The Walk is based on Marie Moylan’s Historical Map of Durrow and will follow the route of same. The earliest record of Durrow dates back to 546 A.D. and the walk will take you along to visit many distinctive buildings including the Courthouse, The Famine Memorial, the Castle, the Castle Gate Lodge and the Obelisk (in the Castle grounds). This is a perfect opportunity to learn about the history of Durrow.
This is a free Event through DDF/Durrow Scarecrow Festival but requires booking for numbers. Book Here!
Allow a minumum of 1 hour for the walk but may take more time.
Meet at the Scarecrow Village Entrance ten minutes before the start of the walk, wear comfertable shoes or hiking boots, this walk is part village and part countryside.
Historical Walking Tour of Durrow with Sean Conroy The Walk is based on Marie Moylan’s Historical Map of Durrow and will follow the route of same. The earliest record of Durrow dates back to 546 A.D.
Durrow Scarecrow Festival is all about fun and laughter, so who better to officially open our tenth anniversary event in 2019, than our very own Bernard O’Shea. A native of Durrow, Bernard’s comedic value continues to soar, and we are always delighted to proudly welcome him home!!
Events on the opening day, Sunday 28th July, get underway from 11am, and Bernard will officially open Durrow Scarecrow Festival 2019, in the Scarecrow Village, at 3pm! So be sure to come along! The laughs are guaranteed!!!!
New to this year’s Scarecrow Festival, to celebrate our 10th Anniversary year, is the Scarecrow Making Workshops for adults. The workshops are being held on both Sundays during the festival, and entry is free!
Children have long enjoyed being tutored in the fine art of making scarecrows, so we thought, “why not give the adults a chance!”
So if you are in the Scarecrow Village, on Sunday the 28th July, or Sunday 4th August, do drop in, and learn the craft from those who have many year’s experience, and many, many scarecrow creations to their names.
For homework, you will have one year to come up with a wonderful scarecrow for next year’s competition!!!
This year’s Children’s Chocolate Workshop with Cocoa Couture is limited to 15 people, price per person €5.00 + bookiong fee! The fee for this workshop has been subsidized by Durrow Scarecrow Festival, and really is great value!
The workshop is for children aged 6 – 12 years. Please allow 1 hour 10 mins for the duration of this workshop!
The class is given by award winning Blas na hEireann Artisan Chocolatier, Catherine O’Callaghan, who will assist you in making your own Artisan Chocolate Lollipop, complete with labels and packaging. Catherine will also talk about packaging, waste and Recycling, during the workshop, while your creations are setting. This is a great opportunity to learn from an award winning chocolatier!
Gerardine Wisdom joins us on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th of August, two seperate workshops where you will receive tution on how to work with rush and make a basket, bag or rushwork item to bring home with you.
This is a fantastic oppertunity to receive a masterclass with one of the countries best known rushwork artists.
Her fantastic rush-work and basketry has drawn many admirers and it’s an honour to have her in Durrow
You will leave with a whole new appreciation of the rush and what can be achieved with them as a craft element.
Arrive at the Scarecrow Village for 10.00AM, please note, village will be closed but a steward will be available to admit you to the Rush Workshop.
Please note that though the Rush Workshop is from 10am until 5pm, this is not the full length of time you will be there. Time is allowed for each person to proceed at their own pace and finish their creation. Allow 2-3 Hours minimum.
Tickets are limited, so please book early to avoid disappointment!
2019 is the tenth anniversary year of the Durrow Scarecrow Festival, and our aim, like every other year, is to deliver an even better fun filled, family friendly festival!!!
Since its inception, right up to this, our tenth year, Durrow Scarecrow Festival has been run entirely by volunteers, and all monies raised have been reinvested in the village. Countless hours, days, weeks and months, are given by so many; from the planning stages of the event, to the set up, from scarecrow creation, to the actual running of the nine day festival, and the multitude of facets involved in that, not to mention the clean up, take down and storage of all festival paraphernalia. All of this is done by volunteers.
Anyone you see in our festival hi-viz vests, from carpark attendants, to those in the scarecrow village, are volunteers, as are many others working quietly behind the scenes! And hand on our hearts, even though we are part of it too, we really want to thank everyone for their help, and appeal for more help too!
Even if it’s just one hour of your time that you can spare, it would be so greatly appreciated! If it’s more than that, then all the better!
Scarecrow Kids Summer Camp
We are also looking for a suitable volunteer for our ever popular Scarecrow Summer Camp for kids. As the role requires Garda vetting, we would love to hear from volunteers soon, in order to have everything in place, in time for the event.
The Summer camp runs from Monday 29th July, to Friday 2nd August, from 10am to 1pm each day, in the Scarecrow Village, right in the centre of Durrow. The camp is for children aged between 5 and 12 years. The camp has proved very popular over the last few years providing children with a host of different activities over the week including: Clay Modelling, Drama, Sports, Arts and Crafts and much much more. This year every effort will be made to ensure that all materials used for Arts and Crafts will be recycled material.
If you’d like to offer some of your time to help out at this year’s festival, or at our Kids Summer Camp, then please use the form below to get in touch, and we will contact you to arrange a role, and a time that suits you best!
Aerial view as work begins on the Scarecrow Village set up, in 2018.Aerial view as work begins on the Scarecrow Village set up, in 2018.
We are thrilled to learn, that following the public voting phase of the 2019 Midlands 103 Hospitality Awards, Durrow Scarecrow Festival has been shortlisted in the category of Best Festival.
The Midlands 103 Hospitality Awards celebrate excellence in Hotels, Restaurants, Pubs and entertainment venues in counties Laois, Offaly and Westmeath. Judging will take place in almost 50 categories, before the winners are crowned at a gala awards ceremony in the Bridge House Hotel, Tullamore.
We thank everyone who voted for us, and we hope to deliver yet another family friendly, fun filled festival in 2019, as we celebrate our 10th anniversary year!
Find out all about the 2019 Midlands 103 Hospitality Awards, by following the link below!
The Midlands 103 Hospitality Awards celebrate excellence in Hotels, Restaurants, Pubs and entertainment venues in counties Laois, Offaly and Westmeath.
As it’s our 10th Anniversary, Scarecrow Festival, we really are trying to make it that extra bit special, and bringing the biggest slide in Europe, is sure to excite all! The slide can be used by both kids and adults, if the adults are up to the challenge that is!!! We know the kids are!
Europe’s Largest Slide – The Miami Slide is at the Durrow Scarecrow Festival for all nine day’s!!!
Please Note – The Miami Slide is located in The Ranch: OPENING HOURS 11am – 6pm Daily.
Scats Bouncing Castles proudly present you with the Miami slide, which is the biggest slide in Europe. This Slide really has the WOW factor & is set to be a huge hit at this year’s Scarecrow Festival.
This Massive Slide will be visible from afar & is sure to attract all you thrill seekers out there.
Well the curtain has come down on another successful Durrow Scarecrow Festival and we have had time to draw our breath. The 2018 event brought thousands of people to Durrow for a fun filled nine days and the news spread near and far of our wonderful scarecrows.
Durrow Development Forum would like to take this opportunity to thank all our sponsors and all those who supplied their services free of charge or land for parking. A special thanks to our scarecrow makers. We cannot express our appreciation enough to our many volunteers who continue to donate their time before, during and after the Festival, your commitment is what makes this event so successful.
To An Garda Síochána, Civil Defence, Laois Partnership, Laois County Council and our Community Employment Scheme – thank you all for your support.
Finally, a big thank you to all the visitors who attended the festival, we hope you enjoyed it and we would love to see you again next year.
If you were at it or were following the Durrow Scarecrow Festival this year you might have noticed that the festival got a rebrand with a bright fresh new logo which was carried on all our promotional material including a new website, signage, programme and social media … everywhere!.
The fun scarecrow with his crow buddy was everywhere around the town. The work was carried out by Mike McCarthy at Creactive Studios, based in Mountmellick. We loved it and a big thank you for all the enthusiasm and creativity.
