Wexford will be represented by leading figures in the arts, history and culture at the French equivalent of Heritage Night in Normandy this weekend, Friday to Sunday, inclusive, September 20th-22nd, through music, history, archaeology and cinema during a celebration of Irish culture in Ouistreham, near Caen, in France.

Ouistreham will host talks, exhibitions and a series of concerts – traditional music and jazz – to reflect the diversity of creativity and culture in Ireland, with a special emphasis on the cultural and historical ties between Normandy and Wexford.

The participation of a talented Irish contingent has arisen from an initiative which took place in March – La Semaine Irlandaise – in which both Irish and Breton musicians, including chanteuse Melanie O’Reilly and piper Brewen Favreau, traded notes to great acclaim.

As a result, Irish culture is the guest of honour at the Festival of European Heritage in Ouistreham, an initiative which annually captures both the public imagination and the enthusiasm of participants.

There is an eclectic mix of performers, musicians, lecturers and curators representing the best of Wexford culture, which also coincides with the 75^th anniversary year of the D-day landings at Normandy and the 850^th anniversary of the landing of the Normans at Bannow Bay in south Wexford.

Both Denis Shine and Chris Hayes will discuss The Carrig Project – a live archaeological dig at the site of the first Anglo-Norman castle built in Ireland – and the Irish National Heritage Park, the country’s largest open air museum which tells the story of 9,000 years of the first human settlement to the Norman invasion in 1169.

In 2018, the Irish Archaeology Field School and the Heritage Park launched a major archaeological research project – Digging the Lost Town of Carrig – in Ferrycarrig, Wexford, to assess one of the most historically significant sites in Ireland, the ‘Ferrycarrig Ringwork’, which was founded in the winter of 1169 by Robert FitzStephen. 

The site represents the very first wave of Norman colonisation of the country and was constructed the year before the main Norman landing party at Baginbun. This talk in Ouistreham will introduce the historical significance of the site and describe the future intentions of the Carrig research project.

Catherine MacPartlin, Chair, Ferns Heritage Project, will explore the role of Diarmuid MacMurrough in the Norman invasion of Ireland 850 years ago and the relevancy of the Norman legacy on the Irish landscape. Her talk will look at events leading up to the arrival of the Normans, the political landscape in Ireland and the Norman – Irish connections established in the medieval period.

Tom Mooney will tell the story of how Steven Spielberg recreated the horrors of the Omaha Beach landing on D-day on a stretch of Wexford coastline in his Oscar winning film, Saving Private Ryan, with an exhibition of behind the scenes photographs and documents.

The Irish weekend will be bookended by two performances by Melanie O’Reilly: Melanie and a brace of top class musicians – Wexford’s Kevin Lawlor on drums, Andrew Csibi on bass, Luke Howard on piano and special guest Brewen Favreau from Brittany on uilleann pipes – will perform a fusion of jazz and traditional Irish music at St. Samson Church on Friday, and Melanie will close in the same venue with The Last of the Irish Bards, Turlough O Carolan in Music and Song, accompanied by David Creevy on guitar and Brewen Favreau, uilleann pipes.

 David and Melanie O’Reilly will premiere a unique project of the music and songs of O’Carolan, generally recognized at the first great Irish composer. An additional development of David’s transcription of O Carolan’s music for guitar, Melanie weaves melodies and songs which together create an unforgettable soundscape memory.

Generous sponsors of the Wexford involvement include Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford School of Music, Mistletoe Music, VisitWexford.ie,  the Irish National Heritage Park,  Carrig850, and Wexford County Council.