TradFest Temple Bar is an annual music and culture festival that takes place in late January in Dublin, Ireland. Founded by the Temple Bar Company, a not-for-profit organisation who work on behalf of businesses in the cultural quarter of

Temple Bar, Dublin Temple Bar ( ga, Barra an Teampaill) is an area on the south bank of the River Liffey in central Dublin, Ireland. The area is bounded by the Liffey to the north, Dame Street to the south, Westmoreland Street to the east and Fishamble Street to ...

, it celebrates traditional Irish and folk music and cultural offerings and was launched in 2005. One of the few independent events of its type in Ireland, it has become a major draw for international audiences travelling from the US, UK and Europe - attracting almost 25,000 visitors in 2017. Ticket prices are kept to a minimum price to ensure value for money for those attending. The festival has established its reputation by attracting some of the biggest names internationally in folk and traditional Irish music such as

Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music is ...

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world musi ...

Mary Chapin Carpenter Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also ca ...

Martin Carthy Martin Carthy MBE (born 21 May 1941) is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, and later artists such ...

Maria McKee Maria Luisa McKee (born August 17, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her work with Lone Justice, her 1990 song "Show Me Heaven", and her song "If Love Is a Red Dress (Hang Me in Rags)" from the film ''Pulp Fiction'' ...

Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Martin Lamble after their first gig.) They started ...

, Eddi Reader,

Sarah Jarosz Sarah Jarosz ( ; born May 23, 1991) is an American singer-songwriter from Wimberley, Texas. Her first album, ''Song Up in Her Head'', was released in 2009

Ralph McTell Ralph McTell (born Ralph May, 3 December 1944) is an English singer-songwriter and acoustic guitar player who has been an influential figure on the UK folk music scene since the 1960s. McTell is best known for his song " Streets of London" (196 ...

Gilbert O’Sullivan Raymond Edward "Gilbert" O'Sullivan (born 1 December 1946) is an Irish singer-songwriter who achieved his most significant success during the early 1970s with hit record, hits including "Alone Again (Naturally)", "Clair (song), Clair", and "Get ...

Steeleye Span Steeleye Span are a British folk rock band formed in 1969 in England by Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings and established London folk club duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. The band were part of the 1970s British folk revival, and we ...

and

Levellers The Levellers were a political movement active during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms who were committed to popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law and religious tolerance. The hallmark of Leveller thought was its populi ...

. Notable Irish acts who have performed include

Glen Hansard Glen Hansard (born 21 April 1970) is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician and actor. Since 1990, he has been the frontman of the Irish rock band The Frames, with whom he has released six studio albums, four of which have charted in the top ten ...

, Aoife O’Donovan,

Damien Dempsey Damien Dempsey (born 9 June 1975) is an Irish singer and songwriter who mixes traditional Irish folk contemporary lyrics that deliver social and political commentaries on Irish society. Damien sings in his native, working class accent in the Eng ...

, Declan O’Rourke,

Paul Brady Paul Joseph Brady (born 19 May 1947) is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician from Strabane, Northern Ireland. His work straddles folk and pop. He was interested in a wide variety of music from an early age. Initially popular for playing ...

, Mundy,

Mick Flannery Mick Flannery (born 28 November 1983) is an Irish singer and songwriter. His debut album ''Evening Train'' resulted from his time spent studying music and management at Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa in Cork. It featured tracks which had previously ...

, Maura O’Connell, Finbar Furey, The Dublin Legends,

Clannad Clannad () is an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól, and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history, including ...

Altan Altan may refer to: * Altan (name) * Altan (band), a folk music group from Donegal * Altan (album), ''Altan'' (album), a 1987 album by Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and Frankie Kennedy * Altan Jalab, a village in Afghanistan * Altan (river), stretch of th ...

, Beoga, Martin Hayes, Kila and Stockton's Wing. The 2022 edition of the festival will take place from 26 to 30 January.

History

Since its inception in 2005 by the Temple Bar Company, TradFest Temple Bar has expanded its offering to reflect its ethos of ‘Trad without Frontiers’. This allows for an elaborate and varied line-up at each festival that incorporates myriad musical forms including Celtic folk,

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk music, folk and rock music, rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the American fo ...

, nu folk, world music and

traditional Irish music Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland. In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there we ...

. The incentive was to provide a musical interlude for Irish and international visitors in January, a month hitherto devoid of any festival events. The location, Temple Bar, is a small area in Dublin's City Centre and is known as the capital's Cultural Quarter because of its abundance of public houses, street entertainment, art galleries and photography gallery. Former Minister for Environment

Noel Dempsey Noel Dempsey (born 6 January 1953) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Transport from 2007 to 2011, Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources from 2004 to 2007, Minister for Education and Scie ...

is Chairman of the Temple Bar Company. Martin Harte is the company's CEO and oversees the organisation of TradFest Temple Bar annually.

Stephen Rea Stephen Rea ( ; born 31 October 1946) is an Irish film and stage actor. Rea has appeared in films such as ''V for Vendetta'', '' Michael Collins'', '' Interview with the Vampire'' and '' Breakfast on Pluto''. Rea was nominated for the Academy Aw ...

is a patron of the festival. The programme director is

Kieran Hanrahan Kieran Hanrahan (born 1957) is an Irish radio host and musician. Born in Ennis, County Clare, he began playing traditional Irish music on the tenor banjo at the age of fourteen. Over the years, Hanrahan has helped to found a number of traditi ...

, an Irish radio host and musician who presents ''Ceílí House'', a weekly show on

RTÉ Radio 1 RTÉ Radio 1 ( ga, RTÉ Raidió 1) is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926. The total budget for th ...

. Since it formed TradFest uses some of Dublin's landmark buildings to host its concerts. This allows the event to maintain an independence in the way it is organised and the low price of tickets sales. Venues include

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

; The House of Lords ; St Michan's ; St Werburgh's ; St Patrick's Cathedral;

National Stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadiu ...

and Christ Church Cathedral.

Festival highlights

The festival prides itself on the promotion and support of new and up-and-coming acts as well as established names in the world of folk and traditional

Irish music Irish music is music that has been created in various genres on the island of Ireland. The indigenous music of the island is termed Irish traditional music. It has remained vibrant through the 20th and into the 21st century, despite globali ...

. Several events have played a part in TradFest Temple Bar reaching a wider international audience. The

Kilfenora Céilí Band The Kilfenora Céilí Band () is one of the oldest céilí bands in Ireland. It was founded in 1909 in Kilfenora, a village in County Clare. History The first group of céilí musicians played in the old schoolhouse in Kilfenora in 1909. A new C ...

performed a free concert on top of the hotel belonging to U2, The Clarence Hotel - the same venue where the band performed to promote their song, "

Beautiful Day "Beautiful Day" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the first track on their tenth studio album, '' All That You Can't Leave Behind'' (2000), and was released as the album's lead single on 9 October 2000. The song was a commercial success, ...

". Beoga did a naked photo shoot for the festival before going on to fame for their part in Ed Sheeran's " Galway Girl" and performing on the Pyramid Stage at

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonb ...

in 2017. Notable concerts include a

reunion at Christ Church Cathedral in 2011 and

The Dubliners The Dubliners were an Folk music of Ireland, Irish folk band founded in Dublin in 1962 as The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group, named after its founding member; they subsequently renamed themselves The Dubliners. The line-up saw many changes in personn ...

celebrating their 50th anniversary at the same venue in 2012, just three months before

Barney McKenna Bernard Noël "Banjo Barney" McKenna (16 December 1939 – 5 April 2012) was an Irish musician and a founding member of The Dubliners. He played the tenor banjo, violin, mandolin, and melodeon. He was most renowned as a banjo player. Biograph ...

passed away. The festival has always supported contemporary commissions including two by renowned composer Lorcan Mac Mathuna to celebrate the Battle of Clontarf and the 1916 Rising. T With The Maggies (featuring

Moya Brennan Moya Brennan (born Máire Philomena Ní Bhraonáin on 4 August 1952), also known as Máire Brennan, is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist. She is the sister of the musical artist known as Enya. She began performing pr ...

, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh,

Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill is an Irish traditional singer, keyboard player, and composer, considered one of the most influential female vocalists in the history of Irish music. She is famed for her work with traditional Irish groups such as Skara ...

and

Maighread Ní Dhomhnaill Maighréad Ní Dhomhnaill (; born 1955) is an Irish traditional singer from Kells, County Meath. She is known for her work with the short-lived, but very highly regarded Skara Brae and her collaborations with her sister Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill, as ...

) first came together at the 2009 festival at the suggestion of their respective children and went on to perform at the Irish Global Economic summit that year. They were subsequently commissioned to record the folk song "Two Sisters" by

Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose career spanned half a century. He won 10 Obie Awards for writing and directing, the most by any writ ...

for his play ''Ages of the Moon'', which opened in New York and Dublin, starring actors

Sean McGinley Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as '' Shaun/Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; ang ...

and festival patron Stephen Rea. New works by Declan O’Rourke and Miles Duggan were showcased in 2014.

2021 - Virtual TradFest

Due to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

pandemic, the 2021 festival was unable to take place. It was replaced by an online version, filmed at

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle ( ga, Caisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a former Motte-and-bailey castle and current Irish government complex and conference centre. It was chosen for its position at the highest point of central Dublin. Until 1922 it was the ...

and featuring a number of high-profile Irish artists.

Key artists at TradFest Temple Bar

Afro Celt Sound System Afro Celt Sound System is a British musical group who fuse electronic music with traditional Gaelic and West African music. Afro Celt Sound System was formed in 1995 by producer-guitarist Simon Emmerson, and feature a wide range of guest artist ...

, Andy Irvine &

Donal Lunny Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...

, Aoife O'Donovan,

Barbara Dickson Barbara Ruth Dickson (born 27 September 1947) is a Scottish singer and actress whose hits include ' I Know Him So Well', ' Answer Me' and ' January February'. Dickson has placed fifteen albums on the UK Albums Chart from 1977 to date, and had ...

Bellowhead Bellowhead is an English contemporary folk band, active from 2004 to 2016, reforming in 2020. The eleven-piece act played traditional dance tunes, folk songs and shanties, with arrangements drawing inspiration from a wide range of musical styl ...

, Beoga,

Big Country Big Country are a Scottish rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife, in 1981. The height of the band's popularity was in the early to mid 1980s, although it has retained a cult following for many years since. The band's music incorporated Scott ...

Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh (born 28 August 1979) is a fiddler, born in Dublin, Ireland, who attended Trinity College Dublin, becoming a Scholar in Theoretical Physics (1999) and earning a First Class BA degree (as the top student of his class) in ...

Cara Dillon Cara Elizabeth Dillon (born 21 July 1975, in Dungiven, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish folk singer. In 1995, she joined the folk supergroup Equation and signed a record deal with Warners Music Group. After leaving ...

Carlos Núñez Muñoz Carlos Núñez Muñoz (born 1971) is a Spanish musician and multi-instrumentalist who plays the gaita, the traditional Galician bagpipe, Galician flute, ocarina, Irish flute, whistle and low whistle. Life and career Nuñez was born in 1971 i ...

Cathy Davey Catherine "Cathy" Davey (born 1979) is an Irish singer-songwriter. She has released one extended play, "Come Over" (2004), and four albums, ''Something Ilk'' (2004), '' Tales of Silversleeve'' (2007), '' The Nameless'' (2010) and ''New Forest'' ...

, Cherish the Ladies,

, Danu, Declan O'Rourke, Declan Sinnott,

Dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from fa, درویش, ''Darvīsh'') in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage ...

, Dhol Foundation,

Dick Gaughan Richard Peter Gaughan (born 17 May 1948) is a Scottish musician, singer and songwriter, particularly of folk and social protest songs. He is regarded as one of Scotland's leading singer-songwriters. Early years Gaughan was born in Glasgow ...

Dougie MacLean Dougie MacLean, OBE (born 27 September 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Described by AllMusic as "one of Scotland's premier singer-songwriters", MacLean has performed both under his own ...

Duke Special Duke Special (born Peter Wilson; 4 January 1971) is a songwriter and performer based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A piano-based songwriter with a romantic style and a warm, distinctly accented voice, he was previously known for his distinctiv ...

, Eddi Reader,

Eleanor McEvoy Eleanor McEvoy (born 22 January 1967) is an Irish singer-songwriter. She composed the song "Only a Woman's Heart", title track of '' A Woman's Heart'', the best-selling Irish album in Irish history. Early life and beginnings McEvoy's life as ...

, Finbar Furey,

Frances Black Frances Black (born 25 June 1960) is an Irish singer and politician. She came to prominence in the late 1980s when she began to play with her family's band, the Black Family, performing a mix of traditional and contemporary Irish music. ...

, Frankie Gavin,

Gilbert O'Sullivan Raymond Edward "Gilbert" O'Sullivan (born 1 December 1946) is an Irish singer-songwriter who achieved his most significant success during the early 1970s with hits including " Alone Again (Naturally)", " Clair", and "Get Down". O'Sullivan's s ...

Hazel O'Connor Hazel Thereasa O'Connor (born 16 May 1954) is a British singer-songwriter and actress. She became famous in the early 1980s with hit singles " Eighth Day", "D-Days" and " Will You?" She also starred in the 1980 film '' Breaking Glass''. Career ...

Hothouse Flowers Hothouse Flowers are an Irish rock band that combine traditional Irish music with influences from soul, gospel, and rock. Formed in 1985 in Dublin, they started as street performers. Their first album, ''People'' (1988), was the most success ...

, Iarla O’Lionaird, In Tua Nua, Judy Collins, Julie Fowlis,

Kathryn Roberts Kathryn Roberts is an English folk singer, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Early career Roberts' first released recordings were on the album ''Intuition'', a collection of songs by various South Yorkshire folk artists which also included he ...

& Sean Lakeman,

Kíla Kíla is a 1987 Irish folk music/ world music group from the Irish language secondary school, Coláiste Eóin in County Dublin. Band History Kíla began in 1987 in the secondary in Coláiste Eoin, in the first year they busked nearly every we ...

, Lankum, Loah,

Luka Bloom Luka Bloom (born Kevin Barry Moore; 23 May 1955) is an Irish folk singer-songwriter. He is the younger brother of folk singer Christy Moore. Early life Kevin Barry Moore was born on 23 May 1955 in Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland. His par ...

, Lúnasa,

Eliza Carthy Eliza Amy Forbes Carthy, MBE (born 23 August 1975) is an English folk musician known for both singing and playing the fiddle. She is the daughter of English folk musicians singer/guitarist Martin Carthy and singer Norma Waterson. Life and c ...

, Martin Hayes,

Maura O'Connell Maura O'Connell (born 16 September 1958) is an Irish singer and actress. She is known for her contemporary interpretations of Irish folk songs, strongly influenced by American country music. Background O'Connell was born in Ennis, the main to ...

, Mundy,

Oysterband Oysterband (originally The Oyster Band) is a British folk rock and folk punk band formed in Canterbury around 1976. History Early history The band formed in parallel to Fiddler's Dram, and under the name "Oyster Ceilidh Band" played purely as ...

Paddy Keenan Paddy Keenan (born 30 January 1950) is an Irish player of the uilleann pipes who first gained fame as a founding member of The Bothy Band. Since that group's dissolution in the late 1970s, Keenan has released a number of solo and collaborati ...

Sarah Jarosz Sarah Jarosz ( ; born May 23, 1991) is an American singer-songwriter from Wimberley, Texas. Her first album, ''Song Up in Her Head'', was released in 2009

Seth Lakeman Seth,; el, Σήθ ''Sḗth''; ; "placed", "appointed") in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Mandaeism, and Sethianism, was the third son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, their only other child mentioned by name in the Hebrew Bible. ...

Sharon Shannon Sharon Shannon (born 8 June 1968) is an Irish musician, best known for her work with the button accordion and for her fiddle technique. She also plays the tin whistle and melodeon. Her 1991 debut album, '' Sharon Shannon,'' was the best-sel ...

, Stephen James Smith, Stockton's Wing,

Sweeney's Men Sweeney's Men was an Irish traditional band. They emerged from the mid-1960s Irish roots revival, along with groups such as The Dubliners and the Clancy Brothers. The founding line-up in May 1966 was Johnny Moynihan, Andy Irvine and "Galway ...

, Teddy Thompson, T with the Maggies,

The Fureys The Fureys are an Irish folk band originally formed in 1974. The group consisted initially of four brothers who grew up in Ballyfermot, Dublin. Brothers Eddie, Finbar, Paul and George Furey are of Irish Traveller heritage. Two of the band's ...

The Undertones The Undertones are a rock band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974. From 1975 to 1983, the Undertones consisted of Feargal Sharkey (vocals), John O'Neill (rhythm guitar, vocals), Damian O'Neill (lead guitar, vocals), Michael Bradley ...

, The Young ‘Uns,

Turin Brakes Turin Brakes are an English band, comprising original duo of Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian, and long-term collaborators Rob Allum and Eddie Myer. They had a UK top 5 hit in 2003 with their song "Painkiller (Summer Rain)". Since starting ou ...

References

External links