THE Limerick Wild Geese Festival returns for its sixth year next month, commemorating the 1691 Flight of The Wild Geese and celebrating the long standing friendship between Ireland and France.
The 2025 festival was launched at No 1 Pery Square in Limerick City, with a fitting soiree to celebrate this year’s programme of events.
A pre-festival event will get the party going early on June 26, as part of Limerick’s Twilight Thursdays, featuring local rappers and traditional musicians at Mother Macs, Mickey Martins, and The Commercial.
In between there will be a very Jacobite evening in Limerick, where the newly acquired illuminated manuscript roll by Limerick native and Jacobite James Terry will be presented to the Limerick Museum for permanent display.
On July 5, during a short morning ceremony, the Mayor of Limerick and the Ambassador of France to Ireland will unveil new improvements and restorations made to the Patrick Sarsfield monument by the Sarsfield Committee (a group of Limerick and Garryowen residents).
The day will continue with the traditional Living History Camp in the Hunt Museum gardens by reenactors from En Garde (The Franco-Irish Historical Society) and performances from the Saint Mary’s Prize Band, Scoil Uí Ruairc, Conradh na Gaeilge, the Saint Mary’s Men’s Shed, and the Limerick School of Music.
An exclusive drinks reception, a delicious five-course dinner prepared by chef George Casey), fine wines, and a shot of Thomond Gate Limerick Whiskey are also on the cards for festival goers, while enjoying musical entertainment by the Limerick Opera Festival.
The last day of the festival, Sunday July 6, will see a parade march through the city led by Band 1 of the Defence Forces, including members of veteran associations, reenactors, and local community groups.
The parade will be followed by the festival’s annual flag-raising ceremony, supported by the 12th Infantry Battalion of the Defence Forces at the UN Peacekeepers Memorial.
A free concert will also be held in Saint Mary’s Cathedral, bringing together artists Lorcán Mac Mathúna, Martin Tourish, Daire Bracken, Yonit Kosovske, and Wolodymyr Smishkewych, who will take the audience on a poetic and musical journey through the shared history between Ireland and France.
The Limerick Wild Geese Festival is organised with the support of the Limerick City and County Council’s Festivals and Events Grant Scheme and of the French Embassy in Ireland.
The full festival programme can be found on Limerick.ie or on the festival’s social media accounts.
