Applefest Projects
Since 2021, Applefest initiated several place-specific creative projects that engage with the community and the place we live in, bringing together artists, performers, stakeholders and interested members of the community to develop original experiences and special exhibits to share in the public realm. In 2022, we have several projects in the pipeline, starting with our Artisans of Clonmel writing project.

Tipperary Food Printmaker’s Residency
Clonmel Applefest is delighted to announce its collaboration with 7 Tipperary Food producers who will host printmaker Aoife Barrett for a 3-day residency each during the months June to August 2022. The Residencies will culminate in a joint public event on Saturday 3rd September in Clonmel’s Mick Delahunty square in

Artisans of Clonmel & Cashel
As part of our writing strand, we are proposing a new project under the title ‘Artisans’ of Clonmel in collaboration with writing mentor Sue Leonard. Walking through the streets of Clonmel (or Cashel) and frequenting its shops over the years, one notices that there are many faces and people that

BIODIVERSITY MURAL & Community Heritage Day in the Park
As part of National Heritage Week 2021, Clonmel Applefest hosted a Biodiversity Day in the Park with a selection of arts & Craft activities as well as a Community Mural project. Designed and facilitated by Brigid Teehan in collaboration with associate artist Paulette Donovan, the project was supported by Clonmel

All Rivers Were Female by Annie Hogg
Clonmel native Annie Hogg was in residence with Applefest 2021 exploring local materials from the Suir riverbanks to make site-specific inks. Her work culminated in a suite of ink drawings which were exhibited at the Narrow Space Gallery, Annie’s first solo show to date. Annie was also very involved in

BRAVE: a site specific sculpture by Gerardine Wisdom
Brave was a site-specific sculpture especially commissioned from rush artist Gerardine Wisdom; Gerardine harvests her own rushes from the Shannon river at the bottom of her garden and dries them in situ. Her exquisite work for Applefest was based around the theme of bravery and through interviews and workshops with

Biodiversity Trail with Louise Garcia
In 2020, in the midst of the lockdown, we devised the Greenane Biodiversity Trail in collaboration with one of our favourite collaborators, entomologist Louise Garcia. The trail was meant to help people become aware of and reacquaint themselves with our natural heritage, and in particular some of our common and lesser-loved wild

Our Sense of Place
The second project we launched this year was ‘Our Sense of Place‘, a collaboration of 14 writers with 14 members of Clonmel’s International community sharing their experiences of immigration and living in Ireland today. The writers attended a workshop hosted by well-known journalist and ghost writer Sue Leonard who also

INDIGENOUS, a folklore & harvest project
The first of our initiatives was the Indigenous project funded under the Arts Council Capacity Building strand and which launched in February 2021 with a series of online and outdoor workshops under the guidance of Dr Billy MagFhloinn. Participants came together to explore ritual and tradition and themes of interest to them