The traditional turf-carrying hookers with their calico sails were centre stage for the weekend's Cruinniú na mBád in Kinvara, writes EIBHIR MULQUEEN
MIXED WEATHER failed to dampen spirits at the weekend’s Cruinniú na mBád (gathering of the boats) festival in Kinvara, in south Co Galway, the 32nd year in which the traditional turf-carrying boats, the Galway hookers, have been celebrated.
The weekend also marked the season’s last races of the hookers in their different classes: the smaller Gleoiteog craft, the mid-sized Leath Bhád and the Bád Mór, all of which have been racing at different venues in Connemara since May.
Adding to the atmosphere at the picturesque village was an eclectic mix of stalls, open-air music, concerts and pub sessions, and weekenders happy to enjoy the spectacle against the backdrop of Dunguaire Castle and the waters of Galway Bay.
“It is just lovely here,” said Cormac Murphy, who travelled from Bray. “I do not see much point going elsewhere when you have such beauty on your doorstep.”
Festival organiser Michael Brogan said that as one of the last weekends for racing, the event marked the end of the season for the boatpeople. Meanwhile, locals were surprised by the numbers who turned up over the three days. “In spite of the rain I think there are more people around than we anticipated. A lot of Irish people are holidaying at home and they are here. There are more Irish people on holiday here than I have ever seen.”
Shortly after the boats arrived from Parkmore, at the mouth of Kinvara Bay, a traditional stopping-off point where boat skippers wait for the tide to be right, a threatening shower resulted in the traditional calico sails being stowed away, so they wouldn’t get wet, and replaced by the Terylene sails used for racing.
The sun dutifully came out for the official festival opening on Saturday afternoon, even making the pier-side turf piles, commemorating the traditional unloading of the sods, glisten.
Speaking at the opening, retired RTÉ correspondent Tom McSweeney said he was struck by how far removed Cruinniú na mBád was from what he described as the bankrupt Government attitude towards the marine sector. He said the failure to have the Asgard II, which sank two years ago, raised or replaced was “a betrayal of our young people’s tradition”.
Brogan added that if sail training was not supported by the Government, at least it was privately by the hooker boatpeople. “It is through these festivals that we can continue to maintain the sailing tradition,” he said.
There was international media interest in the event this year, with a BBC crew filming the racing from on board the Volunteer, a Leath Bhád hooker. “They will hold everyone back,” joked crew member Seosamh Bairéad.
Seamus Bailey, on board the oldest of the hookers, An Capall, which dates from 1840, said it was in the hands of the fifth generation of his family since the death in 2004 of his father, Johnny Bailey, the last trading skipper of a hooker.
Earlier this year Seamus Bailey fitted a new deck of larch timber on An Capall, the last hooker to use a turf fire on an open hearth for cooking. “There is maintenance on them every year,” he added.
Crew member Tom Rowlands, meanwhile, pointed out the features of the Morning Star, built in 1882, and which he has been crewing at various regattas. “This is one of only a few that has bunks,” he said.
Around from the pier, on the quayside, schoolchildren had mounted an exhibition of “Burren Heads” made from recycled plastic bottles. “They are going down a treat with the tourists,” said organiser Joe Gormley.
The items on sale ranged from oil paintings of the hookers to vuvuzelas; Kwabena Sam said there was little trade in the vuvuzelas. Of more immediate practical use were the rain ponchos, while nearby, nostalgic buyers could pick up a model thatched cottage or miniature turf cart for €50.
“I remember the turf coming in here when I was a child,” said Brogan. “They only stopped in the 1950s when trucks became common and the roads improved.
“It was only the 1970s, when the revival occurred, that the boats started to be looked after again.” The first Cruinniú was held in 1979. Brogan said this year saw a revival of community involvement in the festival in the absence of major sponsorship.
“It is more community-based, which is good. It is a sign of the times. We found ourselves having to raise funds within the community. Some years it is better than others. It is on the up again. In recessionary times people like to hold onto events like this.”
