TradFest Temple Bar, now in its 17th year, has announced its 2024 programme, which includes a range of traditional and folk music events as well as rap and spoken word performances. The festival will take place from 24 to 28 January in Dublin in a number of venues, including the National Stadium, National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Dublin Castle, the Button Factory, Grand Social, Draíocht and Malahide Castle.

On 24 January, Bothy Band piper Paddy Keenan will perform with a group of guest musicians at Dublin Castle. Mary Keenan, William Dondon, Johnny Purcell, Simon Doyle and Larry Rooney will join Keenan for the performance which will be dedicated to the late Traveller piper John Rooney.

Curated by folk singer Aoife Scott, the Women of Note concert celebrates female traditional and folk musicians and takes place at St Patrick’s Cathedral on 24 January, including performances by Frances Black, Kaia Kater and Katherine Priddy, with more to be added to the line-up.

On 28 January, the festival will present a concert honouring the life and work of American singer-songwriter Janis Ian. The event will feature Ian discussing her life and career as well as performances of her work by Mary Black, Wallis Bird, Aoife Scott, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Nuala Kennedy, Eric and Ulrika Bibb, Toshín, and Séamus and Caoimhe Uí Fhlatharta. Ian will also take part in an interview at the Séamus Ennis Arts Centre on 25 January.

TradFest and Fingal County Council have commissioned Neil Martin to compose a new suite of music for an event to commemorate the sinking of the RMS Tayleur – a passenger ship that perished off Lambay Island, near Portrane in 1854 with the loss of almost 400 lives. The work will be performed by Martin, the West Ocean String Quartet, Louise and Michelle Mulcahy, and actor Stephen Rea who will perform the spoken word narrative.

Also performing during the festival are Ralph McTell, Lúnasa, Declan O’Rourke, Camille O’Sullivan and Tom Paxton (25 January); the Máirtín O’Connor Trio (27 January); Zoë Conway and John Mc Intyre (27 January); Niwel Tsumbu (26 January); Alannah Thornburgh (26 January); Altan (26 January); Laoise Kelly (27 January); Strange Boy (26 January); the Maurice Lennon Trio (25 January); Síle Denvir (28 January); the trio of Steo Wall, Niamh Dunne and Sharyn Ward (25 January); Scottish folk singer Julie Fowlis (25 January); and Ispíní na hÉireann (26 January).

Free concerts and fringe events
The festival will also present the Smithwicks Sessions – a series of over 50 free concerts in pubs across the city, with performances by bands and artists such as Cailíní Lua (25–28 January), Jiggy, The Finns, Bróna Keogh, Cailíní Lua, Nóiníní, Fin Furey and The Murphy Sisters.

There will also be a spoken word event with the Nigerian-Irish poets group WeAreGriot, comprising Dagogo Hart, FELISPEAKS and Samuel Yakura; the Dublin Pride Trad Géilí event featuring the Pride Céilí band; and a programme of fringe events including pop-up performances at the GPO, screenings of films on Janis Ian and fiddle player Seán Keane, performances by the the Clew Bay Pipe Band in Temple Bar, and a food and record fair at the Séamus Ennis Arts Centre.

TradFest will also host an industry event to share findings of a three-year research project by academic Emma Grove that looked into the participation of female artists in TradFest. The research has helped the festival create a toolkit that can be shared with other festivals and suggests ways in which the industry can improve gender representation and participation.

For further information on all events and tickets, visit https://tradfest.com.