Kinvara is Back! Cruinniu na mBad Leaps To Life This Weekend With The Festival Of The Traditional Boats

10th August 2022

WM Nixon

Serious competition at the sharp end of the traditional fleet at Kinvara during Cruinniu na mBad at Kinvara

When the highly-respected Organising Chairman Dr Mick Brogan declared - in May 2020 - that the annual Cruinniu na mBad - the Gathering of the Boats - could not be held in August at Kinvara in face of the spread of the COVID pandemic, "See You In 2021" became the mutually-supportive greeting among the festival's many enthusiasts.

Yet if ever there was a "Super-spreader Event Competition", then Kinvara's three days of intensive festivities afloat and ashore would win by a large margin. So there was no way it could be held in 2021 either.

But this weekend from 12th to 14th August, Cruinniu na mBad 2022 at Kinvara is back in turbo-powered style, complete with the promise of good weather to do it justice. It is a celebration of just about every aspect of life in the west of Ireland, presented with a nautical flavour. And apart from the traditional unloading of the turf which will have been sailed in across Galway Bay by the hookers from south Connemara, for those whose main interest is sailing the focus of the racing takes place right off the pierhead on Sunday afternoon.

An ancient festival, Cruinniu na mBad at Kinvara was revived on an annual basis in 1979

Published in Galway Hookers, Galway Harbour, Maritime Festivals

Published in Galway Hookers

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About The Author

WM Nixon

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William M Nixon has been writing about sailing in Ireland for many years in print and online, and his work has appeared internationally in magazines and books. His own experience ranges from club sailing to international offshore events, and he has cruised extensively under sail, often in his own boats which have ranged in size from an 11ft dinghy to a 35ft cruiser-racer. He has also been involved in the administration of several sailing organisations.

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