TradFest Temple Bar is taking place this week, running from Wednesday to next Monday (26​​–30 January) with a wide range of live concerts, free events, talks and workshops in venues across Dublin city centre. The festival is taking place live for the first time in two years, having moved to online events during the pandemic. 

The line-up includes a blend of traditional, folk, and indie musicians including Frankie Gavin, Daithí Gormley and Catherine McHugh, who will perform a tribute concert to the late accordion player Joe Burke on 26 January at the Pepper Canister Church; Laoise Kelly (28 January) and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh (29 January) at the Castle Hall; and a concert featuring Dervish, Four Men and A Dog and Altan at the National Stadium (29 January). 

On 26 January, a panel discussion titled ‘The Futures of Irish Music’ will take place  at Collins Barracks, featuring speakers Jack Talty, Mamobo Ogoro of the digital media company Gorm Media, musician and composer Enda Gallery, musician Niamh Ní Charra, and Clare-based singer-songwriter Steo Wall. The event will discuss topics surrounding the future of music in Ireland, including inclusion, sustainability, career paths for musicians and learnings from the pandemic. 

Americana-roots duo The Remedy Club will perform at the Workman’s Club on 26 January; and on 28 January, Kíla will perform with a number of guests including Steve Cooney, Cormac Breatnach and Aoife Kelly from the band Jiggy at the National Stadium. Traditional singer Thomas McCarthy – who last year began working with the Irish Traditional Music Archive on a project collecting the music and stories of the Traveller community – performs at Castle Hall on 26 January. 

Singer Aoife Scott will present ‘Women of Note – A Celebration of Female Folk Voices’ on 26 January at St Patrick’s Cathedral, featuring performances from Peggy Seeger, Wallis Bird and Scott; and on 27 January, accordionist and singer Séamus Begley will perform with fiddle-player Oisín Mac Diarmada and dancer and pianist Samantha Harvey at Castle Hall.

The festival also includes a line-up of lunchtime concerts with harper and songwriter Brídín (28 January) – who last year released her debut EP Ocean of Stars featuring Colm Mac Con Iomaire and Clare Sands; multi-instrumentalist Tim Edey (29 January); concertina-player Brenda Castles (29 January); and Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin and Ultan O’Brien, whose debut record Solas an Lae won Best Folk Album at the 2021 RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards (30 January). Traditional singers Caoimhe and Séamus Ó Fhlatharta, who recently performed as part of Other Voices and on the Late Late Show, will present a concert at the Pepper Canister Church on 27 January.

Also performing during the many events of the festival are Fairport Convention, Karan Casey with Niall Vallely, Niamh Dunne and Sean Óg Graham, Anúna and M’Anam, Ronan Gallagher, The Dublin Legends, Ralph McTell and Stockton’s Wing, The Kilkennys, Drops of Green, Bog Bodies, The Finns, Boxing Banjo, Saíocht hosted by Stephen Rea, The Clew Bay Pipe Band, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Cóir Cúil Aodha and Seán Ó Sé, and Faith and Branco.

Free events, talks and workshops
Niamh Regan, Paddy Casey, The Henry Girls, and Phelim and the Drew House Band will all perform concerts as part of the festival’s free Smithwicks Sessions in addition to George Murphy and the Rising Sons, The Colonials, and Victoria Keating. Admission to the Smithwicks Sessions is on a first-come-first-served basis.

There will also be workshops on genealogy, design and craft, and an art exhibition for children based on the theme of winter, and on 29 January, musicians and academics Dr Helen Lawlor and Dr Sandra Joyce will host a talk about St Brigid’s Day and the history and culture of Irish harping.

For the full line-up and tickets, visit: https://tradfesttemplebar.com/