The musician and promoter Conor Byrne along with the promoter Singular Artists have announced a new Dublin Folk Festival taking place on 7–12 November at Liberty Hall Theatre.

There was previously a Dublin Folk Festival over four decades ago in the late 1970s that was run by Byrne’s mother, Eilish Moore, and others. Commenting on the relaunch of the festival, Byrne said:

I have fond memories of the Dublin Folk Festival back in the 70s, when I was a child. This was at a time when the folk scene in the city was buzzing in the various clubs and sessions around establishments such as Slattery’s of Capel Street and the Meeting Place in Dorset Street. You’d hear new, emerging acts of the time like Planxty, De Dannan, Clannad and The Bothy Band. With the current revival of the folk scene in the city, there is an array of talent that needs to be heard. To me, it’s a no-brainer that we should re-establish this festival and celebrate our music, our musicians and our singers. It’s been a longtime personal dream, and I’m delighted that it’s now going to be a reality.

The line-up for the festival to date includes the trio of Dermot Byrne, Bríd Harper and Steve Cooney, Gemma Hayes, John Spillane, the Daoirí Farrell Trio, Ralph McTell and Scullion.

Philip King of Scullion welcomed the return of the festival and said:

To have the Dublin Folk Festival back is a gift. At the outset several decades ago it was a precious jewel; it was the original of the species, celebrating the singers, the song carriers and the tune players who put the rhythm under the dancer’s foot. Folk music chronicles the past and heralds the future. It is ever changing, ever reinventing itself, but it is always connected to the well of tradition out of which it comes. The goings-on at the Dublin Folk Festival were programmed and curated with a real love and care for the songs and for music which was the heart and soul of the matter. And so it is today in 2023, we collapse distance and connect with the spirit of the original Dublin Folk Festival.

Support acts for the six shows will be announced shortly. Tickets for Dublin Folk Festival will be on sale on Thursday 21 September at 10am. Visit www.singularartists.ie.  

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