An Tostal
A Dublin Correspondent writes : Some characters from Sean O'Casey held a small riot in Dublin to mark the beginning of An Tostal, a festival of national self-assertion, which is supposed to become an annual event. They picked up flower pots from among the decorations and flung them at the police. Next day, in a much better humour, the same sort of people self-assertively pushed them- selves through the flimsy police barrier and almost filled the space in O'Connell Street which was the route of a long military procession. A Scotsman thought the opening ceremony, with an endless parade of antique military vehicles, was like the famous Gathering of the Clans which did so much to make the Edinburgh Festival of the year before last a memorable one, but not quite so funny. An Tostal has a serious intent. It is by the Festival of Britain out of the publicity departments of American airlines and its aim is to stretch the Irish tourist season by starting it earlier. The first attempt could hardly have been a roaring success, but there are plenty of ideas for improving it next year. An American visitor commented after his first- two days in Dublin that he had never realised nationality could be such an obsession with any nation. That might be a hint to the organisers for the future—to put a little more emphasis on Ireland's present and a lot less on her pa'.t. especially on her military past.
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