Bally Mac Sheriff Inaugural Halloween Festival

Ballybough, Sean MacDermott Street & Sheriff Street, North East Inner City, Dublin.

A Collaborative Arts Engagement Programme and interconnected Street Festival with a vast range of community organisations, individuals, Local Artists & Activists, Youth Centres, Voluntary and statutory bodies including Dublin City Council & An Garda Siochana. 

For the first time the North East Inner City (NEIC) is celebrating Halloween together across the communities of Ballybough, Sean Mac Dermott Street and Sheriff Street. The intention of this the inaugural Bally Mac Sheriff Halloween Festival is to bring the communities together to collaboratively create a positive, family and community focused celebration of Halloween.

Continuing the NEIC’s long history of arts practice, community and cultural engagements, our aim is that the Bally Mac Sheriff Halloween Festival will become a vital part of the community’s social calendar, building on the experience of the festival year to year so that Halloween becomes a time to be looked forward to. By creating a series of dynamic artistic, sports and cultural activities, within existing groups and then expanding outward to the wider community, the build up period will be transformed into a joyous and captivating time of preparation for the three communities culminating in a celebratory event on Halloween Night.

The now traditional Sheriff Street Parade will leave their neighbourhood lead by the newly created Sheriff Street Young People’s MaSamba Samba band and parade along Seville Place, crossing Amien Street at the Five Lamps, up Killarney Street to the ‘HOME memorial’ at the junction of Buckingham Street. The community of Sheriff Street will be greeted by the children of Sean Mac Dermott Street also lead by their Young People’s MaSamba Samba Band who will parade down Rutland Street onto Sean Mac Dermott street to welcome them. 

The ‘Home’ memorial by artist Leo Higgins is a sacred space within the North East Inner City Community, commemorating “all of our loved ones lost to drugs” and contains relics within the sculpture belonging to those who died. This memorial will be celebrated through musical ritual as the initial meeting point of the three communities for the opening of the Halloween Festival.

Following the MaSamba Samba bands performance, the communities will walk together onto Sean Mac Dermott Street where the newly formed Community Choir will perform “A New Song” at the Greek Church facade. Composer/Songwriter & Performer Sean Millar has undertaken qualitative research through interviews with Community Workers and residents in the North East Inner City to create “A New Song”.  A practical action with metaphorical resonance. It will be sung by the newly formed Community Choir who have been working hard since September towards their first ever performance at the opening of the Street Festival welcoming the wider community to the celebration of Halloween.

A temporary Exhibition Space will be created along the street to display the Visual Artwork made by the children and Young People in the lead up to the Festival. Designed by Visual Artist Martina Galvin, the exhibition will host large scale works and smaller Halloween Poster competition entries made by the local Young People including children from the LYCS Creche. The Centrepiece is a large Día de los Muertos Skull made collaboratively by children and members of the community. 

The Bally Mac Sheriff Halloween Street Festival will be opened by Peter Sheridan. The grounds of Our Lady of Lourdes Church, which holds the remains of local revered figure and hero Matt Talbot, will be transformed into a Festival Hub with a Haunted Maze, a Healing Tent with Intention Altar, Children’s Play Area with face painting and arts & crafts. It is intended that the Church itself will remain open for Halloween, the first time in a long time.

On the main stage Bally Mac Sheriff aka MC Neil Watkins will host the event and guide the audience from one activity to another. Local group, The Ukulele Valentines will kick off the live music, later DJ & sound designer extraordinaire Frank Sweeney will support singer Gemma Dunleavy from Sheriff Street. Fuinneamh’s Giant Drum Workshop will take place up Sean Mac Dermott Street and Dublin Circus Project will entertain through fire & stilt walker performances. Intermittent Prize giving for the Halloween Cake Decorating Competition, mini Fashion Show for the Best Homemade Halloween Costume entries and Halloween Poster Competition. Electro/pop/synth/funk power duo Buffalo Woman will perform towards the end of the event, with The MaSamba Samba Band bringing us all to the dazzling crescendo finale.

Original Festival Bunting has been made by Busy Bees Recycling on Summerhill, with the opportunity for local residents to drop in their old material to be transformed into festive bunting for the Street.

Festival Coordinator/Artistic Director: Veronica Dyas

Ma Samba Samba Bands created with Young People: Simeon Smith & MaSamba Samba School

“A New Song”: Sean Millar with Community Choir

Visual Art Design & Programme Facilitator: Martina Galvin

Visual Art Programme Support & Facilitator: Catherine Foley

Older People’s “Raised on Songs & Stories” Qualitative Research through Crafts: Kate Aston

Bally Mac Sheriff (MC): Neil Watkins

“The Ghosts of Belvo’s Paper Boys: Ciara O’Sullivan & the Drama Students of Marino College

Production Manager: Brian Treacy

Festival Photographer: Jim Berkeley

Festival Video Documentation: Mark Cantan

Projection Mapping: Jef JefJef

Festival Hub & Haunted Maze Creator: Brady

Sound Design: Frank Sweeney

Street Festival Handmade Bunting: BusyBees Second Hand Furniture, Summerhill 

A Collaborative Community Festival with participation from the following Community Groups: Belvedere Youth Club, SWAN Youth Project, SWAN Garda Youth Diversion Project, Ballybough Youth Project, Nickol Garda Youth Diversion Project, HAY Garda Youth Diversion Project, Community Policing Forum, Lourdes Day Care Centre, Lourdes Youth & Community Services (including LYCS Creche & Youth Project, Adult Education & Development Education), Adventure Sports Project, ICON, NCCCAP, Dublin City Community Co-op, Hill St Family Resource Centre, Our Lady of Lourdes Church, CASPr After Schools Project, Crinan Youth Project, Sheriff Street After Schools Education & Support Programmes (ASESP), Foundations Project, Neighbourhood Youth Project 1, Fire Station Artists Studios, Marino College of Further Education & Five Lamps Arts Festival. 

Lead in Programme:

A series of lead in programmes ran throughout the communities from mid September,:

Personal Safety & Environment Programme collaboratively initiated by the Youth Projects & Garda Youth Diversion Projects to create a 6 week programme for Young People including Workshops Sessions with An Garda Síochána (Store Street), Dublin Fire Brigade, an Environmental Health Workshop with EcoUnesco (incorporating community, older residents & animal welfare), an activity & Trip to RADAR NI and link in with Groundwork in Belfast.

The creation of MaSamba Samba Band with Young People by MaSamba Samba School in each of the three communities of Ballybough, Sean Mac Dermott Street & Sheriff Street.

The creation of a Community Choir “A New Song” with Sean Millar formed from across the three communities of Ballybough, Sean Mac Dermott Street and Sheriff Street as an act of creative collaboration, celebration and solidarity.

Faeries & Ghouls Halloween Art Workshops with Martina Galvin: Creating Halloween Themed Art with Young People using largely recycled materials.

Raised on Songs 'n Stories: Crafts, Stories & Songs with Kate Aston: A programme with Older residents around Halloween Memories, ghost stories, traditional games, songs & crafts.

Halloween Cake Decorating Programme with Claudia Junkal: Working with adults in the lead up to Halloween & Prize giving at the Halloween Street Festival Event.

Community Sewing Club at BusyBees: Drop in Sewing Club using recycled materials to create bunting & costumes for the streets & festival.

Once off Events & Workshops:

The Abbey Theatre’s Special Effects Workshop hosted by LYCS Youth Project.

Social Circus Workshop with Dublin Circus Project hosted by SWAN Youth Centre.

Halloween Film Screening hosted by Belvedere Youth Club.

Haunted Halloween Walking Tour hosted by local historian Terry Fagan.

Sports Adventures across communities hosted by Adventure Sports Project.