PICTURES: Laois village festival backed by Electric Picnic and Ballymaloe

One of the many gems in the Laois festival calendar, the Folly Festival went down a treat last weekend, packing in family games, live music, sport, history, walks, crafts and delicious food with a big Ballymaloe flavour.

See review below gallery of photos by Alf Harvey, Pat Guilfoyle and The Leinster Express / Laois Live.

The festival in Cullohill - or Cullahill to some locals - was held on Friday and Saturday, supported by Electric Picnic.
On a compact site around Cullohill Castle ruins, it had headliners like The Jerry Fish Electric Slideshow and Chasing Abbey, and local talents Cullohill Comhaltas and Barry Deegan.

Among the food demonstrators was chef Rory O'Connell of Ballymaloe who recalled fondly his time growing up in Cullohill, while cooking up treats to a rapt audience.

“I remember walking up the hill after Mass to the smell of sweet bacon... picking wild watercress to eat from the Erkina and wild damsons from the lane behind the castle.

“This is a really beautiful local festival, it strikes a great chord with me and is dear to my heart, as this village is,” he said.

The festival organisers are John Scanlan and Annmarie McMahon, supported by a strong local committee of volunteers.

“There is a great esprit de coeur in this community, everybody buys into it, people take holidays to help out, it isn't one person in a house helping, it's entire households, that's what makes it work,” Annmarie told the Leinster Express / Laois Live at the festival.

This year they united with the Laois Walks Festival to host two of July's walks on Saturday. The first was a pleasant climb around scenic Cullohill mountain, led by Vinnie O'Sullivan with 70 walkers foraging wild fruit on the hedgerows, with water handed out en route by Cullohill Foróige.

The second was a foraging walk by Wild Food Mary, aka Mary Bulfin from the Slieve Bloom Mountains, who gave great insight into the medicinal and nourishing plants growing wild everywhere.

The overall prize in the dog show was won by a delighted Katie Muldowney with her red setter Seoidin, with the rosette presented by Laois Rose Katelyn Cummins.

Another thrilled winner was Steph Fogarty, a grand- daughter of Jimmy and Vera Fogarty in Durrow. She had baked a 600th anniversary cake and won a lunch and afternoon cookery course in Ballymaloe Cookery School.

“Oh my god I'm ecstatic, I'm a massive fan of Darina and Rory and Rachel, I cannot wait. I come to this festival every year and already won the bread, tart and sponge so I said I'd go for the celebration cake prize,” a happy Steph said.

The Laois Walks Festival continues every weekend across the county for the month of July. See itinerary here.