Summer in Longford: Lisryan Family Fun Weekend

The weekend of July 12 - 14 will certainly be remembered by the community of Lisryan and beyond. The Family Fun Weekend was graced with glorious weather which helped enormously with the fun and antics to be had all weekend.

Again the village and surrounding communities pulled together and created a free, safe and unique environment for young and old to enjoy. You just have to see the amount of photos and videos on the Lisryan Tidy Village social media platforms to see what a successful weekend it turned out to be.

Mass was celebrated in the newly acquired marquee ensuring everyone was kept dry this year, it happened to be the only time there was a smidgeon of rain the whole weekend. It was great to see the community come together, sit and chat and enjoy a cuppa and treats with friends of old following the mass.

The 5km Run winner proved to be a fit young man from Finea, Niall McGarry, a huge congratulations and best of luck to him in all his future races. Congratulations to all other participants and winners in their group.
The day continued with the very kind support from Ringtown Hurling/Camogie coaches teaching kids the skills, there was some ‘clash of the ash’ for an hour. Thanks to Orla O’Hara for organising this event.

Paul Smith from Granard GAA helped out with the football blitz which was a great success also. Thanks to Granard for assisting us with this event, their contribution was very much appreciated and it was plain to see that the kids had a great time.
These events were followed closely by an obstacle course which was a huge success and it definitely gave rise to some amount of laughter. The children climbed and flittered hay stacks, it was such fun to watch. All age groups were catered for.

The hospitality tent was manned over the full weekend by very helpful volunteers and again it proved to be a great asset and this year more importantly provided shade from the blistering sun at times. A massive thanks to all the volunteers and to local bakers Faustina Rodgers and Claire Anderson who provided all the treats that kept all fed over the weekend event.
Sunday started off with a bang! The kiddies tractor run grew enormously from last year’s event and the little legs used all the pedal power they had (and some motorised versions) to get from Líos na Gaoithe estate back up to the Community Park. Thanks to the Garda Síochána for their presence.

Fun and games continued for both young and old all day, and the bouncy castles, badminton nets, hook a duck, tuck shop and live music, along with the novelty races and the Tug O’ War antics provided much entertainment for the spectators on the day. Thanks to all who helped to make these events possible.
Raffle tickets were sold throughout the weekend and the draw took place in the Crossroads Inn on Sunday night. Little William Gaynor (jnr) had the honour of winning the first prize of €200 cash. Loads more great prizes were won by numerous people around the community.

The Order of Malta provided great assistance and some entertainment over the course of the weekend, improving their badminton and Tug O ’War skills. A great crew of young lads and lassies and some not so young… it is great to see children of 12 years of age give up their time to help others and learn invaluable lifesaving skills. Well done all of you.
We also had a great bunch of teenagers who looked after our Tuck shop, Ryan, Clodagh, Rose, Aoibheann, Laoise and George worked very hard over the weekend, so a big thanks to them for giving up their time to help. The face painter was kept busy all day Sunday, the queue was constant, her art work was lovely and the kids just beamed with their new looks.
We are already putting plans in place for 2025.

It is untold the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to orchestrate and facilitate such an event and a huge thanks must be shouted out to the Tidy Village Committee for all that they do to get this and all other events arranged over the course of the year carried out with such professionalism. The voluntary committee works tirelessly to ensure the community is thriving in terms of inclusion, support for one another and are committed to maintaining the Community Park to a high standard, and they also strive to improve the Tidy Towns Competition result year on year, which has been successfully done in the last number of years.

This year’s weekend event proved to be a great success which could and would not have happened without the serious generosity of the local community who through financial sponsorship, providing equipment, giving up their time to set up the marquee, erect the bunting etc. and act as stewards throughout the weekend as well as getting involved in games and antics. The response was just magnificent and as Chair of the committee and on behalf of the committee, I cannot thank each and every one of you enough for your help along the way. The list is too long to mention but you will know who you are.

And of course this weekend is just over and as if we didn’t have enough to be doing, no we are going again, this time the committee has organised a sponsored climb of Mount Errigal and all money raised will be donated to Acquired Brain Injury Ireland, which is a very worthy cause. A group of 17 volunteers and maybe more have committed to donning their climbing boots on Saturday, August 17 and take to the mountain.

And as we fast approach the final quarter of the year the committee will be putting the final arrangements in place for the Halloween party which is being held on Monday,October 28 –our Annual Christmas dash takes place on Sunday, December 1, again this year we will have stalls, so if anyone is interested in coming along let us know.
The little village with the huge heart just keeps going and building a stronger community on an ongoing basis and you are all part of that process, so, for that we say thank you so much.