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There may have been no major music act rocking the banks of the Boyne this year but live entertainment did return to Slane Castle and it was local families thrilling audiences.

Circus Gerbola hosted their 'Celtic Voyage' show (which runs until tomorrow Sunday 17th October), and sees three of Ireland’s oldest circus families (Gerbola/Duffy/Fossetts) come together for the first time in history to create a brand-new show.

Circus Gerbola like so many in the live entertainment industry faced financial ruin after numerous applications for government business support over the last 18-months were refused. The reason being that a family business with no fixed place of business, like a travelling circus, was deemed outside the parameters of every grant going.

Saving the circus from Covid collapse was the late discovery that the ‘Irish Traditional Travelling Circus and Funfair’ had been added by Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD, to the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage in August this year. The Minister thereby gave State recognition to the practice of the circus within Ireland’s Living Cultural Heritage, which put a positive spin on the Gerbola family’s last application for Covid business support from the Irish government.

The successful submission to the Live Performance Support Scheme (LPSS) intertwined the cultural delights of the traditional Irish circus with Irish music and Irish dance, giving birth to the Slane Castle show – A Celtic Voyage. Circus Gerbola had just 6-weeks to pull together the performance of a lifetime before the grant expired.

The Gerbola family were also greatly assisted by local TD Peadar Toibin.

A Celtic Voyage, Musical Director Jane Murray commented:

“The circus is a universal performance art form that is celebrated in myriad cultures around the world. The official steps taken by the EU Parliament and by UNESCO to preserve circus arts, recognising that it plays a very important role in our shared cultural heritage, will help elevate circus arts to their rightful place as a legitimate, independent art-form, to be celebrated.”

SEE OUR GALLERY (More pics in this week's paper)

A Celtic Voyage will run from 7th -17th October in Slane Castle, Co. Meath with two shows per day on Thursday, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The 2-hour show is a licensed event with alcoholic beverages available for adults over 18-years before and during the performance.

Tickets are priced at €17.50 and must be pre-booked in advance online from circusgerbola.ie.