PICTURES: Roscrea's Rambling House marks the start of summer

Roscrea’s Age Friendly group, based in the former Courthouse on Gaol Road in the centre of the heritage town, held a special event to mark the national Bealtaine Festival and the beginning of the summer. 

May is the month of the Bealtaine Festival which celebrates the arts and ageing and Age Friendly Roscrea’s May ‘Rambling House’ event was certainly a fine example of the arts in action.

Age Friendly Roscrea hold monthly ‘Rambling House’ get-togethers in the headquarters on Gaol Road which are always a very lively and entertaining events – and to mark Bealtaine they dedicated their May event to the changing season.

The Bealtaine event evening was led by Fear an Tí, Seamus Moloughney, who's an expert at spotting talent in the audience.

READ NEXT: Top French award for Roscrea academic

"Thanks to our musicians who are the backbone of the evening, our ukulele group who bring some razzmatazz to the night with their lively tunes and of course the singers and storytellers who bring great variety each evening,” Co-ordinator Mary McMahon said.

“On Wednesday 13th May as part of the Tipperary Fleadh, we had Roscrea Comhaltas in for an evening of ceol agus craic.”

Bealtaine in Roscrea features a packed month-long celebration throughout May, honoring arts and aging through community events.

Spearheaded by local groups, the festivities include everything from visual art, music sessions, and theater workshops to DIY workshops and local age-friendly initiatives.

Roscrea Library also have a packed calendar of events marking the month long festivities around Bealtaine.

READ NEXT: Presentation to founder of Age Friendly Roscrea - Anne Keevey

Around the country the Bealtaine Festival challenges and entertains audiences and participants and always looks to offer diverse events.

Just as we know there’s no one experience of older age, there is no one kind of event in Bealtaine.

The festival engages people and communities from all over Ireland to foster and inspire creativity among older people, to work intergenerationally, to platform older artists and to promote the skills, experiences and exposure that can lead to a rich creative life.

You can enjoy all that Bealtaine has to offer whether you are an audience member, an artist, or by participating in creative projects in your community.