Bulgarians and Irish form first kukeri group in Dublin

Around 150 Bulgarians living in Dublin and the surrounding area took part in Culture Night - an annual national festival traditionally held on the third Friday of September. Specifically for the event, Bulgarian visual artist and designer Dr. Niki Collier, who has been living in Dublin for 26 years, collaborated with fellow Bulgarians, local Irish volunteers, artists, and the "Azbuka" Bulgarian Sunday School to create Ireland's first-ever Kukeri group, representing Bulgaria at the festival.

"Bulgaria was represented by kukeri performers. Two of the costumes were crafted by Bulgarian costume maker Ani Vladimirova, while the others were made by me," visual artist Niki Collier says. "We presented a group of eight kukeri. The volunteers who participated were teachers from the 'Azbuka' Bulgarian School in Dublin.

The Irish love Bulgarian kukeri traditions so much that they regularly attend the International Festival of Masquerade Games 'Surva' in Pernik. Since bells are scarce here and you need a lot of them to make a loud noise, everyone collected beverage cans for the purpose," Ms. Collier says with a smile.

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The event was hosted by the Bulgarian Embassy in Dublin, where the Irish audience watched the performances with interest:

"The children were performing the 'Bangaranga' dance, while the kukeri acted like guardian angels, offering a bit of help with the choreography," our compatriot says. "The kukeri performed outside, while inside there was a presentation about the kukeri traditions.”

The first kukeri group in Ireland includes not only Bulgarians but also Irish people who admire the Bulgarian kukeri, as they see a resemblance between the Bulgarian custom and ancient Celtic traditions, Niki Collier says.

"The Bulgarian Kukeri troupe included people from all the ethnic groups present in Bulgaria, including Irish people of Bulgarian descent. For me, this is a historic event because, for the first time, we have a local Bulgarian kukeri group. I am delighted that it is composed not only of Bulgarians but of people for whom this custom holds meaning," the Bulgarian from Dublin says.

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During the festival, visual artist Niki Collier presented a solo exhibition of kukeri masks titled "Monsters and Me." She shared that the project was the result of a year-long study linking the Bulgarian kukeri tradition to the traditional Irish and Welsh "mummers". Meanwhile, the first Bulgarian kukeri group in Ireland has already received invitations to participate in upcoming events.

"I think we managed to do something good and attract new enthusiasts of Bulgarian culture. We reminded everyone that we won Eurovision. I hope we have instilled confidence in those organizing Bulgarian-related cultural events, showing them that things can happen and that they can further spread this tradition. As for our kukeri group, we have already received two invitations for events: one for St. Patrick’s Day and another for Christmas. We hope this marks the beginning of a long and very strong tradition," Niki Collier says.