A 'unique' event for Longford this Christmas in the Maria Edgeworth Centre

The Maria Edgeworth Centre is bringing a pinch of magic and stepping back in time for this year’s Christmas. On Tuesday, December 9, the centre will be debuting a Victorian Christmas Traditions and Wine Appreciation night.

It will commence at 7pm and end roughly at 9:30pm, and will be an “enchanting evening of Victorian traditions, festive tales with Dr Melissa Shiels and a tutored wine tasting with Mary Gaynor, one of Ireland’s leading wine experts.”

Read more: The Art of Friendship Exhibition to give "a tiny bit of soul from Longford"

This much-anticipated event costs €25 per ticket, and can be booked via the centre’s webpage. However, there is limited availability, so go check out how many vacancies are left before they are all sold out!

Dr Melissa Shiels previously spoke at the Maria Edgeworth Festival in May, giving a demonstration on the fashion that Edgeworth would wear. Shiels had given an in-depth, engaging, and interactive presentation back in May when she was last at the festival.

Matt Farrell, the dedicated volunteer at the centre, chatted about what to expect from this first-ever Christmas-themed event.
“Melissa Shiels specialises in the Regency period, and she is going to give a talk on Christmas, how they decorated at the time, and festive goodies at the time. That is followed by the wine tasting, which is sponsored by Supervalu in Edgeworthstown.”

The centre’s Facebook page added about Shiels’ involvement that “she will share stories about Christmas traditions — the ones Dickens made so famous. Where does the Christmas tree come from, how did the Victorians decorate it, and what games did they play?”

Mary Gaynor is the owner of Wine Academy Ireland.

Matt added when asked about what people could look forward to for this Christmas-themed evening:

“People are encouraged to dress for the evening. Melissa will talk about how people dressed at that time. It’ll be a lovely evening. It’s a unique event in Edgeworthstown, and there’s no event like it in Longford coming up to Christmas.”

PICTURES | Longford Variety Group's "Here We Go Again" makes auditorium buzz

Further information can be found on the official Maria Edgeworth Centre's web page, to purchase tickets as well, or stay updated with the centre's social media sites.

Aside from Christmas and bank holidays, the centre will be business as usual, welcoming visitors locally, and internationally, to learn about the impact that the writer made to the community.