Posted online: Jul 26th, 2010

This year’s Glasgowbury festival has given the hard up local economy a major shot in the arm, it was claimed last night.
Thousands of revellers from across the North flocked to Eagle’s Rock, outside Draperstown, for the annual festival at the weekend.
Perched high in the Sperrin Mountains, the festival lived up to its moto – small but massive – as it celebrated its tenth year.
Music lovers were dazzled by energy charged performances from Duke Special, Joe Echo, Cashier No. 9 and So I Watch You From Afar as festival fever kicked in.
And while party goers went home happy local businessmen were also praising the positive impact of the festival on the local economy.
Director at the Rural College and Derrynoid Centre, Marie Wright, said the event offered the centre a welcome boost.
“We had 27 guests on the Friday night and 53 on the Saturday night and the majority of these people were here because of the festival. July and August are always quiet months for us so it brings the numbers up for us.
“We had a group of four women here from America, who came into the area just for the festival. They are visiting several music festivals while over here and Glasgowbury is one of them. They all said the event was awesome. Some of the people who stayed here were also participating in the event. The event is viewed very positively by people locally.”
Festival organiser Paddy Glasgow says the festival breathes fresh life into the local economy.
He said: “If you look at the town we only have one petrol station and think about the through traffic we have when the festival is on, the off licences do really well, we have Apparo which was booked out and the Rural College which had guests staying there and it hosted the after show party. The Cellar Bar does the bar at the festival, Chambers Coaches bring people from across Northern Ireland and all the local taxi firms do trade.
“We know from online bookings that tickets have been bought in Sweeden, there were Italians, Germans, Scottish, English and American people there. When you bring those people into the area you are hoping they stay in the Sperrin region and that includes places as far away as Strabane and Omagh. Promoting tourism is about good manners and asking people how they are doing and what you can do for them. It’s a simple format when you get it right and we are working hard to get it right.”
The local music guru paid tribute to local people and businesses for embracing the festival each year.
And although he already has a decade of festivals under his belt, Paddy’s attention has already returned to next year.
He said: “We are a not for profit social enterprise so we are trying to get everything going throughout the year and hopefully the festival will continue into next year.”