireland. They might not be fully comfortable to reach out to other people in the community.
“From this idea, we created Queer Sheds, which is a six month pilot programme where we are organising six workshops by people from the Queer community to share their skills. We had a fermenting workshop the other night and a month ago we had a cob pizza oven making workshop. And from these workshops, the idea for the Faoin Tuath Festival came together.
“The interest has been great so far. We have had a couple of planning meetings and then we’ve had two sets of workshops, which have all been sold out, mostly with people from Clare. But we have had people travelling from Limerick and Galway as well.
“Ultimately our aim is to create a Queer Sheds network around the country, where people can set up their own Queer Sheds. For Queers Sheds Clare we are hoping that this is something that will go on and grow.
“We really have to give a nod to Clare County Council, they funded us for the pilot project and some of that funding is going to this festival, which is brilliant.”
Faoin Tuath is a not-for-profit festival created by the Queer Sheds group and hosted by Common Knowledge in Kilfenora. For more information visit queersheds.org or instagram.com/queersheds.
ENDS
Andrew Hamilton is a journalist, investigative reporter and blogger who has been working in the media in Ireland for the past 20 years. His areas of special interest include the environment, mental health and politics.