The Temple Bar TradFest began in 2005. Prior to this Dublin City had been lacking a festival which celebrated Traditional Irish Music and Culture for over 20 years. A voluntary membership based organization, Temple Bar Traders, which is made up of business, cultural organizations and services in the Temple Bar area came together to start the Temple Bar TradFest . Since that time the festival has continued to grow in size, recognition and quality.
The Temple Bar TradFest has gained a reputation as the one of the biggest and best traditional Irish music and culture festivals in Ireland. It is now a firm fixture on the National and International festival calendar. The TradFest attracts visitors from all over Ireland and all over the world. In 2012 we had visitors from as far as Japan, Australia and New Zealand come to Temple Bar for the festival.
The festival takes place over six days and six nights with over 200 events. The festival has been recognised for its contribution to Irish traditional music and culture with several awards including Best Traditional Music Festival in the 2008 and 2009 Festival Awards. Temple Bar TradFest is one of the key festivals taking part in The Gathering organised by Fáilte Ireland that aims to bring the Irish diaspora home. Numerous iconic venues are used to host concerts featuring talented and beloved musicians from Ireland (and further afield) such as The Dubliners, Clannad, Moya Brennan, and Ralph McTell. These venues include Christ Church Cathedral, Dublins City Hall, The New Theatre and the Button Factory.
It is an important part of the festival to support upcoming Irish talent, each year we host IMRO showcase and give upcoming bands the opportunity to partake in headline concerts.
Of course each year the programme only gets bigger so there will be new additions to TradFest 2013, one being the Irish Stock Exchange. We also have a Music Trail with live Irish musicians performing throughout the pubs of Temple Bar.
Our family programme features a Children’s Hub in the Ark, 2 outdoor stages of free music, street performers, Irish dancers and much, much more.
The Temple Bar TradFest is organised and project managed by the Temple Bar Company, the local traders group in Temple Bar as a non-profit venture. We pump every cent into presenting musicians and performances of the highest calibre at the lowest feasible ticket price, thus opening up the festival to as broad an audience as possible.
For further information about Temple Bar Traders, please contact:
claudine@templebarcompany.com
or call us on +353 1 7030700
