The Irish Festival of Oulu
October 1st–5th, 2014
Oulu, Finland
The 9th annual Irish Festival of Oulu takes place October 1st–5th, 2014 in Oulu, Finland. This 5–day event in a surprising location in the very North of Europe showcases the best of Irish culture in signature style, attracting audiences from near and far.
Described by fans as “original, full of craic, welcoming, and intimate”, the 2014 festival has a world–class programme showcasing numerous art forms. The festival is known for bringing in the biggest and the freshest names in the Irish music world, and this year is no exception. Raw Bar Collective, Caitlín Nic Gabhann and Ciarán Ó Maonaigh, and Socks in the Frying Pan team up with the best of the local bands for two scintillating evenings of the best traditional music. For the festival main event, legendary sisters Tríona and Maighréad Ní Dhomhnaill will capture audiences with their harmonic songs, prepping the crowds for Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill, who make their festival premiere in Finland.
Praised for its versatile programme, the festival includes storytelling for grown–ups and children with Eamonn Keenan, music workshops with top tutors, and dance classes for everyone from beginner to advanced competition level. Irish Film Week is a mini film festival within the festival, boasting a programme packed with award–winning films and documentaries. Theatre is a hugely popular part of the festival programme, this year featuring the multi–award winning performance Silent, written and performed by Pat Kinevane. Irish poet John Montague adds his name to the impressive line of eminent Irish poets who have read their poetry at the festival. An bhfuil Gaeilge agat? For the first time, there will be an Irish language weekend course in cooperation with Oideas Gael. For the second year, the festival hosts the All Finland GAA football cup with the Oulu Elks vs. Helsinki Harps, the world’s most northern GAA football match. Complementing the concert programme, multiple daily sessions make for a long weekend full of opportunities for musicians to meet and enjoy the best of the Irish music tradition.
Welcome to Oulu, Finland for the northernmost Irish Festival in the world.
For more information, including hotel and ticket packages and travel information, please visit the website www.irkku.fi
or contact email: info@irkku.fi Oulu, Finland is easy to reach and the organisers look forward to welcoming you.
