Lucrative Trad Festival for Ennis

UP to 15,000 music enthusiasts are expected in the county town from Thursday evening to join in Ennis Trad Festival, bringing a welcome cash injection for hospitality, accommodation and retail business people.
From Thursday evening at the launch in the Old Ground Hotel until Monday night, Ennis will be alive with the sound of top-class traditional music, drawing crowds from all over Ireland and abroad.
Many come to play in the almost non-stop pub sessions and attend the headline acts, while others who don’t play come to soak up the atmosphere and take a well-earned break.
Director of Ennis Trad Festival, John Rynne confirmed accommodation in all of the local hotels is booked up, as is hostel accommodation.
“Local B&Bs are also doing very well. As always, it will be difficult to get a bed in Ennis during the Trad Festival. Some local people have rooms to rent and details of this can be found on the website, www.ennistradfestival.com. There is also a knock-on benefit to accommodation in adjacent areas, including Corofin, Inagh and Quin.
“Going by the amount of people who came to Ennis for the festival in recent years, we are expecting up to 15,000 in the coming days, certainly over the weekend. Pubs, restaurants and shops throughout the town are also very busy during the festival, so it’s particularly good for Ennis during tough economic times and during the quiet month of November. Many who come to the festival also visit other parts of Clare, so it certainly has advantages for the rest of the county too,” he said.
He added that year-on-year, people travel from the Scandinavian countries, France, Japan, Italy, America, Germany and all over the United Kingdom.
“A lot of those who come, come repeatedly and we find that many are making it part of their main holiday each year and stay in Ireland for up to three weeks, with one week in Clare to coincide with the Ennis Trad Festival.
“Interestingly, there are two separate groups of Vietnam veterans from the States who have come to the festival a number of times. One of the groups has six members and this is their 10th consecutive year coming to the festival,” Mr Rynne remarked.
Meanwhile, a Clare Tourism Forum promotional DVD showcasing the best of what Clare has to offer tourists was launched in Glór on Wednesday evening by six-time Academy Award nominee, Jim Sheridan.
The tourism DVD, which is the first marketing tool of its kind for the county, showcases the inimitable beauty and cultural heritage of the Banner County. The launch also featured live entertainment by Ennis singer, Maura O’Connell, traditional music by local musicians, the Shannon Heritage Traditional Irish Night entertainers and complimentary food from artisan and local food producers.