By Carol Byrne
SIXMILEBRIDGE Folk Club will host two concerts this month; the first on Wednesday next at the Mill Bar, and the second in the soon-to-be opened Kilkishen Cultural Centre.
The new centre will be the venue for a folk club concert with the Mulcahy’s traditional music family on May 16.
Now in its 16th year, the folk club has changed venues many times, starting with McGregor’s in Sixmilebridge, then the parochial hall, followed by the Courthouse.
They are now firmly established in Gallagher’s, Kilkishen, and also return on a regular basis to both Gleeson’s and the Mill Bar, in Sixmilebridge.
However, with the opening of the new Cultural Centre in Kilkishen, Brendan Walsh, said this will mark a new beginning for the club, as they aim to promote it as a top-class acoustic music venue.
“It will be a huge asset to the folk club, as it is a state-of-the-art heritage venue with a capacity of 80. As an old church, it will hold wide appeal to both audiences and artistes alike.
“Our inaugural concert in Kilkishen is the third concert of a series of traditional concerts, featuring Noel Hill, John Carty and now the Mulcahy’s,” he said.
The John Lowell BluegrassBand, a four-piece contemporary bluegrass band, based in Montana, will play in the Mill Bar on Wednesday. It consists of John Lowell on vocals and guitars, Julie Elkins on banjo and vocals, Tom Murphy on mandolin and vocals and Ben Somers on bass and vocals.
The Mulcahy’s of Abbeyfeale, West Limerick, are made up of Mike, Michelle and Louise Mulcahy, who perform an array of instruments between them.
Their latest album, Reelin’ in Tradition, has received worldwide acclaim and is full of soulful traditional music rooted in the West Limerick, Sliabh Luachra and Clare tradition.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.