The Limerick Bastille Day Wild Geese Festival commemorates the Flight of the Wild Geese and celebrates the longstanding friendship between Ireland and France. It was founded in 2019 by the Honorary Consul of France in Limerick with the support of the Limerick City & County Council. It could not take place in 2020 due to the pandemic. The 2021 edition was jointly organised by the Consular Agency of France in Limerick and the Limerick Civic Trust. The 2022 edition, which programme can be found below, was organised by Alliance Française Limerick in partnership with the Civic Trust. The programme of the 2023 edition, which will be organised by Alliance Française Limerick, will be posted on this page by June 2023. The 2023 edition will take place on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 July 2023.
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PRESENT THE 2022 EDITION OF THE
with the support of
and of our official sponsors
2022 PROGRAMME
Scroll down or click on the below links to access a particular day or event
- Wild Geese conference (Day 2)
- 2022 Boules tournament
- Hunt Museum garden afternoon
- The Honora French & Irish Sustainable Couture Show
- French songs at the Milk Market
- Palets game at Mother Macs
- Ceremony & show at King John’s Castle (incl. “Symphony 32”)
- Fun on Nicholas Street
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9.30am – 1.00pm & 2pm – 5.30pm / Mary Immaculate College, South Circular Road
Wild Geese: Irish Migrants in Early Modern Europe Conference (Day 1)
The 2022 edition of the Limerick Bastille Day Wild Geese Festival will begin by two days of fascinating talks by some of the best experts on the history of the Wild Geese and of the Irish migrants in early modern Europe. The first day of this open-to-all academic conference will take place in room T1.17 (TARA building) on the Limerick campus of Mary Immaculate College (MIC) from 9.30am to 1pm and from 2pm to 5.30pm. The event is organised with the support of an Irish Research Council’s New Foundations award. Click here for the full conference programme. Registration is entirely free but required via Eventbrite (click here to register).
6.00pm – 7.15pm / The Commercial’s record room
Chill out with the Wild Geese of Poland!
Join us in the cosy record room of The Commercial for a few drinks and an informal talk by research librarian Katarzyna Gmerek on the O’Byrne family who went from being Wild Geese in Poland to wine geese in France! Free admission – Adults only
9.30am – 1.00pm & 2pm – 5.30pm / Dance Limerick – St John’s Church, John’s Square
Wild Geese: Irish Migrants in Early Modern Europe Conference (Day 2)
Enjoy another day of fascinating talks and debates in the historical surroundings of St John’s Church. Click here for the full conference programme.
11.00am – 5.00pm / The Hunt Museum Garden
The Hunt Museum 2022 Pétanque (Boules) Tournament
Teams from all around Ireland will compete in this year’s tournament. The prize for the winning team will be a bottle of whiskey for each team member offered by “Friend of our Festival” Thomond Gate Irish Whiskey! Registration for teams will open soon via the Hunt Museum (click here to register your team of three)!
1.45pm – 5.00pm / The Hunt Museum Garden
The En Garde Living History Camp & food, music and fun for all the family!
Spend the afternoon in the garden of the Hunt Museum where historical reenactors from En Garde, the Franco-Irish Historical Society, will set up their Living History Camp and make you discover the lives of the various generations of Irish soldiers who served in the armies of France from 1635 to 1815! Watch out for when they fire their muskets and pull out their swords!
Come and enjoy fantastic performances by students from the Limerick School of Music (which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year!), the Saint Mary’s Prize Band and students from dance school Scoil Uí Ruairc.
Have some good food and drinks from Brambles at The Hunt Museum café while learning how to play pétanque and take part in this year’s boules tournament to try to win a prize!
3.00pm – 4.30pm / From John’s Square to the Treaty Stone
Guided Historical Walking Tour of the 1690 Siege of Limerick Sites
Departing from John’s Square at 3pm, local historian John Elliott will take you for a tour of the main sites of the 1690 siege of Limerick revealing the fascinating story of the men and women who fought so bravely to defend their city, including Patrick Sarsfield of course! Duration: one hour and thirty minutes (ending at the Treaty Stone on Clancy Strand). Free for all.
8.00pm – 10.00pm / Saint Mary’s Cathedral
The Honora French & Irish Sustainable Couture Show
Come and watch the inaugural Honora French & Irish Sustainable Couture Show at Saint Mary’s Cathedral. An amazing fashion show orchestrated by the Holman-Lee Agency with the support of the Limerick City & County Council and the French Embassy in Ireland and bringing together over thirty French and Irish designers and fashion brands around the themes of diversity and sustainability. The show is named after Lady Honora Burke, Patrick Sarsfield’s wife, whose style and charisma made a big impression on the royal court of Saint-Germain, in France, where the couple went into exile after the Flight of the Wild Geese in 1691. Click here for the full programme of this exceptional event and to book your free seat!
11am – 12pm / Milk Market
Eve Stafford sings French songs at the Milk Market
Enjoy a nice Sunday brunch from the usual Milk Market traders at the sound of French songs performed by Eve Stafford.
11am – 12.45pm / Mother Macs Public House, High Street
Game of Boules and Palets at Mother Macs
Come and learn how to play the French game of palets and the game of boules (pétanque) while enjoying a few drinks at Mother Macs on High Street! Great fun for all the family!
1.00pm – 3.00pm (FINISHING JUST ON TIME FOR THE HURLING SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL!!!) / King John’s Castle
The annual King John’s Castle Ceremony, Dance Show & « Symphony 32 / Siansach 32 Concert »
Come and watch the parade and annual flag-raising ceremony supported by the Defence Forces commemorating the Flight of the Wild Geese and celebrating the friendship between Ireland and France. The Irish, French and European anthems will be performed for the occasion. The parade will include reenactors from En Garde, the Franco-Irish Historical Society, and members of the following veteran associations whom we wish to thank most sincerely for their participation: The French Foreign Legion Veterans Association of Ireland, the Limerick Branch of the Irish Naval Association, the I.U.N.V.A. (Post 6), the Patrick Sarsfield Branch of the O.N.E. and the Limerick Branch of the Royal British Legion of Ireland.
Watch the LegionÉire Dance Force perform a stunning choreography and enjoy the performance by the Irish Chamber Orchestra, special guests (including Jean-Michel Veillon), and students from the Irish World Academy of Music & Dance, of “Symphony 32 / Siansach 32”, an original piece of music written by French composer Dr Erick Falc’her-Poyroux in honour of the centenary of Ireland’s partial independence and conducted by Franco-Irish maestro Robert Houlihan. This exceptional event is part of Limerick’s Decade of Centenaries programme and the University of Limerick’s UL50 series of events and is organised in partnership with the French Embassy in Ireland and the Irish World Academy of Music & Dance, with the support of the University of Limerick, GIS E.I.R.E., the French Society for Irish Studies (SOFEIR) and Fondation Nantes Université. Click here to read the full event programme and here to book your free tickets (admission is free but pre-booking on Eventbrite is compulsory).
3.00pm – Until late / Nicholas Street
Great Craic on Nicholas Street
Go watch the Hurling Senior Championship Final and end the evening by enjoying good food and drinks from “Friend of our Festival” Katie Daly’s Heritage Pub & Kitchen while listening to great traditional music and songs by the Saint Mary’s Men’s Shed.
Watch out for more surprise events on our social media accounts (Twitter/Facebook/Instagram/LinkedIn) @LimerickWild
Alliance française Limerick and the Limerick Civic Trust wish to thank our institutional partners, Limerick City & County Council and the Embassy of France in Ireland, our official sponsors Heavey Technology, Saint Gobain and Arup, as well as the University of Limerick, the GIS E.I.R.E., the SOFEIR, the Fondation Nantes Université, and all our local “Friends of the Festival”:
Special thanks to Eoin “Rocky” O’Shea of Browhead Rocks LTD and John Cunneen. Thank you also to Dr Liam Chamber for securing IRC funding which enabled us to add a fascinating academic event to the programme of this year’s festival, and to Dr Stephen Griffin and Tracy McCarthy for their help in organising the conference. Last but not least, the organisers also wish to express their gratitude to the following volunteer members of our organising committee: Fionán Coughlan, Michelle Daly-Hayes, Marie Hackett, Celia Holman-Lee, Dr Sandra Joyce, Asta Lee, Brian Moloney, Michael McCarthy, Dr Mairéad Ní Bhriain, Dr Orfhlaith Ní Bhriain, Tom O’Brien, Cian O’Carroll, Con O’Sullivan and Dr Matthew Potter.
Contact: Dr Loïc Guyon (Honorary Consul of France / Alliance française Limerick’s Cultural Coordinator) at honorary.consul@france-in-midwest-ireland.org
France in Mid-West Ireland 