TradFest
TradFest is an annual music and culture festival that takes place at the end of January in Dublin, Ireland. The festival, which celebrates Irish traditional and folk music and cultural offerings, was 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. The inaugural event was held in 2006 Events are also programmed on Moore Street and in Fingal.
The festival has attracted some of the biggest names internationally in folk and traditional Irish music such as Billy Bragg, Donovan, Janis Ian, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Martin Carthy, Maria McKee, Fairport Convention, Eddi Reader, Sarah Jarosz, Ralph McTell, Gilbert O’Sullivan, Steeleye Span and Levellers. Notable Irish acts who have performed include Glen Hansard, Stephen Rea, Matt Molloy, Sean Keane, Aoife O’Donovan, Frankie Gavin, Séamus Begley, Damien Dempsey, Declan O’Rourke, Paul Brady, Mundy, Mick Flannery, Maura O’Connell, Finbar Furey, The Dublin Legends, Clannad, Altan, Beoga, Martin Hayes, Kíla, and Stockton's Wing.
History
Since its inception in 2006 by the Temple Bar Company, TradFest 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 rock, nu folk, world music, and traditional Irish music. The incentive was to provide a musical interlude for Irish and international visitors in January, a month hitherto devoid of any festival events. The original 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 art galleries, street entertainment and markets, public houses, restaurants, and hotels.Since it formed, TradFest uses some of Dublin's historic buildings to host its concerts. This allows the event to maintain an independence in the way it is organised and the low ticket price. Venues include Dublin Castle, St Patrick's Cathedral, National Stadium, St. Stephen's Church, the Button Factory, and the Grand Social.
Fingal County Council partnership
In 2023 TradFest partnered with local authority Fingal County Council to expand TradFest and program TradFest concerts in the county of Fingal. Notable artists who have performed at TradFest in Fingal include Janis Ian, Ralph McTell, Frankie Gavin, Stephen Rea, Liam Ó Maonlaí, Stockton's Wing and Cathy Jordan. Venues include Malahide Castle, Swords Castle, Donabate Parish Hall, St. Patrick's Church, the Millbank Theatre, Skerries Mill, the Séamus Ennis Arts Centre, Draíocht and Shackleton Gardens.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. Several events have played a part in TradFest reaching a wider international audience. The Kilfenora Céilí Band 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". 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 in 2017.Notable concerts include a Clannad reunion at Christ Church Cathedral in 2011 and The Dubliners celebrating their 50th anniversary at the same venue in 2012, just three months before Barney McKenna 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 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 for his play Ages of the Moon, which opened in New York and Dublin, starring actors Sean McGinley and festival patron Stephen Rea. New works by Declan O’Rourke and Miles Dungan were showcased in 2014. More recently TradFest had the privilege of inviting folk icons Janis Ian and Ralph McTell to perform and receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the festival in 2024. Irish artist Hozier made a surprise appearance during Allison Russell's performance at St. Patrick's Cathedral in 2024. In 2024 the festival featured a new TradFest musical commission Ocean Child by composer Neil Martin and performed by Actor, Stephen Rea commemorating the 170th anniversary of the tragic sinking of The RMS Tayleur, off Lambay Island, also known as the first Titanic.