Eigse Carlow Arts Festival was founded in 1979 by six members; Fr. Caoimhín O Neill, Padraig O Snodaigh, Deirdre Brennan, Bride de Roiste, Seamus Mac Pairc and Seamus Murphy. The founding members chose the word Eigse for the festival name, the plural of ‘Eigeas’ which is the Irish for poetry gathering. They chose this word because they wanted the festival to have a strong focus on poetry and the Irish language whilst still including those who could not speak Irish. It was planned as a bi-lingual festival with a simple programme of events; an art exhibition featuring the Barrow Valley Artists and Idrone Painters Group in the Town Hall, local history lectures, poetry, walks in Carlow and Ceili na nOg. There was a great response to the festival and the founder members recognised that this event was a celebration of Carlow and would foster great pride in the area.
