Longford's 2025 Marquee in Drumlish was a very 'smooth' summer event

With the Marquee in Drumlish finishing on a high, and the construction now taken down, another year of festivities has kept the county on the map. Having had a wide selection of talent from August 15 to 18, finishing off with the iconic Declan Nerney night, chairperson of Fr Manning Gaels, Mike Mulleady, chatted about how he found 2025’s event.

“It went very well,” he commented. “Everything went very smooth, and we are delighted people came out and enjoyed a night in the Marquee.”

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Deeming the first night very strong with The Rurals and The Whislin’ Donkeys, Mike added that the Saturday country night was a great night for those who wanted to dance.

“Sunday night was one of our biggest nights with Rhythm & Sticks, who were very good. We finished it off with Mark McCabe with his tour of Ireland. There are some we can look at in the coming years with the DJ. It was a very good night. There was the Declan Nerney night. He had another great crowd with his niece, Una, and various other acts. We’re happy enough on the committee. Everything went well.”

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A meeting in the next week is scheduled to discuss plans for 2026, so overall money raised has yet to be discussed. Mike made some observations:

“We have a meeting in the next week. We like to shake it up a little bit. We shook it up with the DJ that we maybe need to look at again to make sure the young crowd are happy. I suppose, when you're looking at bands, there are a lot of bands and a lot of bands who have played it already. We’ll be working on it from next week on.

“As part of Fr Manning Gaels and the people involved, there wouldn’t be a Marquee. The stewards, volunteers, the Gardai. Without people helping out, there’d be none. We have to gear ourselves for next year.”