Kilfenora Traditional Music Festival

Kilfenora Traditional Music Festival 2026

Music lovers, you know where you should be between 24-27 April – at the 2026 annual Kilfenora Traditional Irish Music Festival!

Expect as ever a great mix of events and sessions, including the open-air céilí @ 3pm in the Square on Sunday with the famed Kilfenora Céilí Band, preceded by young North Clare musicians at 2pm.

For our main concert on Saturday night, we feature many award-winning musicians. Accordionist and singer Diarmuid Ó Meachair (Cork) and fiddler Dónal McCague (Monaghan) have both been TG4 Young Musician of the year (among many other awards) and are accompanied by Clare’s own concertina and piano whiz Jack Talty. Also on the bill is the all-star singing trio MNA from North Clare, and 2025 Meitheal prize winner Éabha Morrow on fiddle. For fuller details click here. Tickets are available now on-line here.

Friday night sees the return to its home town of the fabulous Kilfenora Roadshow, appearing in Vaughan’s Barn on 24th April at 9pm. This is a highly entertaining trad and folk band – a Culchie Cabaret with Irish traditional musicians, Irish dancers and actors. Presenting a mixture of music, storytelling, dancing and comedy, they tap into our collective innate divilment, with a special nod to the Co.Clare song archive collection. For more details and advance tickets, click here.

On Saturday in the Burren Visitor Centre, at 11.30 there is a top-class concertina recital with Tim Collins, Francis Cunningham and Aiden Quigney (in the KCB exhibition room), followed at 3pm by our annual singing session in the main Exhibition hall, led by John Condon as Fear an tí.

Also on Saturday at 1pm in Kilfenora Cathedral is the opening concert in the Riches of Clare programme (free), featuring the Mayo flute player (and multiple award-winner) Jillian O’Malley, accompanied by 2 of North Clare’s finest young musicians – Aine O’Donoghue (concertina) and Rebecca Collins (fiddle) – and Nigel Stevens on guitar and vocals.

Sunday starts with an open intermediate session in Kilfenora Community Hall @11.30 (for all ages). That is followed at 1pm in Nagles Bar with a CD launch (An tUrlar Leice) by two distinguished flute players – Michael Hynes and Kirsten Allstaff blending their respective North Clare and Scottish traditions – before the big events kick off in Kilfenora Square.

And of course every night and during the day at the weekend, there will be traditional music sessions in Vaughans and Nagles pubs with great musicians, including on Monday (5.30pm Vaughans) and 9pm (Nagles).