Kilfenora
The Home of Traditional Ceili Music and The Gateway to the Burren
Here is a handy one page timetable for the 2024 Kilfenora Trad Festival for you to download.
Kilfenora Festival events 2024
Details and tickets for the main concert on Saturday night are available here. (You can book up to midday Saturday, after that get them at The Burren Visitor Centre in Kilfenora or on the door.)
All those living and/or working in the Kilfenora area are invited to attend a Town Hall meeting for the Kilfenora community on Tuesday 23 April at 7.30pm. Last held in March 2022, such is the significance of this community occasion that all four North Clare County Councillors will be attending.
The meeting will comprise updates on a range of local issues, and an opportunity to discuss these with meeting contributors and our public representatives. These are the main topics.
(i)Road Safety, Transport and Traffic management, Tourism – revealing what is under discussion locally about Kilfenora and its environs, and more broadly for N Clare.
(ii) Burren Visitor Centre – the Manager (Georgie Barnes) will address developments and plans.
(iii) Kilfenora Cathedral – Rev Vicki Lynch, appointed Vicar in 2023 – together with Dr John Treacy, Council Heritage Officer and Edel Barry, local archaeologist – will discuss repairs and usage of the Cathedral, and the graveyard research project for which a grant is being sought.
(iv) Burren Village signage scheme – Carol Gleeson will explain the Unesco Geopark’s new Burren village signage scheme, for which Kilfenora has been the pilot project.
(v) Kilfenora Tidy Towns – an update on the team’s efforts to improve the village’s appearance.
(vi) Sustainable Energy Project – what’s happening next, after preparation of a Kilfenora Masterplan.
(vii) Common Knowledge – co-founder Harrison Gardner will give a brief explanation of the purpose of this new centre for traditional skills; Stephen Hegarty will talk about the Common Ground workshops for community groups in which Kilfenora is represented.
Contributors have been asked to keep their remarks succinct, so that after approx. an hour attendees can talk to the various contributors and councillors in person at various different tables. Please come and join the discussion about our community’s future.
There is a range of activities spanning Holy Week in Kilfenora this year.
In St Fachnan’s Parish Church, services begin on Wednesday night at 8pm with the 7 Last Words – a special evening with music and readings. On Holy Thursday the service in Kilfenora Church is at 8.15. On Good Friday there is a service at 12 noon in Kilfenora and another at 3pm in Inchovea.
On Holy Saturday there is a service at 8pm in Kilfenora Church. On Easter Sunday morning there are two services – 9am in Inchovea and 11am in Kilfenora.
Meanwhile Kilfenora Cathedral is being opened to the public from Thursday to Monday 2-5pm for contemplation of its historic interior, and also to view some contemporary artwork by Patrick Lynch entitled “Lament”, featuring the Stations of the Cross. Thanks in advance to volunteers from Kilfenora and the Church of Ireland for being on duty.
On Good Friday there will be a service of music and poetry at 7pm in Kilfenora Cathedral.
The Burren Visitor Centre café will re-open on Monday 11 March, and will be open 7 days a week (9-4pm). Hours may be extended from Easter weekend.
The full Burren Visitor Centre (craft shop, visitor information point, Burren and Kilfenora Céilí Band exhibitions) will open from Saturday 16 March (9-4pm).
A new manager has been appointed and started work. Georgia Barnes moved to Kilfenora parish post-Covid, where she has been restoring a cottage near Kilfenora with her partner (Jim), and has also been working recently with Hazel Mountain Chocolate. She began her career as a schoolteacher, rising to Assistant School Head, before founding a sizeable wellness centre and café in the UK (still operational). She also has marketing and digital services experience, as well as a track record of community involvement.
The Burren Visitor Centre is seeking a General Manager to lead one of Ireland’s most interesting tourism businesses, and to build its reputation as a ‘must-visit’ gem near the Wild Atlantic Way.
The Burren Visitor Centre is Ireland’s first ever interpretative centre, created as an essential introduction to the world-famous Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark. It is a cooperative owned by the North Clare community, serving both visitors and the local community, based in historic Kilfenora, Co Clare.
This post requires a committed individual who is keen to develop personally as well as grow the business. The role includes marketing and managing recently re-designed Exhibitions; a popular Café, Craft Shop and online presence; and the people who work at the Centre full-time and seasonally. Experience in hospitality or tourism management is a distinct advantage.
Please email your CV to [email protected] by 20 January 2024.
The Kilfenora Traditional Music Festival 2024 will run from Friday 26 to Monday 29 April.
This will be the 15th festival in a series that began in 2009 with the centenary of the Kilfenora Céilí Band. The festival is noted for great concerts and céilís, plus cracking CD launches and pub sessions. It is intended to adopt a similar format to previous years with events and sessions on the Friday and Monday as well.
Our main concert on Saturday night will feature the much-praised duo of Tommy Fitzharris and Dónal McCague, joined by the wonderful singing of Nell Ni Chroinin (from the band Danu) and the in-demand and masterful guitar playing of Colm O’Caoimh (of the band Caladh Nua). And as always we will feature a talented prize-winner from the Meitheal Summer School – this year it is Hannah Lyons, a harpist from Mayo. Tickets are available online here, from The Burren Visitor Centre in Kilfenora or Custy’s Records in Ennis.
On Friday night we will stage another dance spectacular, following the success of last years’ event. We are inviting back the Avalon Celtic Dance Company (for their 20th anniversary) together with talented young dancers and musicians from North Clare. For more information click here.
CD launches this year are by Seán Lyons, The O’Loughlin Family and David Sanders – all from Co Clare. For more information click here.
Other events being planned include a céilí with the Star of Munster Céilí Band on Saturday night, followed by Ollie Mullooley’s Trad Disco, and a fantastic line-up for the Riches of Clare concert in Kilfenora Cathedral. For more information click here.
Of course the highlight on Sunday will be the open-air céilí in the Square with the great Kilfenora Céilí Band, preceded by performances by young local musicians.
And for those wanting to learn we have dance workshops from Monday 22 to Friday 26 April (mornings – but not Wednesday) and instrumental sessions for young musicians and learners on Saturday and Sunday. Click here for more information.
Keep up to date with festival information and more with our Facebook page,
