Popularity of Trim Swift Festival growing as greater numbers attend

Trim is quickly gaining a reputation as the home of satire in Ireland following the huge success of the second Trim Swift Festival which took place in the town last weekend. Festival chairperson Barbara Nestor said she was delighted with the growth of the festival since last year and said that a lot more people had attended the free events and feedback to this year had been great. She added that a lot of people from Dublin had attended, showing that the festival is growing outside the local area and attracting people from outside the county. This year"s festival was also more family-friendly with bouncy castles and face-painters present on the Saturday and the tannoy debate led by George Hook attracted up to 500 people. The introduction of a comedy element this year was also very popular with a comedy night featuring the peerless Oliver Callan of 'Nob Nation" in Trim GAA Club on Saturday night having its sell-out audience rolling in the aisles as every political figure in sight was brilliantly lampooned by the renowned radio mimic. The round table dinner/discussion, featuring Vincent Browne, Sam Smyth, Terry Prone, Fergus Finlay, Senator David Norris, Stephen Collins, Mark Hennessy, Harry McGee, Noel Whelan, and TDs Darragh Calleary and Conor Lenhian, was also a sell-out. The stars hosted a table and afterwards took to the stage to debate 'The state we"re in and how we get out of it" with the debate getting quite heated at times. The audience also had the chance to interact and voice their opinions. The Battle of the Books at Trim Swift Festival was won by the Boyne Writers" Group in a closely-contested dual that went on for more than an hour on Sunday evening. The Boyne Writers defeated rivals Meath Writers" Circle, which is also based in Trim, in the battle of satirical prose and poetry at the literary and musical cabaret that brought the successful festival to a conclusion in the Trim Castle Hotel. The winning team comprised Michael Farry, Trim, (captain), Paul Egan, Tullaghanogue, Trim; Tom Dredge, Dublin, and Paul Kerr, Trim. They were presented with a perpetual trophy of Cavan crystal, with inscribed miniature replicas, by Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey, who sponsored the competition. On the Meath Writers Circle team were Tommy Murray, Trim, (captain), Roy Murray, Trim; Mark Doyle, Navan, and Frank Murphy, Dunsany. The format of the contest led to an 'X-Factor" set-up with three judges commenting robustly on the content of each piece of writing and the performance of each participant before announcing scores out of 10. The lowest score was 5.5 from Dr James Ward, a lecturer in Early Modern English Literature in the University of Ulster, Coleraine, who was literary adviser to the festival. He also gave the highest score of the night, a perfect 10, to Frank Murphy of the Meath Writers" Circle. The other judges were Dr Emma White, a mathematician and well-known member of Trim Musical Society, who travelled from her home in the south of England for the occasion, and Paul Murphy, the Meath-based journalist and former editor of the Drogheda Independent. One of the highlights of the Sunday night was a talk by Jonathan Swift himself (Trim-born author Pat Dunne), who revealed insights into his relationship with Stella in a performance that drew loud praise from both the academic and lay sections of the audience. The local groups performing included Trim Drama Group, which staged a rehearsed reading of the boiled eggs episode from Jonathan Swift"s Gulliver"s Travels, written and directed by Paddy Smith; the Trim Castle Singers in a lively recital of jazz and Celtic singing; and the Dearbhail Finnegan Meath Harp Ensemble, Nobber, in a very popular recital of traditional music. Barbara Nestor thanked all who participated in the festival, especially the committee which had worked so hard, and all those who attended the events during the weekend.