Artistic Director of Belfast TradFest, Dónal O' Connor writes about the vision for the festival in a city that is reshaping and reconfiguring itself post-conflict.

Belfast TradFest and Ulster University are delighted to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that formally recognises…

I was in Nor’n Irelan’ at the end of July for my annual week of Belfast TradFest. It was the best one yet…

I have been attending Belfast TradFest for the past few years, both as an attendee and as a volunteer, it’s safe to say Belfast comes alive in a really amazing way…

Louth native Donal O’Connor, the artistic director of Belfast TradFest, comes from traditional music royalty…

“The energy that TradFest brings to the city when you see young, and not so young, people walking the streets with instruments on their backs…”

Ronán Eastwood, set dance master, on his perfect weekend…

We are deeply grateful to our 2025 bursary sponsors, whose incredible generosity made it possible for…

What do the Tardis, The Radio Times and the Belfast TradFest programme have in common?

My love affair with traditional music, and the uilleann pipes in particular, continues.  Like all relationships, it’s had many highs and a good few lows…

“Aye we’ve 5 seasons in East Belfast”  I explained to a tourist who’d come here for the Hearth session: “Summer, winter, autumn, spring…and the Marching Season.”…

“Sing us a wee song Jack, would ye?” I asked Jack Warnock, a fantastic young traditional musician who’d joined us for the Hearth session.  “No problem, what were you thinking?” …

“That was a wee moment in history David!” said my mate.  “You’re gonna have to start charging an entry fee!” said another.  I was both delighted and emotional…

“That was brilliant David!” said my mate Phil Hart (who’s a fantastic finger picking guitarist).  I’m not a proper singer, but I’d just got up and sung “Will ye go lassie go?”…

I’d plucked up the courage to step into the Garrick with my pipes on a bustling Friday evening.  The Garrick’s a wonderful old Belfast bar with a great reputation for serious, quality, high-end trad…

Traditional music has also always been one of my great loves, but I only started trying to play it relatively recently. I made the mistake of falling in love a while ago with the uilleann pipes and I’m still trying to wrestle them to the ground…

When we started The Hearth session in October ‘23, I wasn’t sure how it would go.  Turns out, it’s landed well: 10-20 musicians…

At Belfast TradFest, we’re committed to sustainability and reducing our environmental impact. Last summer, we donated…

Even as a beginner, the supportive atmosphere made it feel like we were all part of something bigger - keeping the tradition alive…

I started learning the fiddle 5 years ago and have been attending the Belfast TradFest for the past 3 years. As someone who is relatively fresh to the traditional music world…