Dergfest founder reflects on dreamlike decade of music

When, in 2008, during the worst global financial crisis since the second world war, a group of hard-up pub owners began talking about starting an international music festival in Castlederg, there were more than a few local people who worried for their sanity.

“Everyone thought we were mad, especially when we said we had our eyes set on a member of Westlife to headline our first year,” laughed David Doherty, one the founders of Dergfest.

But ten years have now passed since that initial, gutsy gambit surreally saw Shane Filan come to Castlederg… Only a year after he and his fellow bandmates sold out Croke Park for two consecutive nights.

“Over the last decade, we have succeeded in bringing acts that people would not in their wildest dreams have imagined would ever come to this wee town. But they did, and the fans followed.

“Build it and they will come,” said David sagaciously.

However, as the wise ‘Dergian observed, nothing lasts forever. And so the time has arrived for the organisers of Dergfest to bring what they started to an end.

“We began with a committee of six or seven, and now we are down to three: Myself, Michael Collins (owner of Mickey Joe’s Bar) and Olga Patteron (owner of Derg Arms).

“We all have families, businesses, children, lives to be getting on with. It is just too time consuming.

“We want to go out on top, so to speak. We want to leave while we are still going strong; not drive it into the ground. We want the legacy of Dergfest to be one that we can be proud of.

“Ten years feels like a natural stepping off point. If we walk away now, people will remember it for what it was; a massive festival that few thought ever thought would be possible.”

There is something about endings that encourages us to reflect on beginnings. In keeping with this, I asked David to recall the festival’s inception.

“In times of desperation people discover the depths of their resourcefulness,” said David.

“The recession hit the hospitality industry in the town hard, so a few of us came together and decided something had to be done.

“We knew the same old same old wouldn’t work. We had to think outside the box,” said David.

And it was outside the box they thought.

“After a load of toing and froing, we decided we were going to give it a go. We would try to bring big acts to the town. We would do it right. The lighting, the sound, the stage. It was to be a festival that people would travel from far and wide to be part of. And, much to our relief, that’s what happened,” said David.

UB40, Shane Feelin, Chesney Hakes, Munday… The list of popular artists to play Dergfest goes on and on.

“If mimicry is the highest form of flattery, our heads should have been some size. After showing people what was possible, other towns started trying to do the same thing,” said David.

“It was great to see.”

But few – if any at all – done it with the success of Dergfest.

“There were several elements that made the whole thing work, but maybe the most important was the support we received from local people.

“It became like a second Christmas in Castlederg. People who would only have come home once a year, started coming back for Dergfest as well. It was a chance for locals to bring friends and family to the town, because there was something exciting going on.

“Finally, instead of being a place people got buses out of, Castlederg was somewhere that the coaches were arriving. And that has had a lasting impact. You go into Castlederg on the weekend now and you’ll find people from Omagh, Enniskillen, Donegal and Strabane… All because they had great night at the last Dergfest,” said David with pride.

And on that note, the busy pub proprietor had to run to the aid of a few fellas that were trying to get a stage rigged ahead of the weekend.

But before he went, he said one last, important thing.

“We are not stepping away because we want Dergfest to end. We are only stepping away because it is had become too much work for us. The truth is that we would love to see somebody fresh come in and pick up where we leave off.

“And if this really is the end of Dergfest: I hope something pops up to fill the void that it leaves behind. The town deserves a focal point during the summer. And not just because it is good for business, but because it gives the community a reason to come together and celebrate.”