By Rebecca Russell

Bui Bolg is Gaelic for "Belly Yellow," but the group of street performers which has adopted that tagline as its name is far more colorful. The name itself was inspired by the nickname that Wexford men have borne proudly since the early 1800s when, while wearing yellow sashes, they won a hurling championship. 

It is with this same pride and enthusiasm necessary to excel on the field playing the national sport of Ireland that the performers of Bui Bolg take to the streets. Irish Fest visitors this year will have an opportunity to see the entertainers strut their stuff around the lakefront grounds, Aug. 18-21.

"Bui Bolg is one of Ireland’s leading street theater and production companies," said team member Dave Kelleher. "We take art to where the people are, reinventing performance, carnival, and community arts in a unique and magical way."

"Bui Bolg continually tours the country with its weird and wonderful giant puppets, carnival costumes, and inflatable artwork," Kelleher explained. "We can be seen at a wide range of festivals and events nationwide, incorporating everything from arts to agriculture."

The biggest annual event for the troupe is the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin. Bui Bolg has been a fixture in that event since the mid-’90s, a performance that requires months of preparation. It is work well worth the effort. Said Kelleher, "This year, we received the Chairman’s Award for our unique and exciting performance. We also have a string of other awards with regards to our performances and innovativeness in this festival, including the 2001 Premier Pageant Award, the 1998 Premier Awards Best Entry, the 1997 award for Best Parade Entry, and the 1995 St. Patrick’s Day Parade Overall Winner." 

While this event is a focus for the group, they also participate in many big events beyond the Emerald Isle. "We are not only national, but international," Kelleher said. "We recently represented Wexford and Ireland in the Memphis in May International Festival." Memphis in May is an annual celebration of the people and culture of a chosen country. In 2005, the focus was on Ireland, and Bui Bolg played a big part in Desti-Nations Family festival, the part of the larger celebration that allows people of all ages to experience and learn more about the culture of the selected country.

Besides their visit to the United States in May, Bui Bolg has also been to Brussels, Spain, France, Germany and other European countries. It’s an impressive resume for a group that has only been around since 1995.

The group was founded in 1995 by Lucy Medlycott and current Artistic Director Colm Lowney. It began with a small group of art students, recent graduates of the Limerick School of Art and Design, and has been growing ever since. The accolades they have received are a result of what they bring to the event: larger-than-life creations, daredevil puppets, imaginative floats, and adrenaline-boosting escapades. But as their website says, "All of (that) is made even more special thanks to the talent, hard work, and time of scores of performers who don costumes, puppets, and face paint and take their energy to the streets."

"Being a performer for Bui Bolg gives you the ability to break down any inhibitions," Kelleher explained. "To be a performer, you have to live by two things: you have to be flexible and you are always expected to do your best. The performances should reflect the company’s hard work."

Bui Bolg also runs a weekly youth club for members aged 13-20 at its Wexford facilities. The youngsters in the group study circus and performance skills as well as performance-related arts and various crafts skills.

"Plenty of entertainers can put on makeup, juggle a couple of balls, or even walk on stilts, but Bui Bolg can transform your event into an occasion people will be talking about for the rest of their lives," according to the organizers. True to this promise, over the years, Bui Bolg has accepted many challenging projects for clients such as Microsoft, Smirnoff, Nokia, the Trinity Ball, Bulmers and Guinness. Jobs have included creating a monster cactus sprouting cell phones to making strolling, chatty cups-and-saucers and bumbling loaves of bread.

If Irish Fest visitors don’t get enough of the group’s antics during the festival, they can fly to Ireland to watch Bui Bolg entertain at 12:30 p.m., Aug. 27, at the Dun Laoghaire Shopping Centre on Marine Road. That’s in Co. Dublin, folks. See ya there.