Tipperary performer among star-studded line-up for Irish festival

The Brigid 2025, Spirit of Kildare Festival has announced the line-up for its programme, featuring some of Ireland’s most celebrated artists, performers and celebrities – with events taking place in towns and villages across Kildare from January 24 to February 3, 2025.

Delivered by Kildare County Council, leading the festival’s women-focused musical line-up are Una Healy, Imelda May, Lyra, Sharon Shannon, Róisín O, Mary Coughlan, Orla Gartland, Lisa O’Neill, Camille O’Sullivan, Lemoncello, Megan O’Neill, Irish Women In Harmony, HamsandwicH, Cathy Jordan, Eimear Quinn, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Muireann Bradley, Rachael Lavelle and Laura Whitmore.

The 2025 festival will also see a landmark He For She: An Evening For Equality concert, set to take place in Athy, which will feature a sterling line-up of male performers including Bob Geldof, Danny O’Reilly of The Coronas, Amble, Jack L and Robert Grace, among others.

Building on the success of the Brigid 1500 celebrations, which attracted nearly 80,000 visitors to Kildare in the early part of 2024, Brigid 2025 is set to deliver a bigger, bolder, and more vibrant experience as it becomes the latest cultural mainstay in an increasingly colourful annual Irish calendar.

This coming year’s festival combines intimate concerts, large-scale events, and a series of cultural gatherings that honour Brigid’s enduring legacy through the theme "Her Spirit, Our Story".

Tickets for this year's events go on sale at 12pm on Friday, December 13.

The concert series features concerts in Leixlip, Athy, Naas, The Curragh, and St. Brigid’s Cathedral in Kildare.

Friday, January 31 - Nothing Compares: A Celebration of Irish Women Artists

A night of extraordinary genre-spanning music by Irish women, will celebrate the boundless range and talent of Ireland’s contemporary female artists – as singers, songwriters, musicians and spoken word performers.

Naas will also host a special film screening, highlighting the contribution of Irish women artists to the world of cinema; and a special busking session in the courtyard of the newly refurbished Naas Library & Cultural Centre.

Starring: Una Healy, Imelda May, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Lemoncello, Rachael Lavelle with special guest Sabina Higgins, who will present a spoken word reading.

MC: Laura Whitmore

Location: The Moat Theatre, Naas

Time: 8:00pm (doors 7:00pm)