August 6th – 11th, 2014

www.feaklefestival.ie

The Feakle festival’s enduring legacy is its commitment to the best in Irish traditional music and this year’s programme is no exception. From ICE, an ensemble of concertinas, the dulcet harmonies of Lumiere, accordion great Donal Murphy and his Band to Feakle’s own Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill, there is much to choose from. “Music with heart, music with soul, music to inspire, music with fun and laughter.” that’s what we look for when putting our programme together said Festival Director, Gary Pepper. The full programme can now be seen on the following festival website. www.feaklefestival.ie

On Wednesday’s opening night renowned concertina player Dr. Tim Collins will present a lecture on “Traditional Music and the Sensuous Production and Expression of Place in Sliabh Aughty,” which examines the Sliabh Aughty dialect of Irish traditional music, which encompasses the traditional music communities of East Clare and East Galway.

Thursday sees the commencement of the Workshops in most of the traditional instruments plus guitar and banjo, singing and both sean nos and set dancing. Among the many turors are Harry Bradley, Cormac Begley, Sean Ryan, Eileen O’Brien and Paraic MacDonnchadha. Throughout the Festival there are special Sessions hosted by the tutors to enable students to gain confidence in their playing. Students can sign up for the three days or per day. There is no advance booking for workshops.

Later on Thursday evening in The Marquee, will be the Cafe Style Concert with an international flavor coupled with East Clare’s finest, folk music from Norway, Swedish 5 string banjo affencendo Lena Ullman. Andrew McNamara will be joined by Eileen O’Brien and Geraldine Cotter, singer Helen Hayes will duet with her daughter Katie and Mark Donnellan will round up the night with John Canny, Michael Landers and Brian Donnellan.

Friday night’s Musical Recital in St. Mary’s Church is legendary not only for the annual magical performance by Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill but for the atmosphere and ambience of the setting. The Festival is delighted to also present the innovative ensemble of master concertina players collectively called ICE, and singing duo Éilís Kennedy and Pauline Scanlon also known as Lumiere.

Throughout Saturday there is much to choose from in the full programme, the highlight being the rousing Musical Gala, featuring Martin Connolly, Donal Murphy and his band, troubadour Sean Tyrrell, sean nós dancer Gerard Devane and The London Lasses. With classes over Sunday is a full on fun day for all the family, from puppet shows to open air concerts to the Big Ceili with the Tulla Ceilí Band.

Advance booking is advised for all three evening concerts. Tickets can be purchased in Glór, Ennis in person or online. And to guarantee the best seats at each venue you can become a Friend of the Festival, details are on the festival’s website.

For more information visit www.feaklefestival.ie