Craic agus ceol at BEO Trad Fest

BEO Ballymun Trad and Ballads festival celebrated its fourth year in style earlier this month, playing host to some of the best local and national musicians from the Irish Trad scene.

From lunchtime ceol sessions to a headline gig by Donal Lunny and Andy Irvine, there was something for everyone during what turned out to be a great week in Ballymun.

Local musicians The Rooneys and Clann Rí Liamo launched this year’s festival on Tuesday, June 6, in the Council Chambers at the Civic Centre.

The festival had many brilliant events including free trad sessions in axis café all week.

On Wednesday there was a Céilí on the Plaza with the cream of local talent playing as pupils from Virgin Mary Girls School and Gaelscoil Bhailemunna performed on Cearnóg an tSeachtar Laoch to thrilled onlookers.

That night the brilliant Radhairc Ceilteach’s music students, young and old, took to the stage of axis with tin whistles, fiddle, guitar and more.

And axis was packed to the rafters as nearly 100 musicians performed throughout the evening.

Thursday saw Paddy Cullivan (Late Late Show band and Callan’s Kicks) bring his musical satire ‘10 Dark Secrets of the Irish Rebellion’ to axis and the Setanta Clubhouse hosted a tribute gig for late musician Tony Olwill

On the Friday the festival was headlined by Donal Lunny and Andy Irvine who re-united  for the final concert.

These two giants of the Irish trad scene played to a packed and enthralled audience, supported on the night by local musicians Tommy Smith, Noreen Leech, Majella O’ Beirne and John Adams.

Beo Ballymun is a community initiative funded and supported by Dublin City Council area office and the Arts office.

It’s produced by axis Ballymun in collaboration with a working group of local musicians and organisations.

The aim of the festival is to celebrate traditional Irish music in a local, urban context, with a mixture of local, national and international acts and 2017 saw the biggest and best one yet.

The festival will be back in 2018, and it has some hard acts to follow.