Féile John Dwyer

Féile John Dwyer

Friday, 23 September 2022, 7.30pm

Féile John Dwyer returns to Waterford city again this September with an exciting programme of events including concerts, workshops, recitals and sessions. On Friday 23rd September at 19.30 in St. Patrick’s Gateway Centre, celebrated Kerry singer and flute player Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh will perform alongside Donal O’Connor (fiddle & piano) and Gerry O’Beirne (guitar). This concert will also feature a performance from uilleann piper Pádraig McGovern and flute player Dave Sheridan. Tickets for this event are €15 / €12 (students) and there will be limited capacity so early booking is advised.  

On Saturday 24th September, there will be a wide variety of instrument, singing and dance workshops from 10am – 1pm in Gaelscoil na nDéise, Carrickpherish, Waterford city. Tutors will include Connie O’Connell & Ciara Ní Bhriain (fiddles), Liam O’Brien (concertina), Dave Sheridan (flute), Padraig McGovern (uilleann pipes), Seán Kelleher (banjo), Bryan O’Leary (accordion), Becky Ní Éallaithe (sean nós dance) and Roisín Chambers (Irish language song). Admission is €20 / €15 for dance and early booking is advised as places are limited. There will be a ‘ciorcal comhrá’ (Irish language chat circle) from 10am – 11.30 in the Gaelscoil on Saturday 24th also. Tar isteach agus bí ag caint linn!  

On Saturday afternoon, Féile John Dwyer presents ‘Our Living Tradition’ in the Garter Lane Arts Centre at 2.30 featuring performances and discussion around the theme of composition in Irish Traditional Music. The compositions of some of the performers will feature, as well as performances of tunes from some of the most well-loved Irish traditional composers including John Dwyer, Charlie Lennon, Joe Liddy, and many more. Performers include Edel Fox (concertina), Connie O’Connell & Ciara Ní Bhriain (fiddles), Liam O’Brien (concertina), Dave Sheridan (flute), Padraig McGovern (uilleann pipes), Seán Kelleher (banjo) and Bryan O’Leary (accordion).This is a relaxed and informal event that you will not want to miss and best of all… IT’S FREE! Booking through Eventbrite is advised.

The Goodman Trio featuring Mick O’Brien, Emer Mayock and Ciara Ní Bhriain will headline the Saturday night concert in St. Patrick’s Gateway Centre at 19.30. Together they will perform music from a very special collection of music which originated in the southwest of Ireland in the mid-nineteenth century. Collected by Canon James Goodman (1828-96), this music was sung and played in the years before traditional culture in that region was devastated by the Great Famine of the 1840s. This concert will also feature music from Sliabh Luachra with esteemed composer and fiddle player Connie O’Connell, Kerry accordion player Bryan O’Leary and Waterford native Eibhlín De Paor on flute. Tickets for this event are €15 / €12 (students) and there will be limited capacity so early booking is advised. 

Throughout the weekend there will be sessions featuring local and not-so-local traditional musicians in bars including Katty Barry’s, Tully’s, The Reg, The Munster, Jordan’s, Tom Mahers, The Old Ground and The Tap Room.

Bookings for concerts and workshops can be made through Eventbrite.

Established in 2012, Féile John Dwyer celebrates the life of the great Cork musician who was a local hero and huge musical influence in the South East for much of his life. John passed away in August 2020, but up until that time, he was a central figure at the festival annually.

The festival is run by a voluntary committee which includes three local musicians Jimmy O’Brien Moran, Edel Fox and Neill Byrne, alongside Viv Keane, Muireann Lyng and Ollie Breslin.

For more information about the festival, check out Féile John Dwyer on Facebook, or visit https://feilejohndwyer.com/. For general enquiries, please contact the committee at feilejohndwyer [at] gmail.com.

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Published by Journal of Music on 12 September 2022

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