Camera clubs take centrestage at launch of Lovely Laois Homecoming festival
Gerry Wallace, Joe Phelan, Tim Conroy, Trudi Lalor, Eddie Phelan, Eoin Phelan, Edwina Phelan, Molly Phelan, Gráinne Phelan and Macy Squires pictured at the launch of the Lovely Laois Festival Photo Stan Henderson
THE second annual Lovely Laois Homecoming Festival was launched by its founder, country music queen Trudi Lalor, at a cosy wine and cheese gathering for a wonderful photographic exhibition in Phelan’s Restaurant in her hometown of Mountrath on Thursday 3 September.
The photography exhibition is by members of Mountrath and District Camera club and Noreside Camera club, Abbeyleix and the standout photographs focus on Laois, its fauna, flora and scenic landscapes.
The camera club has 13 members, including Gerry Dunbar, Mary O’Dea, Heather Rice, Lorraine Strang, Mai Murphy, Sinead Hennessy-Bergin, Rosie Gee, Pascal Walsh, Tim Conroy, Lisa Doyle, Miriam Brickley, Melissa Casey and restaurant owner Eddie Phelan, who organised the festival launch for the second year running.
Speaking to the Laois Nationalist shortly before the star of the show arrived to open the festival, Eddie said that he is delighted to be able to help Trudi and to display the work of his fellow photographers on the restaurant walls.
He said: “Last year’s event featured works from local artists and photographers and this year we focused on the camera clubs. When Trudi told me that she was organising the Lovely Laois Homecoming Festival last year, I said that I’d be delighted to help if there was anything that I could do and the idea of annual exhibitions featuring local creatives grew from there. I got the two camera clubs together for this year’s launch and we have a bit of everyone’s work on display. This exhibition shows people what the camera club does when we are out and about for a night rambling around the woods or gone on a weekend trip somewhere.” Trudi launched the weekend of festivities by addressing the people at the gathering. She said: “It means so much to have the launch for the Lovely Laois Homecoming Festival in my hometown of Mountrath where I was born and reared. I want to thank Eddie and Maura and all of the Phelan family members. When I came up with the wild idea of the homecoming festival, which aims to reunite Laois people from all over the world to come home to their native county and reconnect with their families, their friends, their neighbours, old school friends and old teammates, straight away Eddie, Maura and the family were onboard.
“This night in particular is very special for the launch of such a big festival in my own hometown and to see the huge talent that we have in Mountrath with everybody involved in the camera club. People from the town coming together through Eddie and Maura putting this beautiful evening together is great. I can’t thank them enough.” During last year’s launch in Phelan’s Restaurant, Trudi read out a lovely letter which she received from then president Michael D Higgins. This year was no different as Trudi announced that she had received a warm letter of best wishes and congratulations from president Catherine Connolly, which she read aloud.
The letter, which was addressed to ‘Dear Trudi, all your family, friends and neighbours from Co Laois In part, the letter from Uachtaráin na hÉireann said that the Lovely Laois Homecoming Festival acts as a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the rich cultural heritage and community spirit of Co Laois and that the festival welcomes those that have travelled from afar as they return home to reconnect with family and friends and reestablish the connection with their home county of Laois.
It also said that the festival offers a Céad Mile Fáilte ó Chroí to all those who have come to make Laois their home and that a good measure of any community is its openness, generosity and the warmth by which it welcomes others. Concluding, the letter said that it’s clear that Contaí Laoighse possesses those traits in abundance and wished health, happiness wonderful music and all the very best for an amazing weekend.
The launch ended with Trudi singing a powerful Capella of Lovely Laois, during which those gathered sang along.
The camera club’s exhibition is on show in Phelan’s for the coming weeks and ten members of the club travelled to Achill Island the following morning for a weekend of photography. They are due to hold another exhibition in the nearby Gallery of Divine Inspiration at Bloom HQ in the town’s old convent in December, in which they hope to show the fruits of their labour from the trip to Co Mayo.
