Thoor Ballylee opens tomorrow for W.B. Yeats 150th Anniversary
Doors and windows open in Thoor Ballylee, South Galway tomorrow the 13th of June for W.B. Yeats 150th Anniversary. A local community group, the Yeats Thoor Ballylee Society has worked tirelessly to make this happen, following the closure of the Tower seven years ago. Minister Jimmy Deenihan, Joseph Hassett, Yeats Scholar & Thoor Benefactor and Senator Healy Eames, Chair of the Society will open the event at 4 pm. Niall De Burca, Internationally acclaimed story teller will perform at the event, which is followed by a community barbeque. We are delighted to say that the Tower will be open throughout the summer from 11am to 6pm Monday – Sunday.
Senator Healy Eames, Chairperson of the Thoor Ballylee Society has explained “Thoor Ballylee is re-opening on Saturday 13th of June and will be open throughout the summer. We are planning to develop the Tower into a legacy project of the Yeats 150th Celebrations which will draw tourists and Yeats scholars from near and far to savour this stunning setting and the depth of the Irish literary legacy. This has been a labour of love and strength of conviction about the need to preserve our past for future generations. With Thoor we are reclaiming our past. As Chair of the Yeats Thoor Ballylee Society, I would be delighted if you would help us on our journey'”
This area of South Galway has many connections to Yeats and to Lady Gregory. Other celebrations that are taking place in the vicinity tomorrow include:
Kiltartan Gregory Cultural Society Picnic and recital by Coole Music Ensemble, poetry reading by local school children, face painting for the younger generation and a Trad session with Gaillimh Theas Comhaltas. Come in period costume. Time: 12.30 to 2.30 pm.
Coole Harmonies in the Cobbled Yard, Fancy dress procession to the site of Coole House, Uilleann Piper Eugene Lamb & Poetry readings. Time: 3 to 5pm.
Angela Guillemet, head of PR and Fundraising for Thoor Ballylee says “No one should be excluded from experiencing the magic of Thoor Ballylee and sharing in the literary heritage that it exudes. We are calling on the local community, business, scholars, the media and on the government to support the project so ambitious plans to turn the tower into a world class cultural centre can be realised”.
Angela Guillemet, PR and Fundraising, angela@globaladvocacyconsultants.com Tel 086 311 40 67 Senator Fidelma Healy Eames, Chair, yeatsthoorballyleesociety@gmail.com Tel: 087 677 69 37 W: http://yeatsthoorballylee.org/
More About Yeats Thoor Ballylee
Ireland’s Nobel Laureate for poetry, William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) spent his summers in Thoor Ballylee, where the landscape and spirit infused so much of his poetry. Yeats once said in a letter to Olivia Shakespeare that “we are in our Tower and I am writing poetry as I always do here, and, as always happens, no matter how I begin, it becomes love poetry before I am finished with it.” In 1928 Yeats published “The Tower”, a collection of poems inspired by his time in Thoor Ballylee, followed by “the Winding Stair” in 1933.
In 1965, Thoor Ballylee was refitted as a Yeats museum. However, floods caused the tower to close in 2009. In February 2012, Fáilte Ireland restored the flood-damaged tower but it remained closed due to lack of funds. In 2014, a local community group, the Yeats Thoor Ballylee Society leased Thoor Ballylee from Fáilte Ireland to open it in time for the Yeats 150th Anniversary in June 2015.
The Yeats Thoor Ballylee Society plan to develop a self sustaining Cultural Centre in the tower which would provide a huge attraction for the area and boost tourism revenues for the region. The tower will accommodate a new exhibition, cafe, bookshop, and space for exhibitions, lectures and classes. An education program will also be developed which leverages the beauty and peace of Thoor Ballylee. The program will include an international writers-in-residence program and a series of workshops to promote the study of poetry and creative writing among school children.
The Society is undertaking a national and international fundraising effort to realise the ambitious project. Earlier this year, the society had a breakthrough when Joseph Hassett, an accomplished American lawyer and Yeats Scholar pledged €31k to develop the Yeats Exhibition in the Tower. The Irish Heritage Council and the American Ireland Funds are also supporting the project and a steady stream of Irish and International donations are coming in via the Thoor Ballylee website.
