Dublin’s annual TradFest returned to the capital last week in full force. The Irish music festival, held in venues across Dublin, took place from the 21st to 25th of January and featured performances from trad artists like Colm Broderick and Ellen O’Brien. TradFest is officially Ireland’s largest celebration of trad and folk music.
It began as a small and niche festival in 2006 held primarily in the Temple Bar Music Centre. The festival, celebrating traditional Irish music, has since grown into a permanent fixture in the Irish festival calendar, fielding a wide range of performances over the years from bands like The Dubliners and Clannad and even a surprise performance from Hozier in 2024.
The festival takes place annually towards the end of January and is put on in collaboration with Dublin, Fingal and South Dublin City Councils. It is also often organised with the patronage of Irish celebrities such as Brendan Gleeson. This year the festival’s official patron was Oscar-nominated Irish actor Stephen Rea, who has supported the festival since 2007.
Preparations for TradFest 2026 kicked off earlier in the year when icons of the folk and trad scene such as Peggy Seeger and Seán Ó Sé were given Lifetime achievement awards by the festival. The awards were presented to them by Uachtarán na hÉireann Catherine Connolly in the GPO museum on January 9th. However, the event was inflected with a minor note of sadness less than a week later just before the festival began when the 89-year-old Seán Ó Sé, known for his classic tune An Poc Ar Buile, unexpectedly passed away. The singer-songwriter was honoured by the festival organisers for inspiring a new generation of artists with his Irish-language music
In spite of the unfortunate news, the event still went off without a hitch. This year’s lineup included a talk from Seeger as well as a series of performances held in a diverse range of music venues that ranged from St Patrick’s Cathedral to the Soundhouse. Guests were treated to performances from Irish folk legends such as Mike Hanrahan from Stockton’s Wing and multi-platinum recording artist Brian Kennedy who took a break from his busy practice for Dancing With The Stars to attend the event. The festival concluded with an intimate performance from Ralph McTell in the National Maritime Museum of Ireland.