Garden Festival hopes confusion over rival show doesn’t hit charity event

Organisers of the eighth Galway Garden Festival are hopeful that gardening enthusiasts will not confuse their event with a commercial exhibition bearing the same name planned a week before. Owner of Claregalway Castle Dr Eamonn O’Donoghue said he had been inundated with queries about whether they were moving their hugely successful festival which donates all profits to charity to Ballybrit this weekend.

The Galway Garden Festival, which takes place July 1 and 2, has grown from a small affair to a massive family day out, with big name entertainers and horticulturalists, attracting 9,000 people to the picturesque castle painstakingly renovated by Eamonn for over a decade beside the River Clare. He has sent legal letters to the organiser of the Galway Home and Garden Festival exhibition taking place in the racecourse, pointing out that they had trademarked the name, Galway Garden Festival, and urging him to either change names or the date.

So far, those pleas have fallen on deaf ears.

“I wish anyone well in any enterprise I just wish they wouldn’t try to create confusion and take the name of our event. It’s a registered name, our event is a not-for-profit event so if you started going to court you’d have nothing left to give to charity,” he remarked.

“There must be 500 posters up all over the place advertising their exhibition. It’s a shame there has to be this element of confusion. We take place the same weekend as Seafest at the docks which I think nicely compliments each other, I know families who are coming to Galway to attend both events.”

Eamonn says the festival is getting bigger every year due to the quality of both the gardening stands and talks as well as the family fun activities.

“I think out festival is directly responsible for changing the nature of gardens in the west of Ireland – there’s a lot more exotic gardens and plants. We have amazing people to give advice about plants which work in gardens blown away by the Atlantic winds,” he enthused.

“In fact, we’re not trying to make it bigger but rather make it a really good quality event. A lot of the gardening people say it’s one of the few events in the country where children are delighted to attend as there’s so much for them here.”

On Saturday, the speakers’ programme will feature Jimi Blake, who will talk about his famous Hunting Brook Garden. Dr Marina Levitina, author, filmmaker and educator, will speak about the seven wonders of the hedgerow, Ireland’s native wild plants and their medicinal qualities, while columnist Anne Byrne will focus on garden design.

Alan Whetham will give advice on roses and Dr Phil Havercroft, secretary of the Irish Specialist Nursery Association will talk about garden perennials.

On Sunday, there will be presentations by Bloom gold winner Oliver Schurmann of Mount Venus who will talk about going from show gardens to real gardens while botanic artist and author Jane Stark will focus on heritage Irish plants.

Connacht Tribune gardening columnist Pat Dunn will give a talk on garden planning and how to stay chemical free, with Mies Stam of Caherhurley focusing on wildflowers.

Musical guests include folk group Scullion, the folk duo Four Shillings Short, St Patrick’s Brass Band, Strictly Dixie Trad Jazz Band, Nuada and award-winning singer-songwriter Roesy. For the smallies, the festival will feature real fights between knights in armour from Medieval Armed Combat Ireland, the Fanzini Brother Circus, Youth Ballet West and Yer Mans Puppets.

A range of freshly cooked foods, handmade crafts and assorted wares will be on sale.

Many of the paintings at the Claregalway Botanical Art Expo are for sale, along with limited edition prints and cards.

The festival takes place between 11am and 6pm. Entry is €10 and children go free, with all gate profits going to support the charity Christian Blind Mission Ireland. There is free parking close by and a free bus courtesy of Bus Éireann running regularly from Ceannt Station in Galway City and providing a link to and from Seafest.

■ For all information see the Galway Garden Festival website.