Fiddler on the roof?

THE Kilfenora Céilí Band followed in the steps of the legendary U2 last week when they played in a very unusual location. The band became part of the Dublin skyline when they performed at the launch of Temple Bar TradFest 2010 on top of The Clarence Hotel on Dublin’s south quays.
The programme, which includes a line-up of some of the most iconic figures in Irish traditional music coupled with the big performers of the future, will mark the fifth birthday of Dublin’s Irish Music and Culture Festival which this year includes an expanded programme featuring many free and family-orientated events.     
Ireland’s oldest céilí band features in this year’s festival alongside traditional music greats Matt Molloy, John Carty, Arty McGlynn, Mary McPartlan, Rick Epping, Aidan Brennan, Siansa, The Hounds of Ulster Flute Band, Finbar Furey, Noel Hill and Tony Linnane.
Complementing these pioneers of the tradition the festival will also include some of the most sought after, internationally known young performers such as Beoga, Téada and the sensational, all female group, Liadán.
The festival will also showcase In the Blood, a documentary on the history of the Kilfenora Céilí Band which celebrated its centenary in 2009. This screening will be followed by a short question-and-answer session with members of the band before they perform at Meeting House Square on January 31.
In his message about the 2010 programme, actor and festival patron Stephen Rea said, “TradFest has been an ambitious and broad-ranging national event, not only firming up Dublin’s reputation as the great traditional music centre we know it is but also providing a focus for traditional music nationally and internationally, where musicians and listeners from home and abroad can join together, meet and play. These are difficult economic times for contemporary Ireland but traditional music has seen times like this before. It lifted us in the past and it will continue to sustain us in the future. Our diverse and vibrant culture, which every person on this island can enjoy, is our advantage on the world stage. Engage with it and it can nourish and inspire you.”
For more information on the huge array of events taking place during Temple Bar TradFest visit www.templebartrad.com. The festival takes place from January 27 to 31.