All set for Nenagh TradFest
The wait is almost over for Nenagh TradFest 2016, which gets underway on Friday May 27th at various locations in Nenagh town.
The organisers have been busy shaping up a schedule of events to entertain the people of Nenagh and surrounds.
The festival kicks off on Friday night at 9pm in The Dapp Inn for a short opening ceremony, followed by a night of ‘ráiméis’, as some of the finest storytellers in Munster gather to regale us with tall tales. This was one of the biggest crowds of the last summer’s Fleadh so be sure to get in early to get your seat.
Around about the same time, for the more energetic types, The Kenyon will host a sean-nós dancing workshop by the world-renowned Emma O’Sullivan at the Kenyon. The sizeable number of locals of all ages who performed on the gig rig stage last summer is testament to the emergence of sean-nós dancing as a fun, energetic and highly sociable activity.
Along with the dancing and storytelling, pub sessions will also take place at various locations across the town. See the TradFest programme on this page for details of the session venues. The TradFest will see a stellar list of musicians from across the country and beyond visit the town for the TradFest - Fiachna and Seamus Ó Mongáin, Jessica Zeigler, John Connolly, Mary Crowley, Kevin Brehony, Graham Guerin, Geraldine O'Callaghan, Aoife and James Kinsella, Freda Hatton, Tricia Clarke, Kate McHugh, Colin McGill, Daithi Gormley, Shane Mulchrone, Tom Morrow, John Wynne, Marie Walsh, Nuala Hehir, Paddy Flannery, Ian Pearson, Paul Dixon.
A full day of events takes place on Saturday, starting with the workshops, which will take place in Nenagh CBS Secondary School. The organisers are endeavouring to encourage the art of singing among the workshop attendees and are offering fantastic value on the cost - €15 all-inclusive package, which includes a whistle or fiddle workshop, plus lunch, plus singing workshop.
Two daytime pub sessions, firstly in The Kenyon and subsequently in Una Powell’s, will feature all the musicians playing together, so there are sure to be sparks flying in both places!
At 7.30pm the centrepiece of the festival takes place - 'The Trip to Nenagh', a concert in Nenagh Arts Centre, which will be presented by the widely-renowned Leeds CCÉ. The show will feature acts young and old from across the range of Irish traditional culture – music, step-dancing, singing, storytelling and poetry. Leeds CCÉ have long-established links with Nenagh, having first come here in the early 1980s. The show will mainly feature artists who will travel from Leeds, but with some help from local friends. Tickets are already selling fast for this event, so please do not delay to avoid disappointment.
Following the concert, the next job will be to find yourself a handy stool in the corner and listen to one of the many pub sessions which will begin at 9.30pm in various venues (see listings).
On Sunday in Rocky’s at 12.30pm, the musicians will gather for a farewell session, which is open to all. Later on that night, a number of musicians from Leeds CCÉ and Ormond CCÉ and others will return to where it started and wind down the festival at The Dapp Inn.
Tom Boland of Ormond CCÉ is hoping the town will embrace the festival – “The musicians we have lined up are amazing artists in their own right, so when you put them together they will provide great entertainment for everyone who drops by. We are hoping to provide something for as many people as possible, between the TradFest concert, the pub sessions and the workshops. There are many ways to expand the festival in the future, but we’re hoping to get it off on the right foot and give Nenagh a festival to be proud of.”