Beat on the Peat

One very Special Day for A Small Village in the North West of Ireland......

Traditional Irish Cottage "Mrs. Buckleys" moved to New York

In August 1993, Mid & North West Radio in association with Western Care Association ran an outdoor jamboree of music on a peatland site close to Knock Airport, Co. Mayo. Twenty-five thousand people many of them emmigrants attended the Beat-on-the-Peat. The emphasis was not alone on music but rather on the traditional aspects of Irish Heritage such as turf-cutting, folklore, crafts and traditional cooking and customs.

On the day through voluntary contributions £ 6,000 was raised for the voluntary organisation Western Care, who look after the mentally handicapped in this area.

As a follow-on from Beat-on-the-Peat, for which the organisers received extensive praise, especially from exiles, it was decided to explore the possibility of holding a similar event in a location where there is a huge ethnic Irish population.

The preferred choice of Location - New York City!!!

And so it was off to New York and the stories about the Craic over there you can all hear at Mrs. Buckleys Cottage on the Grounds of Sligo Folk Park. See more pictures......