Féile na gCloigíní Gorma is back again and this year is led by the inspiring Springhill and Westrock Families

Féile na gCloigíní Gorma, or the Bluebell Festival, was launched in a packed Gael-Ionad Mhic Goill on Friday 8th May.  The Féile was founded by local activists in the Upper Springfield and the surrounding areas in 2017 as a response to the harsh times of austerity and increased poverty that left people in low spirits, to reconnect the local community with the beautiful environment around us, among other ways of showing solidarity with the community. Each May the famous Black Mountain ‘Hatchet Field’ blooms and chimes with the glorious site of a sea of indigenous wild ‘Blue Bells’ (Cloigíní Gorma).

Festival organiser Nuala Ní Scolláin said on behalf of the Bluebell Committee:

“In the 8 days of the festival, there will be events for families and people of all ages who have an interest in the environment, Irish language, sports, mental health, history, exercise, art, music, politics, discussions, films, drama, and much more! Every year, these 8 special days continue to get bigger and better. It warms our hearts to see more and more of the local and wider community joining the festival. On top of that, we have welcomed the largest international delegations in the festival’s history in the past few years.

“The festival would not exist without the exciting partners who organise a packed programme every year, and we are overjoyed that there will be a participatory workshop with our comrades in PPR’s ‘New Script for Mental Health’, a range of events with Fís an Phobail, and the exciting project ‘Feirm an Phobail’ or the People’s Farm focused on food sovereignty will be back during the festival, organised by Gairdín an Phobail. With the motto of solidarity at the heart of the Bluebell Festival, anti-racism is a key theme again this year. To that end, we are excited that the Kind Economy, who campaign for #LiftTheBan, which prevents asylum seekers from working in the 6 counties, is again an official festival partner for the annual Community Long Table Lunch. Moreover, this year the festival highlights violence against women through participatory youth workshops, which is increasing every year in Ireland. It is also an honour for the Bluebell festival to have the inspiring Sprinhill and Westrock families launch this year’s Féile and lead the annual Bluebell Parade.”

Lynda Sullivan, the environmental justice activist, spoke at the launch of the Bluebell Festival in Gael-Ionad Mhic Goill:

“Coming here and celebrating the Bluebells with you all gives me more than light relief, it gives me hope. Because here I see what the future could be for everyone, if we choose it, and if we build it. The world seems like a pretty dark place at the minute – if we look at the ramping up of war and conflict by imperial powers, if we look at the ongoing genocide in Gaza, if we look at the rise of facism and racism, climate breakdown, species extinction on a massie scale, a social and mental health crisis because the basic building blocks of a life of dignity are denied to many. A heavy list indeed.

“But despite and in spite of all of this – still we rise. Still we organise, still we plant seeds, still we celebrate. And no better place to see that spirit of resistance visible and vibrant, than right here. The shoots of food sovereignty and land justice are growing right outside the door, and across the road in Gairdin an Phobail, and all the places across the island where communities are gathering to grow and learn together – occupying land if needed, and decolonising our dinner plates.”

The Festival was honoured to have Natasha Butler speak at the launch on behalf of the Springhill and Westrock families:

“For 5 decades, our loved ones were not only taken from us—they were wronged, misrepresented, and denied their dignity. That pain didn’t end on that night. It lived on in every family, in every home, in every year that followed.

“The British Army tried to instil fear in our community. They tried to silence us. They tried to bury the truth. But they failed. Because what they could never break was the spirit of West Belfast.

“It was this community—ordinary people, grieving families, neighbours standing shoulder to shoulder—who refused to let those lies stand. People who carried their pain, but turned it into strength. People who stood up, time and time again, against an establishment that seemed too powerful to challenge.

“We will always honour our loved ones. We will carry them with us in everything we do. And we will continue to stand—not just for them, but for every family who still seeks truth and justice.

“Because this community knows what it means to endure.
And more importantly—this community knows what it means to rise.”

For more information on Féile na gCloigíní Gorma, contact nuala@glornamona.com and follow the festival on social media.