2019 will see us celebrate the 171st Anniversary of the raising of THE first Irish Tricolour by Thomas Francis Meagher, at 33 The Mall, Waterford City. Now in its 9th year, the 1848 Tricolour Celebration continues to gain momentum on a national and international level.
The 2019 events will take place across the weekend of the 28th, 29th and 30th of June. This was planned to be the nearest weekend date, to the actual death commemoration of Meagher, who died on the 1st July 1867.
New dates for the Celebration have been selected to try and ensure “Better Irish weather!”. With the 2018 event having to be cancelled, last March, due to snow and the “Beast from the East”, the organising committee debated long and hard about moving away from the traditional March dates.
It is hoped that the new June dates will become a regular in the calendar of Waterford festivals and that the chance of sunnier, warmer and drier weather, will see crowds returning to The Mall on Sunday 30th June.
A number of exciting events have been planned, including;
1848 Tricolour Celebration Timetable
Friday 28th June*
- AM; Citizenship Ceremony, WIT Arena for 700 new citizens.
- PM; Thomas Francis Meagher historic walk, followed by dinner in Sabai Restaurant and historic talk. Sabai is a “Blue plaque” building and the premises where Thomas Francis Meagher was arrested on the 12th July 1848
Saturday 29th June*
- AM; 1848 Tricolour Lecture Series, the Museum of Treasures. Speakers will include Dr Jennifer Kavanagh, Professor Yvonne McEwan & Dr Pat McCarthy
- PM; Guests of the Tricolour, Waterford, bespoke tours. Including Waterford Greenway, King of the Vikings, Waterford Camino Walk, Japanese Gardens, Mount Congreve House and Gardens
- PM; Gala Dinner in the Granville Hotel. Speaker: Prof. Willie Donnelly, President W.I.T. and music by: The Island of Ireland Peace Choir
Sunday 30th June*
- 12.30pm; gathering and march with brass bands, military, veterans and friends from Thomas Francis Meagher’s home place, The Granville Hotel to The Mall
- 1.00pm; flag raising ceremony on The Mall, outside the House of Waterford Crystal.Committee Chair, Ann Cusack commented,
We are delighted to introduce our new programme of events for 2019. This year is a special year for the 1848 Tricolour Celebration, as we have decided to move the whole event to the last weekend of June.It is wonderful to have the Citizenship Ceremony back in Waterford, 700 people will receive Irish Citizenship at the WIT Arena as part of our 1848 Tricolour Celebrations.
Our lectures series was such a huge success in October of 2018, we decided to run another series on the Saturday morning. Speakers will include;- Dr Jennifer Kavanagh, Lecturer in Law, Waterford Institute of Technology
- Professor Yvonne McEwan, University of Wolverhampton
- Dr Pat McCarthy, historian and author.
The speakers will consider various aspects of the legacy of Thomas Francis Meagher and other areas of historic and current interest.
The Gala Dinner will take place in the Granville Hotel on Saturday Night, Speaker ” Prof. Willie Donnelly, President W.I.T. Visitors will a include our special guests and members of the 69th Infantry Regiment, New York..
Sunday will see the, now traditional, raising of The Flag ceremony. The addition of a march from Thomas Francis Meagher’s family home and place of birth, The Granville Hotel, will undoubtedly add to the event spectacle.
It will be a full weekend of celebration and most importantly a gathering of friends and family, who acknowledge Waterford City as the home of The Irish Tricolour.”
Once again the 1848 Tricolour Celebrations Event will welcome Embassy Representatives and a number of VIPs to the City. There will be a significant number of military personnel from the 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment, New York. A visiting contingent of veterans will attend specifically for the Celebration and the Gala Dinner on the Saturday 29th June, in the Granville Hotel (Birthplace of Thomas Francis Meagher).
As with every other year this entire weekend will be supported by a week long schools education series, which will see Thomas Francis Meagher visit hundreds of local school children. The promotion of the representation of the Irish Flag, is the theme of these visits and in this anniversary year, students will receive protocol information on the Irish Tricolour and a souvenir bookmark featuring a timeline of Thomas Francis Meaghers Life.
- PROGRAMME OF EVENTS
- The 1848 Tricolour Celebration is supported through the Waterford Council Festival Grants Scheme and Waterford Council.
