Variety show to mark Cavan Day on September 25

An online variety show will present the talents of Cavan to a global audience in Cavan Day part II. The shutdowns of the last 15 months posed many challenges to individuals and business across the world. Responding to those challenges has been an exercise in adaption and a prime example of this was Cavan County Council's re-purposing of ‘Cavan Calling’.

The '20 homecoming festival came a cropper because of the coronavirus, but lead to the inaugural 'Cavan Day'. This online festival allowed Cavan people around the globe to show their colours and their pride in their home county.

The first-ever Cavan Day took place on September 26, 2020, in lieu of the postponed Cavan Calling festival. At the July meeting of Cavan local authority County Librarian, Emma Clancy, made the presentation on Cavan Day 2021.

Ms Clancy told members: “It was a huge success, with the CavanDay hashtag going ‘viral’ for two days. The Cavan Calling committee, delivered an ambitious, high-quality, magazine-style broadcast, backed by a broad-reaching, engaging social media and legacy media advertising campaign.”

She told councillors that the ongoing COVID-19 emergency and uncertainty regarding international travel, still poses a problem: “We plan to engage virtually once again with the global Cavan family. This year’s Cavan Day celebrations will take place on 25th September 2021 and will comprise a special high-quality live concert, supported by an extensive social media and traditional media campaign.”

The organisers have drafted in film-maker Alan Bradley to record a special live broadcast. Hosted at Town Hall Cavan and facilitated by theatre manager, Padraic McIntyre, filming will take place in early September.

“The concert will adopt a format reminiscent of Sunday Night at the Gaiety, featuring a mix of contemporary and traditional music performances by the cream of Cavan talent,” Ms Clancy told the meeting, “punctuated by dramatic interludes by award-winning actors along with some comic intermission. The concert will be hosted by a duo of accomplished presenters.”

The publicity campaign, which will include both social media and traditional media, will be managed by the communications officer, with support from the broader Culture and Creativity Team. The 2020 campaign saw the Cavan Day hashtag viewed over 10 million times on social media during September, with approx. 3.5 million of these unique viewers.

“We will once again engage with the many societies and association with whom we have forged strong bonds of friendship over the years, and will feature a number of them in our broadcast. The ongoing support of the elected members for this initiative is greatly appreciated,” Ms Clancy concluded.

Cllr John Paul Feeley said the online aspect of the day was an excellent idea. Cllr Feeley said by having events online it allowed people to dip in and out of items in a manner that would not be possible if they were all held on the one day. Commending the success of last year's range of events, he expressed a hope there would be events that complement the Decade of Commemoration events.

Commending Ms Clancy on her presentation Cllr TP O'Reilly said: “Hopefully this year will be as good as last year.”

Cllr Brendan Fay said: “Last year's event really put us on the world map. Cavan needs every little bit of promotion and support it can get at the moment.”

Cllr Paddy McDonald said: “It is very important to showcase our county. The online aspect of this is very welcome, we are all hoping some of the events will be open to the public as well.”