The RAM will be in the form of tokens embossed with the Lamb Festival logo.

1 RAM token will be equivalent to 3 euros and will be exchangeable at participating Restaurants, Pubs and Businesses and events throughout the weekend.   For example 1 RAM will pay for 1 tasting at the Global Village event.

The RAM will be a local currency which ensures that money spent at local shops gets reinvested in the community and fosters community spirit and involvement, in keeping with the ethos of our Festival.

RAM can be purchased prior to and during the festival at the Lamb Festival Office and at participating outlets.

RAM can only be used for the duration of the Festival 2^nd-7^th May 2012, and can be redeemed for national currency up to the 15^th May 2012.

RAM will be available to purchase at the following businesses in Roscommon:

Roscommon Mart, Gleesons Townhouse, Comfy Cafe, Eight til Late, Abbey Hotel, Molloys Bakery, Hannons Hotel, The Peppermill, Walshes Spar and Castlemine Farm Shop

The event aimed at setting a  Guinness World Record for the most number of hand shearers shearing sheep at the at the same time and in the same place ,  is one of the highlights of this year’s Roscommon Lamb Festival.

In Ireland on smaller farms hand shearing remained the norm until the end of the 1960′s.  Around the same time  hay began to be baled with square balers and the combine harvester began to replace the reaper and binder.   All of this technology meant that the need for farm labourers was reduced as machines  replaced men.  Some people however remained with the traditional practice of hand shearing even up to the present day, as comically illustrated in the Specsavers advert on television.  Hill sheep farmers still carry a hand shears to shear individual sheep on the hill where they might have been caught in briars or for some other emergency.

As stated at the outset the art of shearing goes back thousands of years with many references to the practice in ancient Isreal and in other cultures.  Wool was  a hugely important commodity in times past and has only been supplanted in importance since the invention of artificial fibres from the 1930′s on.

Non farming preople are facinated to see sheep being hand shorn and it remains a very popular demonstration at the Lamb Festival every year.  This year we are attempting to set a new record as a follow up to our very successful knitting record achieved in 2011.  We are calling on people nationwide  to join us in this novel event, which is not a competition but rather a demonstration of what is an ancient practice.  It will take place in Loughnaneane Park on Sunday 6th. May at 3pm.  If the weather is unsuitable the event will be transfered to Roscommon Mart where it will take place under cover.  Already people from Sligo, Galway, and Westmeath have registered along with people from Co. Roscommon.  Brazil will also be represented as some of the  Brazilian men resident in Roscommon are from sheep farms back home where hand shearing is still practiced.

Each participant will be entered into a draw confined to those shearing and the winner will get a pure bred border collie pup, kindly sponsored by Con Mc Garry, a man well known in the world of sheep dog trials.  This is a valuable prize as Con only has the best dogs and breeding lines.  To register for this event contact:

Liam Dolan 0876370351, Pat Naughton 0863203292 or Michael Tully 0876757252.

An attempt to break our record will be made by a group in Mayo later on in May so the Roscommon Record must be set as high as possible.  We are hoping for  over 100 shearers old and young to take part in this event. The committee would like to thank Keypak, Athleague for sponsoring this event.

RULES:

Festival treasurer Gerry Fallon was MC on the night and was as usual very witty in his introductions.   The chairman Mr. Gerry Browne in his address reiterated that the festival is rooted in the soil and landscape of Co. Roscommon and was pleased to note that it is now taken root in the hearts and minds of the population of the County.  He said the festival will open as usual in the Roscommon Livestock Mart on Wednesday the 2^nd of May with a special sheep sale and this year there will be a reenactment of a traditional fair day scene courtesy of Mr. Tommy Murray and the Roscommon Drama Group.

He outlined some of the highlights of this year’s festival, one being an attempt to establish a world record for the most number of people hand shearing sheep in one place.  This will take place in Loughnaneane Park on 6^th of May as part of the Family Fun Day and promises to be a fantastic day for the festival and the county.

On Friday night the 4^th of May our first high profile food event takes place entitled ‘Real Roscommon Food’.  This event will be addressed by Professor Patrick Wall of UCD who will speak about the high health value of food from Roscommon Farms.   Also speaking will be Pat Lawlor who will outline the importance of branding in relation to food products.   Celebrity chief Neven McGuire will demonstrate the use of local produce, and there will be tasting of the best that the county has to offer on the night.

There are a number of heritage, farm and leisure walks during the course of the week.  A visual art exhibition will open on Thursday night with work from local artists on display throughout the weekend.  Mr. Albert Siggins a well known local historian will deliver a lecture on the origin of the place name Ros Coman.

On Saturday a Kids Can Cook workshop will take place in the festival marquee with a crafternoon tea event running simultaneously.

There will be a competition to find the North West Young Sheep Farmer 2012 and this will be judged by Macra president Alan Jago.

Saturday night finishes with the usual massive Barbeque Brazilian Style with music from Four Men and a Base.

Sunday morning sees the start of the international sheep dog trials at 08:00.  The trials will continue throughout the day.

The family Fun Day takes place also on Sunday in Loughnaneane Park with a host of attractions and activities for all. The Global Food Village will also feature in the park.  Meanwhile the Wool Craft Village will be in full swing in the marquee with workshops and demonstrations featuring shearing, spinning, weaving, felt making, knitting, dyeing, in short everything to do with wool.

This year we are delighted to welcome Mrs. Carmel Creaner, textile artist who lives in Cobh but originally hails from Roscommon, to our craft village. Carmel is famous as the artist who created the scarf that was presented to Queen Elizabeth on the occasion of her visit to UCC last year.

Sunday night finishes off with Ceili Mor in the marquee with the Mat Cunningham Ceili Band.

A number of fishing events will also be taking place throughout the festival.

The festival finishes up on the Monday with the Carers Mini Marathon and Mr. Browne pointed out that this is a very worthy event and the Festival is delighted to be associated with it.

Guest of honor on the night of the Launch was an impressive sculpture made by local artist Noel Molloy.  This sculpture is the mascot for the Launch of a local currency known as Roscommon Alternative Money (RAM).  This idea of local currency is that money spent in an area remains within that community.  The RAM will be in the form of tokens embossed with the Lamb Festival Logo and will be exchangeable at participating restaurants and businesses for the duration of the festival.  This initiative will hopefully result in a local employment and trading system (LETS) being set up in County Roscommon on an ongoing basis.

Mr. Browne pointed out that most of the festival events are free to the public and that the committee is dependant on funding from RIDC, County Council, Bord Bia, Failte Ireland and Local Farmers, Businesses and individuals.  He thanked all of those people who make the festival a possibility for their generosity and he specially thanked the committee who put in some much time and effort on behalf of the festival.

The Farmers Journal has come on board as media partners and this will prove very useful in helping to make the festival an event of national importance.

Una Quinn addressed those present on behalf of Roscommon Co. Council expressing how pleased the county council were to help out with funding, in recognition of the valuable work being done by the festival committee.

Michael Spellman chairman of RIDC then addressed the meeting and announced that the RIDC where again supporting the festival with significant funding.  He also pointed out that RIDC were supporting a number of signature festivals in the county namely the Strokestown Poetry Festival, Boyle Arts Festival the Carolan Harp Festival Keadue, Cruachan Ai and Roscommon Drama Festival with funding and also with a training programme for festival organisers.  He stressed the importance of these festivals to the profile of Co. Roscommon as we move forward in the development of our tourism industry.

The festival was then officially launched by Damien O’Reilly of RTE, who gave a very entertaining address.

Mr. Fallon then wound up the formal proceedings of the night by thanking Mr. O’Reilly for agreeing to launch the festival and thanking all who attended and making the launch such a success.  He also thanked the Grealy Family and the staff of the Abbey Hotel for the wonderful lamb based food provided on the night.  The fare provided was of the highest quality and was a real showcase for what can be done with the excellent ingredients available locally.

Everyone present agreed that the night was most enjoyable.

Fully details of the Festival Program are available from the Roscommon Lamb Festival Website www.roscommonlambfestival.com

We are honoured to have Carmel Creaner, Textile Artist opening the Wool Craft Village at 12.00pm on Sunday 6^th May 2012.

The Wool Craft Village attracts hundreds of visitors each year and we are inundated with requests from stall holders to take part.  We pride ourselves on our strict guidelines for stall holders and try to offer a mix of wool – related crafts to suit all levels and interests.

In these times of recession knitting and stitching have become very fashionable and cool possibly down to a number of celebrity stitchers such as the Sex and the City cast, Madonna, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Julia Roberts and even Russell Crowe! Michelle Fallon started Roscommon’s first knitting circle, The Cast Offs, nearly four years ago and since then they are popping up all over the county.   The success of last year’s knitting world record – 1,146 knitters in Hyde Park,  proves just how popular it is.

This years Wool Craft Village is bursting with exciting new elements with lots for textile enthusiasts of all ages and skills levels.  We have 14 exhibitors taking part showcasing knitting and stitching supplies, specialist equipment, craft kits of all levels, yarns, felt making, jewellery, handmade cards and much more.

New to the Craft Village this year are our two crafty hubs – The Yarn Room & The  Wool Shed where worskhops will be running throught the afternoon to nurture the growing interest in creative crafts.  We also have our very own pop up Knit’n Natter Café where you can join Michelle Fallon’s World Record Breaking knitting circle, The Cast Offs, for a a knit and a natter.

The Wool Craft Village is THE place to be if you have an interest in kntting, crochet,  spinning, weaving and/or felt making.

The following is a list of workshops taking place on the day.

The Yarn Room

12.30 – 1.30 pm – Spinning with Nancy Devlin using a spindle and a wheel

1.45 pm – 2.15 pm – Beginners crochet with Patricia Kearney

2.30 – 3.30 pm – Feltmaking with Maggie Dolan

3.45 – 4.45pm – Loom & Tapestry Weaving with Fran Crowe

The Wool Shed

12.30 – 1.30 pm – Weaving a mat on a peg loom with Caroline Walshe

1.45 – 2.15 pm – Spinning Introduction with Gerardine Murphy

2.30 – 3.30 pm – Needle Felting for kids with Carmel Creaner

3.45 – 4.45 pm – Crochet– making crochet flowers & butterflies with Carmen Heffernan

To book your place on one of the workshops above please email michelle@michellemadethis or call Michelle on 085 1111984