Rachel Conway (netball)

The COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland has had far-reaching consequences in the country that go beyond the spread of the disease itself and efforts to quarantine it, including political, educational and sporting implications.

Arts

Parades and general festivals

St Patrick's Day parades were called off due to concerns that they would be a threat to public health. Galway was the last Irish city to do so, as its local politicians simply deferred making the decision until the government forced it upon them by cancelling all parades. The Orange Order cancelled its annual 12 July parades due to the virus, with one of those taking place in Rossnowlagh. On 11 March, the organisers for Dublin Comic Con announced the cancellation of their 2020 Spring convention, due to have taken place in the Convention Centre from 15 to 17 March and which would have hosted celebrity guests such as Jason Isaacs and Peter Weller. On 29 April, it was announced that the 2020 Dublin Pride Festival would be cancelled, with an alternative "interactive digital festival" taking place instead. 26 June brought the cancellation of the 2020 Ballinasloe Horse Fair festival, due to have taken place in Ballinasloe at the beginning of October. 20 July brought the cancellation of the 2020 Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival, due to have taken place in Lisdoonvarna from 4 September. The cancellation of the festival was said to be a €2.5 million loss to the economy of the town.

On 20 January 2021, the St Patrick's Day parade in Dublin was cancelled for a second year.

On 14 July 2021, the Ballinasloe Horse Fair festival was cancelled for a second year in a row.

On 17 March 2022, celebrations took place across the country to mark St Patrick's Day, following a two-year absence due to COVID-19, with around 400,000 people attending festivities in Dublin.

Galway 2020

The European Commission had designated Galway as European Capital of Culture for 2020, a process begun—and planned for—years in advance. Following the Taoiseach's Washington announcement, which closed all cultural institutions until 29 March, the organisers of Galway 2020 announced that some of its upcoming events were cancelled, though most would be postponed. By 24 March, RTÉ reported that the entire year's itinerary was "in serious jeopardy". On 7 April, RTÉ reported that a teleconference that morning had revealed that most staff had been temporarily laid off and that the Creative Director for Galway 2020's contract had been brought to an end. By 10 April, ''The Art Newspaper'' reported that the year's entire programme had "essentially been abandoned".

Literature

Cork International Poetry Festival—scheduled for between 24 and 28 March—was cancelled. On 11 March, Dún Laoghaire's Mountains to Sea literary festival—scheduled for between 26 and 29 March—announced its 2020 event had been cancelled due to the virus. On 23 March, International Literature Festival Dublin—an annual literary festival scheduled for between 15 and 24 May—announced its postponement until later in the year and promised refunds to anyone who had purchased tickets for two events it had already announced involving Hilary Mantel and Bob Geldof, if these events did not go ahead at a later time. Listowel Writers' Week, in what would have been its fiftieth annual event and scheduled for between 27 and 31 May, was also cancelled due to the virus. On 30 March, the organisers of Galway city's main literary festival, the annual Cúirt International Festival of Literature—scheduled for between 20 and 25 April—announced it would not proceed "in its physical form" in 2020 due to problems created by the pandemic shutdown and the grounding of invited foreign writers abroad; however, only a small selection of the advertised events (including the Eilís Dillon centenary commemoration) were officially "postponed" and full ticket refunds were offered. On 6 April, Cúirt announced it would be holding the world's first completely digital literary festival between 23 and 25 April, with events to be held at traditional venues such as the Town Hall Theatre, Nun's Island and Charlie Byrne's Bookshop, and broadcast for free through YouTube (though it requested donations to support the writers involved). The annual Dalkey Book Festival—scheduled for between 18 and 21 June—announced its 2020 event had been postponed due to the virus.

Music

All events at the National Concert Hall were cancelled. The annual Feis Ceoil was cancelled. Music for Galway cancelled its annual Good Friday concert in the St Nicholas Collegiate Church, scheduled for 3 April, and its new nine-day Cellissimo festival dedicated to the cello was postponed until 2021. On 20 March, it was announced that the 2020 Fleadh Cheoil, due to have taken place in Mullingar in August, would be cancelled. The Irish Music Rights Organisation">Mullingar">�koːl̪ˠt̪ˠəsˠ ˈcoːl̪ˠt̪ˠoːɾʲiː ˈeːɾ ...