Summer Madness is Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

's largest Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 festival. It usually takes place over the first weekend in July at the Glenarm Castle

Glenarm Castle

Glenarm Castle, Glenarm, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, is the ancestral home of the Earls of Antrim.There has been a castle at Glenarm since the 13th century, and it is at the heart of one of Northern Ireland’s oldest estates....

, Ballymena

Ballymena

Ballymena is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland and the seat of Ballymena Borough Council. Ballymena had a population of 28,717 people in the 2001 Census....

.

Origins

The festival was commissioned nearly twenty years ago by the Church of Ireland

Church of Ireland

The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...

 Youth Department. It started out first at Castle Archdale, Lisnarick, County Fermanagh

County Fermanagh

Fermanagh District Council is the only one of the 26 district councils in Northern Ireland that contains all of the county it is named after. The district council also contains a small section of County Tyrone in the Dromore and Kilskeery road areas....

, then held in Gosford Forest Park, County Armagh

County Armagh

-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...

, but due to the foot-and-mouth crisis in 2001, the festival relocated to the King's Hall, where it has remained until 2011. It has since moved to the Glenarm Castle

Glenarm Castle

Glenarm Castle, Glenarm, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, is the ancestral home of the Earls of Antrim.There has been a castle at Glenarm since the 13th century, and it is at the heart of one of Northern Ireland’s oldest estates....

 for the 2012 festival.

Target audience

The festival is aimed at young people, and consistently targets those aged 15–25, and also caters for ages 5–11. The festival generally attracts around 5000 visitors a year, and many of these choose to camp on site.

Amenities and facilities

• Seminars
• Debates
• Arts Workshops
• Sports and activities programme
• Internet cafe,
• Cinema.
• Exhibition hall.
• Christian rock groups
• Worship meetings which are the focal point of the festival are held twice-daily.

In 2008, a similar programme under the banner of 'Urban Soul' began in Dublin. In January 2008, Summer Madness started in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

External links

• Summer Madness official website
• Summer Madness AUSTRALIA official website
• http://www.urbansoul.eu/