The anti-nuclear festivals at Carnsore Point, 1978-1981, were recalled at a lively and political event called ‘Memory of a Free Festival’ at the Projects Arts Centre in central Dublin which will now tour nationwide for a year By Caroline Hurley The launch event of ‘Memory of A Free Festival’ was held at the Project Arts Centre, on 21 March 2026.‘Memory of a Free Festival’ is a project conceived by Ormston House Cultural Resource Centre, Limerick, in response to the series of Carnsore Point anti-nuclear festivals that took place in Wexford between 1978 and 1981. Organised by a coalition of groups, the festivals were attended a generation ago by tens of thousands of people unhappy about government proposals to build Ireland’s first nuclear power plant. The free festivals laid on music, theatre, food, lectures, workshops and exhibitions. They are testimony to citizen creativity and democratic activism, for which formal recognition is long overdue. ‘Nearly fifty years later, this commemorative touring project features contributions from contemporary artists and original organisers, among others’ Nearly fifty years later, this commemorative touring project features contributions from contemporary artists and original organisers, among others. It will run in various formats and venues for one year, until March 2027, starting with the recent event at the Project Theatre. Fresh Promotion of Nuclear Energy With Europe importing half the energy it uses and prices rising, worsened by AI data centre demand and fossil fuelled wars, pressure for solutions is intense. Voices for nuclear power are growing louder and now count European leaders who, at the Nuclear Energy Summit in Paris on 10 March 2026, backed expansion of nuclear energy, purportedly for greater independence and affordability. the progress made by solar, wind and other far safer, cheaper and faster renewable energy is compelling, especially if the budgets available to nuclear were provided for renewables to develop at the same scale In August 2024, more than 600 civil society groups across the globe working on climate action launched a declaration in Brussels, Belgium, stating that nuclear power expansion is not a solution to the climate crisis, because it is too dangerous, too expensive, and too slow. This definitive position is in line with esteemed international climate solutions organisation, Project Drawdown, which cautions against relying on nuclear power compared to other solutions: “At Project Drawdown, we consider Nuclear Power a ‘regrets’ solution. It has potential to avoid emissions, but carries many concerns as well”. Other arguments against nuclear energy include that it creates public health hazards from radiation and accidents, that it erects obvious military targets in a fractious and sometimes nihilistic world, that there are no safe solutions for nuclear waste after 80 years of its manufacture, and that in contrast, the progress made by solar, wind and other far safer, cheaper and faster renewable energy is compelling, especially if the budgets available to nuclear were provided for renewables to develop at the same scale. See – https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/2024/02/01/nuclear-power-is-a-regrets-industry-some-facts/ As of February 4, 2026 when the latest assessment was made, the time shown by the Doomsday Clock, initiated in 1947 by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, is 85 seconds to midnight; the closest humanity has ever been to symbolic catastrophe. The Bulletin evaluates nuclear-weapons risks, climate change, disruptive technologies like AI and bioweapons, cyber threats, and the state of global governance in evaluating existential precariousness. On 15 March 2026, responding to international events, the British Energy Secretary outlined a package of measures to go “further and faster” in the pursuit of national energy security. The emphasis is on renewables. Top of the list, notably, is support for measures up to recently viewed by state bodies as guerrilla eccentricities suspected of interrupting grid centralisation e.g. making available in the UK for the first time, ‘plug-in solar’, low-cost solar panels available to buy on the high street, to put on balconies or outdoor spaces. Unfortunately, the UK government also naively lists nuclear as an essential green energy, even as built plants remain hazardous for centuries Unfortunately, the UK government also naively lists nuclear as an essential green energy, even as built plants remain hazardous for centuries, with no known effective method to store radioactive waste. Seeing the potential for renewable energies, Nicola Tesla and others had long dreamed, and contributed to the development, of safe free electricity for all; sources of inexhaustible, clean energy. Monopolistic entities and their lobbying arms have repeatedly sabotaged such movements, despite evidence of accumulated harms from fossil fuels and nuclear materials. Several bodies such as Laka and the International Centre for Multi-Generational Legacies of Trauma, track the full list of nuclear and radiation incidents which are reported by national nuclear regulatory agencies to the International Atomic Energy Agency since 1990. They are not negligible. And not counted are many similar accidents before 1990., such as Windscale, Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and problematic storage sites like Handford. We’re all hot now, already. The European Union recently published advice on which types of defence investments fit its sustainable-finance framework, labelled green or ESG (environment, social, governance). It includes atomic bombs, depleted uranium and white phosphorus On 30 December 2025, the European Union published a Commission Notice to advise on which types of defence investments fit its sustainable-finance framework, labelled green or ESG (environment, social, governance). Lucky investors can now include atomic bombs, depleted uranium and white phosphorus in this category. To claim this Orwellian reclassification measure was taken for climate objectives rather than to boost defence spending, surely fooled few, and roused significant if as yet ineffectual condemnation. What it does show is the accelerating high-level momentum to divert finance into the most destructive artifacts ever made rather than on meaningful social and nature regeneration. These were the themes that drew so many festival goers to protest at Carnsore Point all those years ago. Launch Event at Project Arts Centre Padraig Moore, manager of Ormston House, introduced the touring exhibition, which, after launching at Project Arts Centre, would open at Ormston House on 17 April before moving to
