|
Connor Abbott got the three day event off to a great start with a disco which was followed by “ABBA Delicious” which attracted a very large and enthusiastic crowd. On the Saturday afternoon a number of local groups and musicians took to the stage including Roscrea Folk Group, Martin Delaney, Mai Phelan and Michael McEvoy. That evening two wonderful upcoming bands from the local area “Random Band” and “Raptor” helped draw a large crowd to the Roscrea Castle Courtyard and they were followed by “The Irish Pink Floyd” who put on a great show full of stunning lights and visual effects to an estimated audience of three thousand people. The Saturday evening was rounded off by what many consisidred to be the best fireworks display in the midlands in recent years. The spectacular show which lasted over fifteen minutes thrilled onlookers many of whom are still expressing their gratitude to the “Credit Union” for staging such a wonderful show.
The momentum generated from the success of the first two days of the “Summer Fest” rolled on into the Sunday and not even the intermittent downpours could quell the enthusiasm for all the local groups who took to the stage. Roscrea Comhalts Junior/Senior groups captivated a large audience under the stewardship of Pat Flanagan and Carol Thompson, while Mary Dollard, Evelyn Wall and Carol King entertained the younger people in attendance with “Face Paintings” and free balloons. That evening with the weather gradually getting worse a major decision had to be taken with regards the staging of the Jack L concert. While it would have been lovely to have watched this wonderful performer on stage in the Castle Courtyard it was decided to move the concert indoors to Grant’s Hotel. Fortunately moving indoors did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of concert goers and the large function room in the hotel filled to capacity to listen to local singer Eoghan Coughlan and the inspirational Jack L who had everyone in the room, young and old, singing, clapping and dancing totally embracing the evening and enjoying the free concert for all its worth.
This week Brian King (Roscrea Credit Union) thanked all the above for their wonderful contribution to the “Credit Union Summer Fest”. He said the three day event obviously came at a considerable cost to the Credit Union especially with free admission offered to all the concerts. However he said such was the great response to the free concerts that the Credit Union were right to go ahead with the Summer Fest. For this he praised Ray McCarthy (CEO) of the Credit Union and all the Credit Union Directors and Supervisors for their vision and their support of such a much needed event in the town. Brian also thanked Maria Moloney and Orla Moloney from the “Credit Union Youth Group” for their assistance in the build up to the “Summer Fest” and he thanked Deborah O’Connor in particular and Billy Jackson for all their support with marketing and publicising the event. He complimented all the stewards and security workers for the weekend in particular Ivan Scullan who was on hand every day from the early afternoon until late into the night to help ensure everything ran smoothly. Brian thanked the local Gardaí for their assistance in what proved to be a trouble free weekend at all the “Summer Fest” events and he also had a very special mention for John Ryan and the local volunteers from the “Irish Red Cross” who went above and beyond the call of duty with their assistance over the three days. Thanks was also extended to Niamh and Eugene King who organised and sponsored all the bottles of water that were used over the three days of the “Summer Fest” and a very special mention was reserved for Mary O’Neill and all the local staff of the “OPW” particularly Kevin who made everyone feel so at home in the Castle grounds and were so co-operative throughout the long, busy but extremely successful weekend. Thanks were also extended to Mary Carroll and the staff of Grant’s Hotel, to Darren O’Toole and his helpers for the magnificent stage in the Castle Courtyard and to Shay and David Spain for their great work on PA over the weekend. Brian reserved his final thanks for Tom Stapleton. He said that quite simply, without Tom, the “Summer Fest” could not have enjoyed such great success. Brian concluded by complimenting the “Credit Union 40th Anniversary Committee” for supporting the “Summer Fest Project” and he thanked Liam and Mai Phelan who did such wonderful and committed work up to and during the festival weekend.
The “Summer Fest” is of course just one of many recent projects that Roscrea Credit Union are engaged in. The sponsorship of www.roscreaonline.com continues to be a great success and the money made available by the Credit Union to the “Roscrea Swimming Pool Project” finally looks like its going to pay dividends with work expected to commence on the pool shortly. The Credit Union also recently commenced a five year sponsorship deal with Roscrea Hurling Club falling on the back of their tremendous support for the “Killavilla United Development” as well as the support of many other clubs and organisations in the local area. Roscrea Credit Union also spearheaded a recent campaign giving very generous sponsorship aid to local resident groups and over the next few months Roscrea Credit Union looks forward to announcing more services including the introduction of a mortgage referral service and more projects that will be of enormous benefit to Roscrea and its neighbouring parishes and villages. To become part of this great success story call into the Credit Union at your own convenience. New members are always welcome.
| 
