Tune into trad at Ireland’s upcoming music festivals

From the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann – the biggest event on the Irish music and cultural calendar – to West Cork’s Masters of Tradition and lots of local festivals in between, there’s a wealth of trad music to enjoy in Ireland this August.

The music strikes up on the first weekend in August with the 46th Ballyshannon Folk and Trad Festival in County Donegal, the longest running festival of its kind in Ireland. With a line-up that includes trad and folk music royalty Dónal Lunny and De Danann, as well as pub sessions, busking competitions, a showcase competition and much more, it’s a great start to the month.

Hot on its heels, Mullingar, County Westmeath, in Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands, will host the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann from 6 to 14 August.

The festival will feature lively music competitions, hundreds of pub and street sessions, concerts, singing, dancing, busking, marching and céilí bands, as well as the world’s largest gathering of traditional Irish banjo players.

With some 500,000 visitors expected to attend, the fleadh will turn the quiet town of Mullingar into a giant trad party.

Later in the month, the West Cork Masters of Tradition Festival (23–27 August) will showcase artists who have reimagined traditional music and will explore ways in which this music can relate to other music forms.

Alongside performances from top musicians, some of which will take place in beautiful eighteenth-century Bantry House, there will be discussions exploring music, creativity, tradition, philosophy and history. The festival’s popular lunchtime secret concert events also return. These take place in unusual locations and the performer remains unknown until the concert begins.

Alternatively, you can head to the tiny island of Inishbofin off the County Galway coast to enjoy the Desmond O’Halloran Music Weekend (25–27 August). Celebrating the life and legacy of singer, musician, performer and islander Desmond O’Halloran, the festival promises a weekend of music and arts events across the island. In between enjoying the tunes, take the chance to follow one of the looped walks on the island and soak up the stunning Atlantic scenery.

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