Bantry is gearing up for another lively week of activity, with the 15th instalment of Masters Of Tradition taking place from August 23rd to 27th.
BANTRY is gearing up for another lively week of activity, with the 15th instalment of Masters Of Tradition taking place from August 23rd to 27th.Â
Locals and visitors will be treated to a series of concerts in St Brendan's Church and Bantry House, performed by a collection of Ireland's finest traditional musicians.
Artistic Director of the festival, Martin Hayes, will be joined by Dennis Cahill, Iarla Ó Lionáird, CaoimhÃn Ó Raghallaigh, MÃcheál Ó Súilleabháin, Colin Dunne, Steve Cooney, Cathal Hayden, Seamie O'Dowd, Stephen Hayden, Len Graham, Jack Lynch, Kate Ellis, John Carty, Mary MacNamara, Sorcha Costello, Slow Moving Clouds, Mick O'Brien, Neil Ó Loclainn's Cuar, and more, to celebrate Irish traditional music in its purest form.
The festival opens in the Maritime Hotel, when fiddler Martin Hayes and guitarist Dennis Cahill are joined by cellist and Artistic Director of Crash Ensemble Kate Ellis, and one of the leading figures in Irish traditional dance, Colin Dunne. St Brendan's Church is the venue for the following night's concert and welcomes concertina player Mary MacNamara and her fiddler daughter Sorcha Costello, alongside singer John Flanagan and fiddler John Carty.
Festival favourite Steve Cooney returns to Bantry House on Friday August 25th for the Ceolchoirm with uilleann piper Mick O'Brien, fiddler CaoimhÃn Ó Raghallaigh, singer Iarla Ó Lionáird and pianist MÃcheál Ó Súilleabháin. Later that evening, Slow Moving Clouds make their Masters of Tradition debut.Â
This Dublin-based trio combines roots in Nordic and Irish traditional music with minimalist and experimental influences. They recently moved audiences with their powerful score for Teac Damsa's Swan Lake/Loch na hEala at Clonmel Junction Festival.
On Saturday August 26th, singer Len Graham and storyteller Jack Lynch take to the Bantry House stage with fiddler and banjo player Cathal Hayden, guitar Seamie O'Dowd and fiddler Stephen Hayden. The late night NÃos Deanaà features Neil Ó Lochlainn's Cuar, featuring Aoife Nà Bhriain and Matthew Berrill.
Martin Hayes, Dennis Cahill and friends bring Masters of Tradition to a rousing finale on Sunday August 27th at Bantry House. Tickets can be booked online at www.westcorkmusic.ie or by ringing the Festival office on +353 (0) 27 52788
