Corofin tunes up for 10th traditional festival

TEN years ago a group of friends gathered together in their local pub in Corofin and hatched a plan to bring some musicians to the village for a weekend festival. A decade later, the Corofin Traditional Festival has grown into a week-long event attracting a host of musical talent to North Clare.

Recalling the early days, festival chairman Padraic O’Reilly said, “There was a singer down from Kilkenny launching a CD here and it was a great night and we were just thinking it would be great to have more things like that here. There was very little happening in Corofin at the time. It all just grew from having a casual drink, where we decided to hold a small festival in October/November and then we had another one a few months later and it has just grown over the years.”
This year’s festival promises to be the biggest and best ever Padraic said.
“As it’s our 10th anniversary, we have really put huge effort into getting our biggest and best line-up ever together for this year. In the current times, it’s very important that events like this survive. It gives everyone a lift and the expectation among the locals is palpable.”
This year’s line-up is indeed an impressive gathering of some of traditional music’s finest exponents, including Cathal Hayden, Donal Murphy, John Blake, Lamond Gillespie, Arty McGlynn, Derek Hickey, Conal O’Grada, At the Racket, Brian Rooney and John Carty, among many others.
“Over the years we’ve gained a reputation among musicians as a festival where we treat people well and we are a quality venue. Musicians like to come here because they know there is an appreciative audience,” said Padraic.
“We’re lucky in that we are one of the best funded small traditional festivals around. We’re supported by the Arts Council and Clare County Council and numerous local patrons but we’ve been prudent in that we run what we can afford. As our funding has grown, so the festival has grown with it but we’ve never had any major profit or loss, we’ve grown organically. We certainly appreciate the funding we have received. There have been plenty of other events that have suffered cuts. We were cut two years ago and we expected it again but they obviously like what we do and we must be doing something right.”
An interesting feature of the festival is the céilí band theme from Monday to Wednesday, which will feature the famous Kilfenora and Tulla Céilí Bands, as well as the local Corofin Céilí Band.
While the festival has grown in the past 10 years, the event certainly hasn’t forgotten its roots. Opening the festival will be the Corofin Céilí Band, who launched the festival 10 years ago on their inaugural performance.
Following tradition, the first three nights of the festival will be free but this year, the committee decided that these free events will be all-ticket, such is the expected demand.
According to Padraic, the organising committee is satisfied with how the festival has developed and its current scale.
“We are at a level we are happy with. It’s a real festival for listeners. People come here because they know the place isn’t going to be flooded with people because it’s not at the height of the summer festival. There is no pushing and shoving and listeners can get close to good quality music.”
The village pubs will also host over 30 sessions throughout the week, featuring some of the country’s favourite musicians.
One guest who will no doubt attract much attention this year is Galway singer-songwriter Don Stiffe, who is creating waves as the West’s representative on The All-Ireland Talent Show.
Padraic said, “Don has been a guest of the festival on a few previous occasions and has a great many fans in this area. It’ll be nice to have him back and we’re delighted he hasn’t forgotten us among all the hype. We’ll all be voting for him in the semi-final in a number of weeks.”
As well as bringing music to the village, the festival has also benefited the local economy.
“We certainly didn’t think the festival would grow like this. It was just something that started on a whim and now it has gone on to be something that is crucial to the economy of the village. The pubs, local businesses and shops, a lot of people all depend on the festival. The community have all really got behind it. We have 10 in the committee and many of those have been involved since the beginning,” he said.
The 10th annual Corofin Traditional Festival takes place from Monday, February 28 to Sunday, March 6. Full details of the festival are available on www.corofintradfest.com. Tickets for all concerts, including free events, can be booked through the website or on the festival ticket line at 086 2647552.