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A wonderful weekend of fun, music, dance and all round entertainment will take place in Roscrea on the last weekend of June. ABBA Delicious, The Irish Pink Floyd, Eoghan Coughlan and the internationally acclaimed Jack L to name but a few will perform in Roscrea on Friday the 29th, Saturday the 30th of June and Sunday July 1st courtesy of Roscrea Credit Union and their 40th anniversary celebrations.
Admission to all the events will be free, saving locals hundreds of euros on normal admission fees to the performances that the Credit Union has lined up. All the action will take place in the majestic surrounds of the Roscrea Castle Courtyard, the perfect backdrop for an event of this magnitude. Throughout the weekend singers, dancers, and musicians from the locality will join the national acts mentioned above and entertain the public in a three day entertainment extravaganza that has something to suit everyone’s taste in music. One of the main highlights of the weekend will be the fireworks display that Roscrea Credit Union is organising for the Saturday night of the three day spectacular. The fireworks display promises to be something really special. The event will be co-ordinated from within the Castle grounds so anyone attending the free concerts in the castle courtyard on the Saturday evening will be in a prime position to see the Roscrea night sky lit up spectacularly.
Ray McCarthy CEO of the Credit Union said this week, that the Credit Union “Summer Fest” was a great way for Roscrea Credit Union to celebrate 40 years service to Roscrea and its neighbouring parishes and villages. Ray said that the three days and nights of concerts would be the Credit Union’s way of involving as many people as possible in the Credit Union celebrations and thanking them for their tremendous support over the past forty years. Ray encouraged individuals, families, groups of friends etc to come out over the three days and nights of the summer fest and enjoy the occasion. Ray said the fireworks display in particular will be something people won’t want to say they missed.
Brian King Business Development Officer in the Credit Union has a committee put in place to help organise and co-ordinate the summer fest. Brian told us this week that the committee had looked at many options for the concerts with the objective of appealing to as wide an audience as possible. He said having worked on the concerts that Roscrea Credit Union sponsored in the past as part of the Fleadh Cheoil and Aonach Roscrea celebrations it was decided to push the boat out further this time round by involving local acts such as those that competed recently in the Credit Union “Battle Of The Bands” competition which was a tremendous success. Brian said that none of the events planned would be possible without the great help and guidance of Tom Stapleton (Roscrea Music Store) who continues to be a great asset to the Credit Union when planning events like the upcoming “Summer Fest”. With no other festival planned for Roscrea this summer Brian King said it was vital that everyone including local businesses etc embrace what the Credit Union are trying to do and show willingness and an appetite for more great events in Roscrea like what is planned for the end of June.
Seamus Mullaney Chairperson of Roscrea Credit Union said that organsing the “Credit Union Summer Fest” was an onerous task, and a massive undertaking by the Credit Union. Seamus reiterated that admission to all the events including the fireworks etc were free and therefore he encouraged everyone to come out and enjoy themselves complements of the Credit Union. In particular Seamus appealed to the families located in many resident estates in the town that have received sponsorship from the Credit Union recently, to get together with other families and come out and support the Credit Union concerts. Seamus said that the “Summer Fest” was one of many great projects that the Credit Union has embarked upon this year as part of its 40th anniversary celebrations. Seamus said Roscrea Credit Union was without doubt Roscrea’s leading financial intuitions and it’s contribution to the local community was unprecedented when compared to the banks and indeed other Credit Unions around the country.
The concerts will commence on Friday the 29th of June in the Roscrea Castle Courtyard. DJ Conor Abbott will get the weekend off to a great start with a disco from 7-8.00pm. Conor will be followed by numerous local acts and then one of the headline acts of the weekend “ABBA Delicious” will take stage. This is a glamtastic show that takes the audience on a roller coaster ride through the ’70s and early ’80s with white flares, gold platform shoes and great costumes. The concert will bring you back to the carefree days of the ’70s – the decade that taste forgot. You will be thrilled by all the old Abba mega-hits, including Dancing Queen, The Winner Takes It All, The Name of the Game, and Waterloo to name but a few.
The entertainment continues on Saturday afternoon with the best of local talent taking the stage in the Castle Courtyard. After a break at 6.00pm the entertainment will resume at 8.00pm with a collection of local bands who will warm the audience up for the “Irish Pink Floyd”. This show is visually stunning and comes to Roscrea with the largest sound and lighting system currently on tour in Ireland. On the night there will also be video screens projecting film footage, stills, and animation; high-tech lighting, video accompaniments, and the obligatory helicopter searchlight, heartbeat and clock chimes that will create an unbelievable atmosphere in the town. The Irish Pink Floyd is a six-piece band (10, counting the sound, lighting, and visual technicians). People who are not even familiar with Pink Floyd music have attended “The Irish Pink Floyd Show” and rated it as one of the best concert’s they have ever experienced. Don’t miss them; this concert really will be something special. To conclude proceedings on the Saturday evening, the Credit Union will host a spectacular fireworks display which is sure to thrill all those who come out to witness the memorable event.
On the Sunday afternoon of July 1st the Credit Union Summer Fest continues with some great local groups and musicians from the midlands taking to the stage. Emerging talent Eoghan Coughlan will start the evening session at 7.30pm followed by one of the most established musicians to hit Roscrea in recent years, Jack L. Described as one of the best singers to ever come out of Ireland, Jack L has a stunning voice that has enthralled audiences around the world. “The Evening Herald” said of one of Jack l’s concert’s in Vicar Street that the performance left the reviewer and the audience that night “blown away” by the whole Jack L experience. The “Irish Independent” reviewed Jack L at the Olympia Theatre recently and described his performance as “Wonderful” with a boisterous and enthusiastic crowd roaring on their approval and crying out for several encores.
All in all the last weekend in June is shaping up to be an outstanding few days of musical entertainment in Roscrea. The Credit Union would like to thank everyone for their support to date but in particular they would like to acknowledge Tom Stapleton for all his support and Mary O’Neill of the O.P.W for kindly allowing the Credit Union the use of the Castle Courtyard for the three day event. The Credit Union can not emphasize enough the fact that the concerts are free to everyone regardless of whether or not you are a Credit Union member. The purpose of the event is to give people from the locality an opportunity to come together, celebrate 40 years of Credit Union success and enjoy wonderful music in the comfort of splendid surroundings, with no costs involved. So for a great weekend don’t say you weren’t told, Roscrea is the place to be at the end of June. | 
