Festival gets a hi five from supervalu
The last few weeks have been a bit of a roller coaster ride for the Heart of Ireland team but things have gained new momentum following a public meeting on May 20.
The good news includes sponsorship from Buckley’s SuperValu of €5,000.
Festival organiser Maria Bourke said: “Thank you so much to the Buckley family and the team in SuperValu Mullingar. Community spirit and support like this are what the Heart of Ireland is all about.”
Susan Buckley added: “Maria and Melanie’s explanation of what they envisaged and their passion made it hard not to get excited about the whole event. The positivity makes such a change from the negativity that can take over at times!
“As a family who have provided a service to Mullingar for more than 60 years, we are proud of our involvement in the community and this is a great opportunity to promote our town.”
The team have also received support from Aidan Davitt, who offered a temporary home over the Sherry Fitzgerald Davitt and Davitt offices on Dominick Street.
“Several people had come forward to offer their services as volunteers, but it had been difficult to co-ordinate their involvement as we didn’t have a central work location.
“But last week we had a full team working with us to great effect,” said Maria.
The Fundraising Committee have a target of raising €30,000 by mid-July.
“We have a long way to go financially to create the calibre of street event needed to set the right tone for The Heart of Ireland,” said Maria.
“We also got confirmation last week that we will be able to have pig racing – a great crowd puller, and it will enable us to raise up to €10,000 in funding.
“This week our volunteers will distribute posters and look for sponsorship, and we will be announcing details of a window display contest that we hope the whole town will get involved in.”