AN UPLIFTING Feakle Festival is promised from August 4 to 8, with a surge of interest in the return of full in-person workshops, sessions and concerts.
Organisers of the 35th festival have just launched a new website, which captures a sense of what’s in store as some of Ireland’s finest traditional musicians prepare to gather for the eagerly-awaited event.
“We’re thrilled with how the site has turned out,” said Aoife Hayes, a member of the festival’s organising committee. “Planning for the site was done by our full team, but because I’m one of the youngest people involved, I got the job of working on the layout and the script. The site was created by Jereon Bos (Artvaark Design) and we left the design completely his hands.”
The site has several important features, including a direct link for ticket sales to the Glór box office.
“Tickets were always available through Glór,” Aoife said, “but now we have the link straight to their box office, so that’s a huge help. We also have a lovely gallery of photos from Bob Singer.
“He’s an Australian who had created a great blog. It’s brilliant to have those pictures because it gives people a real sense of the festival and is lovely way to showcase memories of previous events.”
Gary Pepper described the new site as “very cheerful” and a great way to mark the return of normal festival activities after the pandemic. Last year, events were mainly online, with organisers determined to keep the festival going, in some form.
This year, workshops, concerts and sessions will take place at venues all over the village, with the main concerts scheduled for the Saturday and Sunday nights at St Mary’s Church.
“It’s great to be back,” Gary said. “There is a little bit of nervousness after two years. We’ve been in a kind of semi-sleep and had gotten a bit used to our comfort zone. It’s time to snap out of that and get used to life after Covid.
“Now we’re back in every sense. We’re going to be busy, busy. The music people are talking and they’re getting ready to travel to Feakle. Once the opening flag is raised, it becomes the people’s festival with the great tidal wave that goes with it.”
A veteran of the organising committee, Gary said there is still a bit of work to do to “oil the wheels”.
“There is still a lot of things to keep an eye on, but we do get to sit back a bit and enjoy things, once the festival opens,” he said.
“It has been a very tough couple of years for everyone and it has been very difficult for our traditional artists. Clare County Council and The Arts Council have provided great support to keep the show on the road. The real test was The Willie Clancy Summer School which was a phenomenal success this year.
“People are over-joyed and delighted to be meeting and playing together again, so we’re really looking forward to musicians of all vintages getting together in Feakle next month.
“The concerts will be great and our line up includes Geraldine Cotter, Martin Hayes, Edwina Guckian, Síle Denver and Barry Kerr, Conor Connolly, Mary McNamara, Donal Murphy, Cormac Begley and more. It’s top drawer and a great programme by any standards. We’re going to have really uplifting festival this year.”
Aoife, who is a talented fiddler, will be flat-out too, along with her sister, Ciara (concertina) helping to keep the festival events running smoothly.
“We’ll certainly be kept going with lots of jobs,” she said. “Once the festival is on, I only really go home to sleep. I’ve grown up with the festival and it’s always something to look forward to once summer comes. This year, we’re super excited. It’s going to be great to have everyone back and to meet people again.”
Full details of all events are available on feaklefestival.ie as well as on Facebook and Instagram.