Temple Bar TradFest is an annual music and culture festival that takes place in late January in Dublin, Ireland. It is organised by the Temple Bar Company, a not-for-profit organisation who work on behalf of businesses in the cultural quarter of Temple Bar, Dublin, Ireland. The festival celebrates traditional Irish and folk music and cultural offerings. The five-day festival attracted almost 25,000 visitors in 2017 and has become a draw for international audiences travelling from the US, UK and Europe. It is one of Ireland's few independent and not-for-profit festivals, with ticket sales kept to a minimum price to ensure value for money for those attending. The festival has carved out a niche in attracting some of the biggest names internationally in folk and traditional Irish music. Billy Bragg, Donovan, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Maria McKee, Eddie Reader, Sarah Jarosz, Ralph McTell, Gilbert O’Sullivan and The Levellers have headlined at the festival. Ireland's best known troubadours and balladeers have graced the festival line up including: Glen Hansard; Aoife O’Donovan; Damien Dempsey; Declan O’Rourke; Paul Brady; Mundy; Mick Flannery; Maura O’Connell; and Finbar Furey. Ireland's top traditional Irish music groups and artists have performed at TradFest including: The Fureys; The Dublin Legends; Clannad; Altan; Beoga, who feature on Ed Sheeran'sGalway Girl; Martin Hayes; Kila; and Stockton's Wing. The thirteenth edition of the festival tookplace on the 24th until the 28th of January 2018. More information on Temple Bar TradFest can be found on the official website, Temple Bar Trad .
History
Since its inception in 2005 by the Temple Bar Company, TradFest has expanded its offering to reflect the festival's 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 rock; nu folk; world music; and traditional Irish music. The festival's initial incentive was to provide a musical interlude for Irish and international visitors in January, a month void of any festival events until the formation of TradFest. 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, is Chairman of the Temple Bar Company. Martin Harte is the company's CEO and oversees the organization of TradFest annually. Stephen Rea, the Irish actor, is a patron of the festival. Rea was nominated an Academy Award for his role in the Neil Jordan directed 1992 box office hit, The Crying Game. Kieran Hanrahan is the festival's programme director. The Irish radio host and musician presents Ceílí House, a weekly show on RTÉ Radio 1. 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; The House of Lords ; St Michan's ; St Werburgh's ; St Patrick's Cathedral; and Christchurch.
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 promotional events have played a part in TradFest reaching an international audience. The Kilfenora Céilí Band performed a free concert on top of the hotel belonging to U2, The Clarence Hotel. It was the same venue where U2 performed to promote their song, Beautiful Day. Beoga also did a naked photo shoot for TradFest. The group have gone on to fame for their part in Ed Sheeran's Galway Girl and performed on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury in 2017. Some of the most notable concerts at TradFest include a Clannad reunion at Christchurch cathedral. The Dubliners celebrated their 50th anniversary at Christchurch Cathedral in 2012, just three months before Barney McKennapassed away. The festival has always supported contemporary commissions including two by renowned composer Lorcan McMathuna which celebrate the Battle of Clontarf and the 1916 Rising. New works by singer songwriter Declan O’Rourke have been showcased at TradFest.
