Kilkenny Tradfest kicks off today for its fifth year, and the lineup includes the best names in traditional music. With performances from Eleanor McEvoy, Beoga, Ushers Island, Pauline Scanlon, Declan Sinnott & Vickie Keating and The Voice Squad, and Paul Brady as a headliner, there’s no better way to spend St Patrick’s Day weekend.
The festival is set to take over the town, filling venues such as Kilkenny Castle and St Canice’s Cathedral, and the new Medieval Mile Museum. Some events are even free admission.
This year, the theme of the festival will be the life and works of Jonathan Swift. Famous for his book Gulliver's Travels Swift studied at Kilkenny College, which has now become the headquarters for Kilkenny County Council. Pictured above are children dressing up to pay tribute to Swift's work. Kilkenny Tradfest Chairperson Malcolm Noonan said, "We are extremely proud of Jonathan Swift’s ties to Kilkenny and what better way to pay homage to this than to dedicate our St Patrick’s Day festival to him?”
This year’s festival promises to provide a platform for Ireland’s female musicians, with artists such as Eleanor McEvoy, Vickie Keating, Mary McNamara, Heidi Talbot and more taking centre stage. Noonan said of the lineup, “We’re thrilled to reveal such an incredible line up of female performers for our 2017 festival. There is no denying that Ireland leads the way when it comes to female artists, and we wanted to put some of these names at the centre of our festival. We are honoured that such talented women from across many musical backgrounds will play Kilkenny Tradfest 2017, and we’ve no doubt that they will bring with them huge crowds.”
For more information about acts, times and locations, go to kilkennytradfest.com.