Goldsmith's gleaming weekend was a treasure for Longford literary lovers

With the Goldsmith Festival over for another year, the weekend turned out to be a great success for its 41st year.

With plenty of entertainment to choose from, and many highlights for literary lovers, the festival demonstrated Longford’s historical quality in the arts sector.

It turned out to be a great success for the organisers, as well as for those who were in the contests.

READ NEXT: Longford iPhone thief who stole device from shopping centre 'gave in to temptation'

Having provided several different events, it was estimated that 700 to 800 people attended one of the events organised by the hard working committee.

These events included a tour, readings, music and crafts.

The theme for the festival was “where wealth accumulates and men decay, must economic progress mean social inequality?”

It was a quote by Oliver Goldsmith himself, which was the prompt for the adult poetry prize.

READ NEXT: 'A pure joke' the number of septic tank inspections carried out in Longford

The poetry prize was won by a New Jersey entrant, while second and third were Irish-based.

Jonathan Greenhause, from New Jersey, wrote The Last Polar Bear Newark. Second was Siobhan Flynn, from Dublin, with To My Father’s Syllabification. Third place went to Helen Fallon, Maynooth, with Deserted.

These poems were adjudicated by Noel Monahan, the Granard-born poet, who has a large collection of poetry.

The top three children for their poetry competition were Kaya Cuniffe (first) with a poem called Anne Frank. Jayden Moran (second) wrote In the Garden of Dreams; and Tara Houten (third) presented I Will Put in the Box.

Nineteen other children were commended for their efforts by Arthur Conlon, the chairperson of the festival’s committee.

The most popular day was reported to be Saturday, as it had four events with plenty to offer for its attendees.

The Saturday included the literary tour and a versatile selection of music.

Other days offered talks, readings, stalls and costuming for enthusiasts of the era.

Mr Conlon said: “The Literary tour was a stand-out even though the weather was not kind.

“It was a tour of all the Goldsmith sites in Longford and Westmeath with a guided bus tour.”

Mr Conlon also mentioned that the Goldsmith Cabaret in Skelly’s Courtyard was also another highlight of the weekend.

In relation to what goals there are for future festivals after such a positive turnout of this year’s, Mr Conlon further commented: “I suppose the goal would be to expand and build on the success of the last few years in opening up access to the festival to many more people.

"To continue to, as well as informing and maintaining interest in the works of Goldsmith, as in bringing them to life. And, continue to promote him and be a relevant voice in the 21st century.

“We would like to thank the local funding agencies like the Arts Office, Longford County Council, and Creative Ireland.

"Since Covid, recognition of social capital has increased. The support from local authorities is tremendous. County Longford can stand proud in the way it supports arts and culture.

“ It’s a long way ahead of bigger counties. Longford is punching well above its weight for arts and culture. That’s evident in the vibrant scene in County Longford.”

With plenty of attendees and a vision to do more to keep Goldsmith known for generations to come, this year’s festival had a great amount of intrigue and interest from the Longford community and beyond.