Birr sets its sight on a new frontier for music events

The Offaly town is a splendid place for discoveries of one sort or another – the latest of which is the launch of its first classical music festival

Bruno Caproni (centre) and chorus in Rigoletto Pic: Ros Kavanagh

There’s a lot more to Birr than its big telescope. This charming Georgian town in the midlands has much to recommend in architectural and historical terms. It is a splendid place for discoveries of one sort or another – the latest of which is the launch of its first classical music festival next weekend (May 26-28).

The heritage town has many features, not least its ‘sky-spy’ machine, which sits like a marooned mammoth ...