Successful Tullamore TradFest ends on a high note

After an absence of three years Tullamore TradFest has firmly re-established itself as one of the midland’s premier events on the calendar.

Over the course of three nights the town was alive with the sight, and very much the sounds, of musicians, their extended families, friends and visitors to the town.

Over the course of the weekend there had been visitors from other counties, the UK, America, Spain and even India. After a hiatus of some three years the TradFest Committee had promised a stellar line-up, and they absolutely delivered it in spades.
From Friday night’s initial broadcast with Midlands 103 the music continued almost non-stop until the early hours of Monday night, with little space between.

There were numerous highlights over the weekend, from individual performances on the session trail through to instrument recital moments and concert high-points.

Téada were particularly impressive on Friday night and set the tone for what was to follow. The Festival Club in Fergie’s (featuring Damien Mullane) was the musician’s night out, and boy, did they enjoy it dancing the night away into the early hours.

Rumours of what was happening in Tullamore obviously had spread, when Natahan Carter and his entourage took time from their schedule to soak up the craic, atmosphere and party atmosphere at the Festival Club.

They were spotted again on Sunday morning enjoying the showmanship of a once off performance from the Splendid Isolation big band which included Scottish fiddler, Benedict Morris and Laois percussionist, Paul Higgins on the gig-rig in O’ Connor Square.

Concerts, recitals, instruments workshops, session trail, singing sessions and more were all available over the weekend. It appears this musical menu whetted the appetite of many musicians and locals alike.

However, one of the closing events that must be noted was the concert celebrating the life and music of Ashling Murphy, in the Tullamore Court on Sunday night.

From the opening strain of the specially gathered group of 50 fiddlers, Fidileirí na Tíre, the audience was treated to a kaleidoscope of musical entertainment that truly celebrated the life of an extraordinary young lady, taken too soon.
There were so many moments of celebration, reflection, poignancy, and indeed laughter as musicians, family, friends, and acquaintances did what Irish people do, they came together as a musical family to comfort one another and lift their spirits through music.

To close the evening, the massed performers (some 160 of them) came together on stage to perform a medley of songs, The Parting Glass and This Little Light of Mine followed by two reels, The Bucks Of Oranmore and The Foxhunter.

It was haunting in it’s simplicity, beauty and poignancy, and a truly fitting way to close an exceptional weekend.
Spotted late on social media on Sunday night, the Committee had already released dates for Tullamore TradFest 2023, March 31sr - April 2nd! If 2022 was anything to go by, you might need to start booking tickets as soon as they become available.