Wake the Giant Draws Thousands to Warrenpoint

Thousands of visitors flocked to Warrenpoint in County Down over the weekend for the Wake the Giant Festival by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council.

The 32-foot giant Finn, is fabled to lie asleep in the nearby Cooley Mountains. 

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The Festival brings the local fairy tale to life, telling of the mystical hag witch of Mourne, the Calliagh Berra, who has put a sleeping spell on Finn and nothing can waken him.

Each year the townspeople and an ever-growing number of visitors join forces in their hilarious and energetic attempts to wake the sleeping giant as he travels through Warrenpoint. 

This year’s efforts included a giant glass of wine, a specially baked enormous loaf of bread and a secret-recipe anti-sleeping injection concocted by the local pharmacist.

Saturday’s efforts to wake Finn were unsuccessful, however, Sunday visitors to Clonallen Park in the town were rewarded with a theatrical show retelling the fairy tale, produced by actor and writer, Dan Gordon. 

The 32-foot giant was woken with the help of the audience as he rose to his feet to the crowd’s delight and astonishment.

Cllr Charlie Casey, Chair of Newry Mourne and Down District Council said, “This is a brilliant, entertaining, light-hearted event to end the summer season of Giant Adventures, in one of our most beautiful spots.”

Dan Gordon said, “This is the best craic of the summer. 

He added, “He’s a big lad at 32 foot tall and this is a spectacle not to be missed!”

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Posted by NewryTimes News on Aug 26 2019. Filed under Community. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry