Trim Swift Festival came to a very successful conclusion on Sunday evening 4th July after a 4-day-long weekend of varied and interesting activities and functions.

British spin doctor Alastair Campbell stole the headlines from the festival, which also attracted a long list of celebrities from the world of politics, journalism, academia and sport. Tony Blair’s former right-hand-man featured at the Roundtable discussion in the Knightsbrook Hotel on Friday night. He turned on the charm for the attendance of more than 100 people, who were also treated to entertaining gems of wisdom from a list of 13 leading figures in Irish public life. Each was asked by MC Senator David Norris to give a short input at certain junctures throughout the meal. Stars of the show were Leo Varadkar, Senator Dan Boyle, Terry Prone and Minister Dara Calleary.

Campbell was interviewed by Irish Times columnist John Waters in a public question-and-answer session after dinner and he loosened up as the evening progressed, regaling his audience with hilarious stories of his life and times as a spin doctor. He launched (again!) his book, Prelude to Power, the first in a set of four of his diaries, at the Trim event and was a big hit with his charming ordinariness, refusing nobody who wanted to have their photograph taken with him and he had time for anyone who wanted a chat in the informal atmosphere of the function. Debate and conversation continued long into the night, after the formalities were finished.

The only time his claws were really bared was during the John Waters interview when he railed against how the media had become lazy and cynical. He believes this has had a knock-on effect on the general population which now has no trust in politics or institutions, and he implored people to challenge the media and to question their approach. The former journalist finished that section of his conversation with a telling story of how, in an interview that same morning before he even arrived in Trim, a radio station in Dublin had asked him if he had seen any stags while he was in Meath (and, yes, he was totally up to speed on the Ward Union story). When he countered that he hadn’t been to County Meath yet and, therefore, couldn’t answer the question, it was explained to him that the interview was being pre-recorded and would not be broadcast until three days later so it would be helpful if he gave an answer. He did – declaring that he saw 17 stags, including one in his bedroom!

The festival was launched on Thursday evening in the new OPW headquarters by Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey. The main speaker of the evening was Professor Andrew Carpenter whose delightful talk on Swift and the Ireland of Swift’s day was a master class in how to make history and literature interesting. Trim Castle Singers, under Jane Lynch, performed their magic blend of song and harmony in the keep of Trim Castle for specially-invited guests beforehand.

At the function, Meath County Council cathaoirleach William Carey officially launched a very impressive new guide to ‘Swift’s Trim: People and Places’, commissioned and published by Meath Heritage Office, Meath County Council, in association with Trim Swift Festival Committee. The booklet was written by Pat Dunne, a founder member of the Trim Swift Festival.

Also announced at the launch were the prizewinners in the Boyne Writers International Satirical Writing Competition, sponsored by the Trim Swift Festival. First prize of €500 went to Ira Nayman, Ontario, Canada, for his poem, Love Amid The Construction. Ira is a comic writer/performer/cartoonist. His Les Pages aux Folles Web site is a showcase for his political and social satire, among other things. His two books in print, Alternate Reality Ain’t What It Used To Be and What Were Once Miracles Are Now Children’s Toys contain a unique form of humorous science fiction journalism.

Second prize (€300) went to Fin Keegan, Westport, Co Mayo, for his prose piece on the life and times of a brown envelope. Third prize (€200) was won by Trim poet Tommy Murray, Summerhill Road, for his poem Mocking political correctness.

The judge, journalist John Murray of RTE, said: “My choices were based on two main criteria – simplicity and creativity. The other entries, I felt, were a little confused, and meandering. There was very little in it between the top two but what decided it for me ultimately was the extent to which the two entries addressed the subject, and in this, Love Amid The Construction emerged the winner.”

After the official launch of the festival, The Steps beat Lenihans in the final of the Standup Row which took place in the Malt House pub (see full report)

A small fringe appeared in this year’s festival for the first time with the introduction of Poetry in Motion and Pubs for Poetry. These events entailed readings in public – on the street and in a pub – of well-known poetry, plus some of Swift’s own poetry. These two events were accompanied by the appearance of Street Theatre performers from Trim Drama Group and Oulala Productions (Delphine Coudray) who wandered the streets in 18th century costume promoting the readings and the festival. The Street Theatre performers were among the readers who proclaimed the poetry outside the Credit Union and the former Centra store on Market Street, outside SuperValu on Haggard Street, at the entrance gate to Trim Castle and in Lenihans pub, High Street. Passers-by joined in the recitation and reading of poetry at the outdoor venues, including one lady who requested the group to stay where they were outside Centra while she went back to her car to get her poetry book! The Editor of Focus was another of the passers-by who was volunteered to read.

The Swift Family Day on Saturday was a major success, with street markets of local artisan food producers, entertainment for children and a football tournament in Porchfields for children from Trim Celtic, Trim GAA Club and Clann na Gael (Athboy GAA), culminating in a Tannoy sports discussion led by rugby pundit George Hook, with Swift Festival Committee member Ronan McKenna as MC. Participants in the sports discussion, conducted on a 40 ft trailer in the Castle carpark, included rugby pundit Jim Glennon, GAA analyst Colm O’Rourke, and Meath footballer Anthony Moyles. All money collected from the bouncy castles, obstacle course, face painting, magic show and other attractions went to the individual sporting organisations involved. George Hook presented medals to the children who took part in the tournament. Civil Defence, River Rescue and all health and safety issues for the event were co-ordinated by Cathal Rogers and his team in a major logistical operation.

The Comedy Night in the Knightsbrook Hotel on Saturday was sold out. It headlined two of the top impressionist acts in the country, Nob Nation’s Oliver Callan and Bull Island’s Alan Shortt, as well as a new Cork comic, Colm O’Regan. Also very prominently featured was Ray Reilly, a Longford man now living at Trimblestown, Trim, who showed what a bright future he has as a standup comic. He came to local public attention over the past month or so during the Standup Row as an impressionist on the winning Steps team and he was also featured on the Joe Duffy ‘Funny Friday’ Show which was broadcast on Friday from the Trim Castle Hotel.

The festival’s shop front competition was won by Riverlane Nurseries of Roriston, who were presented with a Cavan crystal trophy and €200 in prizemoney. The judge was Senator Fergal Quinn, who came down from Dublin specially for the contest.

The inaugural Danny O’Brien Memorial Photography Competition was won by Dermot McGuinness, Avondale, Trim, with a picture of a very tall man holding hands with a child togged out in a Trim GAA jersey. This was very much in character with the theme of the competition: Little and Large. The competition was inaugurated by the Trim Swift Festival Committee to honour local man Danny O’Brien, a keen photographer who was very much involved with the arts in the Trim area. He passed away earlier this year.

On Sunday morning, the Big End Breakfast, organised by Trim 2025 in conjunction with the festival, was held in the former Bennini’s restaurant in the castle carpark. Writers from the Cavan/Meath LitLab writers group read their own material on the theme of Journeys. A troupe of actors from Trim Drama Group and Oulala Productions performed some comic routines, directed by Delphine Coudray, based on the big end/small end controversy in Gulliver’s Travels as to which end of a boiled egg is the proper one to open when eating it.

The Battle of the Books on Sunday in the Trim Castle Hotel was won by the Meath Writers Circle, captained by Tommy Murray, who defeated the Boyne Writers Group, captained by Michael Farry, in this satirical writing contest (see full report ).

A special church service was conducted in St Patrick’s Cathedral on Sunday morning by Rev Robert MacCarthy, Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin. In his homily he gave an interesting insight into the religion of Swift. Hymns were sung by the Meath and Kildare Diocesan Choir, with organist Doreen Kimberley, Navan. Swift Festival academic adviser Dr James Ward made a special presentation to Dean MacCarthy on behalf of the Swift Festival.

The festival finished with a guided walk through Swift’s Trim, led by Richard Haworth of Laracor and featuring a visit to St Mary’s Abbey, courtesy of Peter and Marie Higgins, and some readings by Trim Drama Group from the Projectors episode (another swipe at academics) in Book III of Gulliver’s Travels, the Voyage to Balnibarbi, adapted by Paddy Smith. The first part of the drama group presentation was performed in St Mary’s Abbey, the second in the Malt House pub, Athboy Gate. The actors were Cormac O’Reilly as Gulliver, Kevin Shelly as Swift, and Craig Regan as all the Projectors. The Swift walk concluded in St Patrick’s Cathedral with a talk by Jonathan Swift (internationally renowned author Pat Dunne, who is a native of Trim) and a viewing of the holy silverware from Laracor church.

Please take a look at our 2010 photo album for some of the action that took place this year.