Youghal’s Medieval Walled Gardens in the East Cork town’s historic ‘Raleigh Quarter’ once again played host to the annual Youghal Medieval Festival. The event took place over the weekend of 18th and 19th August 2018 as part of National Heritage Week.
With official attendance figures for the 2018 event recorded to be in excess of 8,000, the festival once again provided a major boost to the local economy attracting significant visitors from both overseas and the local region. Commenting after the weekend events, organiser Helen Mulcahy of Cork County Council and Youghal’s Heritage Committee spoke of her delight as to how well the event had gone. “Youghal Medieval Festival goes from strength to strength each year and the rip-roaring success of this year’s festival is evidence of that. Thousands of people came from far and wide to visit our beautiful town and to take part in medieval celebrations – they were not disappointed. It was without a doubt one of our best festivals ever. None of this would be possible without the help of a dedicated committee and a loyal group of hard working volunteers. We are already making plans for next year!” said Helen.
Such is the quality of the event; Youghal Medieval Festival was recently nominated as a finalist in the Chambers Ireland Excellence in Local Government Awards for ‘Festival of the Year 2018’. The results will announced at an awards ceremony in Dublin on 22nd November 2018. The festival has been recognised for its annual programme packed with quality, authentic events, combined with real family fun entertainment.
Highlights of this year’s event included the ‘Kid’s Archaeological Dig’, which saw children aged 8 and upwards take part in a series of 35 minute workshops over the course of the day, conducted by a team of qualified archaeologists.
Other highlights included the ‘White Horse Vikings’ who re-enacted fierce ‘medieval battles’ much to the delight of the crowd.
Youghal Medieval Festival is delivered by Youghal Heritage Committee and sponsored by the Irish Walled Towns Network (Heritage Council of Ireland) and Cork County Council.