The Gathering not a new concept

THERE cannot be many people left who have not, at this stage, heard of The Gathering – the year-long tourism promotion aimed at increasing visitor numbers to the country. People are beginning to engage with the idea and most communities have some series of events planned during 2013. Admittedly, there are some of the Gabriel Byrne school of thought, who reckon it is simply saying to the Irish Diaspora, “Come here this year, we need your money”.

 

The idea is not unique and it is actually the third time similar promotions have been organised here. Most will have heard of An Tóstal, which was held in the ’50s but, before that, The Tailteann Games in the 1920s had similar aims.

The ancient Tailteann Games predated the ancient Olympics and could be traced back to olden Tara when Lughaidh Lámhfhada ordered games to be held to honour the memory of Queen Tailte. The last Games were supposedly held in the reign of Rory O’Connor, which coincided with the arrival of the Normans. When they were first mooted by the new State, one of the rallying cries was that now that we had our own government and “were free from foreign domination”, we could hold our ancient games again.

They were first mooted in the 1880s by Michael Davitt. Following the establishment of Dáil Éireann, momentum grew and an organising committee was appointed. They hoped to attract 100,000 visitors from American with many thousand others from Britain and Europe. Fears were expressed in the Dáil that there could be overcharging for accommodation, food and transport. The Games of 1924 and 1928 both returned profits but they faded out after that.

The next attempt at a gathering event was in 1953 with the launch of An Tóstal. Again, it featured in Dáil debates but this time it mainly focused on the meaning of the word.

One TD quoted an old dictionary published in Dublin in 1821 and claimed the word tóstal meant “arrogance, pride or envy” and that the word tostallach meant “presumptuous and arrogant”.

Nevertheless, the festival went ahead and ran for five years. The only place it continued was in Drumshanbo in Leitrim, which still holds an annual Tóstal to this day.

The idea was very similar to what is planned for The Gathering, with local festivals complimenting national events. They were meant to be a celebration of Irish culture and an effort at drawing tourists to the country. In the early years, most towns and villages took part in the National Spring Clean campaign and then from this, in 1958, Bord Fáilte launched the Tidy Towns Competition.

The events very much reflected the Ireland of the day. Reports on events in Ennis included a recital by the army band, a lecture on the Dalcassians, a dance, a concert and a number of sporting events. The week started and ended with special church ceremonies. The Gathering events will probably be a little more diverse.

The very first Tóstal was launched with a major parade in Dublin. Thousands lined the street and the President Seán T Ó Ceallaigh took the salute at the GPO.

That parade to mark the opening of the first An Tóstal took place on April 5, 1953 – 60 years ago this week.