Mountmellick welcomes new Christmas tree
The tree measuring just over 12 metres and weiging one ton arrived early on Monday 18 November
MOUNTMELLICK will welcome the festive season with the lighting of a magnificent 12-metre Christmas tree at 7pm on Friday 29 November.
The Mountmellick Christmas Tree Committee (MCTC) is inviting everyone to attend the celebration, which will feature the Parish Choirs.
The towering tree, generously donated by Coillte and harvested at Skeskin in Kinnitty Forest, was delivered to O’Connell Square early on Monday 18 November by Roundwood Timber Ltd.
Committee chair Paddy Buggy coordinated the lift of the tree, which measures just over 12 metres and weighs one ton.
Mountmellick has a long tradition, with a Christmas tree standing in O’Connell Square since 1956.
Paddy said: “The first iteration of the tree was cut locally, brought into town on a cart, placed in a barrel and adorned with 30 lights. Over the years, led by visionaries such as Ger and Brian Lynch and many others, with an innovative light display that has excited and charmed young and old for decades, the Christmas Tree in Mountmellick has instilled huge pride and fostered a sense of place in the community.
It has served as a talisman to the urban character of Mountmellick’s identity, not only to the town’s residents but to Laois as a whole and our diaspora across the world. We also are particularly thankful to our local Credit Union for their ongoing benevolence over the years, ensuring a Christmas Tree is part of the town’s seasonal festivities.” Throughout 2024, MCTC led a programme of creative public engagement in collaboration with Yarnbombing Mountmellick, local people and Mountmellick Community School, with lead artist Martina Coyle and science communicator Catherine McGuinness.
The culmination of ‘The Valley Star Project’, which reimagines Mountmellick’s future Christmas tree through the lens of climate action, will be showcased in O’Connell Square, with an installation of prototypes and an exhibit at Nora’s Cake Shop.
The research, engagement and creation of Christmas tree prototypes was underpinned by community collaboration, with the motifs of Mountmellick embroidery, the town’s textiles heritage and the immense care of the biodiversity of its hinterland.
The Valley Star Project brought together participants that include MCTC members, local people, Midland Steel, students from Mountmellick CS and deputy principal Fran Kerry-La Rosa on a creative journey of exploration and design.
Lead artist Martina Coyle explained: “Embedded in the project is the participants’ advocacy of ecologically sensitive strategies that consider environmental aspects at every phase of the creative process. This is a grass-roots project of a very caring community. Seeking to honour past iterations of the beloved Mountmellick Christmas tree, and the creativity and ambition that generated it, has been the guiding principle of our co-creation. Inclusivity, sustainability, shared learning and creation, combined with proactive enhancement of biodiversity and community wellbeing are the fabric we worked with.” The climate-friendly lighting technologies in The Valley Star Project are informed by solar capture and the capacity for renewable energies to be harnessed locally in Mountmellick and integrated into domestic, business, education, social and cultural infrastructures.
Electrical engineer Nacer Kherroubi from Portarlington’s MakePort Makerspace has voluntarily given his time and expertise to the project, placing solar panels on the crib, converting solar energy and storing it in batteries to power the project prototypes.
Paddy Buggy observed that The Valley Star Project and the year-long creative public engagement has generated a platform for change and gives consideration to what Mountmellick’s future Christmas tree can be.
He said: “We are exploring through this season how the Christmas lights on the ‘Butterfly Tree’ prototype in O’Connell Square can be powered by solar energy, building in capability at a community level for future seasons, as well as promoting locally sourced and produced renewable energy.” On behalf of MCTC and The Valley Star Project, Paddy gave special thanks to Nina Horan, a previous long-serving member of MCTC and Yarnbombing Mountmellick, for her “vision, enthusiasm and advocacy” for the project and life-long passion for Mountmellick’s community, unique heritage and exciting possibilities for the future.
On a sad note, Paddy said: “We would like to express our condolences to the family of Anne Blanche, who recently passed away. Anne was a stalwart of Yarnbombing Mountmellick and was working on decorations for the ‘Butterfly Tree’ prototype up until September. She is sadly missed.” Laois-based artists Evgeny Chubatyy and Orla McDonagh and Westmeath-based artist Bertille de Lestrade facilitated community and school workshops and participated in the making of project prototypes.
Amanda Hyland and her staff at Mountmellick Library kindly provided space for community engagement workshops and meetings, while strong support also came from HR manager Seán O Donoghue and BIM/technical manager Hugo Correia of Midland Steel.
The Valley Star Project is supported by the Creative Ireland Programme’s Creative Climate Action Spark fund.
