Irish in Eastbourne
In January 2025 we set up an Irish in Eastbourne community on social media in the hope we could grow awareness and interest in local Irish connections & culture.
We had heard about the Eastbourne Carnival and how successful it had been in both bringing together and celebrating local communities & charities over the years. We felt it could be a great launchpad for showcasing local Irish culture on a float through the mediums of music, sport & dance – how right were we!
Months of preparation went into the event and the support we had from the Carnival committee was above and beyond expectations. With a large dancing troop and choir to accommodate we were worried we wouldn’t find a vehicle big enough, but Carnival helped source support from the wonderful Pete at PMA scaffolding. Pete was also so invested, he gave up his free time to not only secure the scaffolding on the float but even re-engineer it to suit our needs and help fasten the decorations.
Our floats decor was mostly donated by the Irish in Crawley society which we revamped for the day, but we knew if we needed help to design anything from scratch for the event the Carnival committee had arranged some brilliant free workshops with expert dancers, costume designers and prop makers that we could avail of. They really did think of everything!
The day itself was superbly managed by Carnival volunteers and everything went smoothly, such a great positive atmosphere despite the windy gales. Nothing could dampen that carnivals community spirit! After the event everyone agreed we have to do this again.
We can’t wait for the Carnival next year and have even more people interested in joining us – to win best float too by public vote really was the icing on the cake! Our Facebook pages engagement rocketed and we are well aware that this was down to the great exposure we got at Carnival. Super grateful to the wonderful committee, volunteers, Rinceoiri Ratton, PMA scaffolding and Irish in Eastbourne community who made it all happen – here’s to 2026!