Thousands of people gathered at Drogheda Port for on June 15th,16th and 17th for the Irish Maritime Festival. The festival started with a spectacular Parade of Sail from the mouth of the Boyne to the town quays which included Tall Ships, the French Navy, Lifeboats, and yachts of various sizes. The visit of three French Navy minesweepers was a first for us and they brought great colour to the event. Other highlights included the WAGs sailing up river to Oldbridge, and the Boyne Swim.
The Ballast Quay stage run by Gerry Hodgers supplied us with fantastic music from a wide variety of local and national musicians. With Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann coming to Drogheda in August a host of local artists belted out traditional Irish music all weekend to our guests. The Stowaway sessions on the deck of The beautiful Earl of Pembroke with Declan O’Rourke and The Lost Brothers was an outstanding success again this year.
Louth County Council and Drogheda Port deserve great credit for making this festival happen on the banks of the Boyne and our special thanks goes to all our volunteers without whom we couldn’t make this festival happen. www.maritimefestival.ie
Leave a Reply