A cornucopia of music and laughter: Belfast Tradfest is on its way

By Robert McMillen

This article appeared in the Irish News June 27, 2025 at 6:00am BST

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

Well, the good Doctor’s time-travelling machine is the size of a police call box on the outside but as big as Larne on the inside; an old motto for the Radio Times was “I didn’t think there was so much in it” and although it’s only 5.8 x 8.3 inches the Belfast Tradfest programme contains more joy and happiness than a than a convention of Euromillion winners..

There was the usual excited air of expectancy at the launch of Belfast Tradfest 2025 in the Empire Music Hall on Botanic Avenue as director Dónal O’Connor give us the rundown of the pleasures in store between 27 July and 3 August.

“From the cobbled streets of the Cathedral Quarter to the grandeur of the Ulster Hall, from late night sessions to world class concerts, Belfast Tradfest is a meeting place of generations, of cultures, and of hearts and minds,” he told a packed Empire Music Hall where some of the more enticing gigs are to be held.

“There really is something for everybody at this festival, from concerts, céilís, sessions and talks.

“And if you’re really lucky, you might get to see an uilleann piper successfully navigate the revolving doors of the Ulster University!” he laughed.

This year’s festival will see 17 concerts, 105 sessions on the Dunville’s Irish Whiskey session trail, four festival club concerts, twelve céílíthe and even a highland piping competition.

Indeed, on the balcony of the Empire Music Hall, attendees at the launch were regaled by pipers, Ian Burrows and Andy McGregor.

However, the gigs that will draw the biggest crowds will be – I might be biased here – the evergreen Dervish who will play with Notify, the Irish Concertina Orchestra, and the MGCE Concert Orchestra.

It’s quite an eclectic line-up so anything can happen!

Áras Mhic Reachtain – opposite the Waterworks on Belfast’s Antrim Road – will play host to Na Máistrí, masters (and mistresses) of traditional music with cellist Neil Martin as MC on Monday, 28 July.

The evening will feature Mary Bergin on tin whistle, Cathy Jordan on vocals, Shane Mitchell on accordion, painter and musician Brian McDonagh on bouzouki, Niamh Ní Charra (concertina) & Kevin Corbett (guitar) with Stephanie Keane adding the sean-nós dancing.

Belfast’s great flute-playing tradition will be honoured in the annual Flutopia gig; Belfast’s own Seán Maguire will be revered by Kevin Burke, Zoë Conway and Jack Talty and other A-listers; Ceol na nGael features Iarla Ó Lionáird, John Carthy, John Doyle, Caitlín Nic Gabhann & Ciarán Mooney, Miadhchlughain O’Donnell and Caitríona Ní Ghribín but there are far to many great gigs, big and small to mention be they in big halls such as the Mandela and the Ulster Hall to smaller venues and pubs.

For the dancers, there is the Pride Céilí, Set Céilís and the famous Titanic Céilí on the Maritime Mile.

However, the raison d’être of the Belfast Tradfest is its summer school and this year, there are 60 classes in all instruments as well as song and dance, with over 750 students from Belfast and beyond as Dónal explained.

“Students are attending from 32 countries, including Greece, Japan, Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, China, Qatar, Thailand, New Zealand and many more countries besides, which I think shows the international reach of the Belfast Tradfest,” he says.

Anyone who has ever experienced the Tradfest will be amazed by the fact that there is no generation gap in traditional music. The passing on, the teaching of not just tunes, but attitudes and behaviours, is a sine qua non of the development of the music’s longevity.

Young musicians will find themselves having a chat, or sharing a tune or a song with the biggest names in the business and that is part of the success of Belfast Tradfest, as Donal O’Connor pointed out to the young musicians who might want to attend the summer school.

“We exist to support you, to provide opportunities for you, to showcase young and emerging artists, to celebrate your music, and to provide opportunities to recognise your brilliance.

“We know what it’s like to be a musician. It’s a life full of financial instability, creative burnout and pressure to constantly produce, mental health struggles, the need for constant self-promotion and online presence, unsociable work schedules and balancing artistic vision with commercial demands.

“These challenges make your dedication and resilience all the more remarkable, and it underlines the importance of supportive ecosystems like funding bodies, community festivals and festivals like ours.

“We are absolutely dedicated to creating accessible opportunities for musicians, young and old,” he said.

Some of that is done via bursaries which allows budding trad musicians attend the Belfast Summer School of Traditional Music, which takes place from Monday 28 July to Friday 1 August in partnership with Ulster University.

The week-long immersive programme allows students to learn from world-class musicians, perform at iconic venues such as Belfast Cathedral and build lifelong connections with the traditional music community.

“This year, Belfast Tradfest launched the All-Ireland Residential Bursary Scheme, where young musicians from all over Ireland can come to Belfast on fully-funded bursaries, including accommodation, to our summer school while we also raised enough to offer out almost 100 non-residential bursaries this year, says Dónal.

To the uninitiated, traditional Irish music might seem insular and introverted but speaking the launch, Minister for the Economy Caoimhe Archibald spoke of attending ITB, one of the biggest tourism conferences in the world.

“During the day people, are at their exhibition stands in a conference centre, but at night countries host separate events in separate venues where they try to sell their special offering to tourist operators,” she recalled.

“The competition to attract people is fierce so Tourism Ireland could have presented on our wonderful landscapes or our golf courses or attractions such as the Titanic.

“Instead, it booked a pub, stocked it with Guinness and put on traditional music. The place was absolutely packed and of course the atmosphere was electric. So that’s a good indication of traditional music’s importance to tourism,” asserted the Stormont minister responsible for tourism.

However, all that is one a different level. What is most important is the nurturing family atmosphere of the Belfast Tradfest, the unbelievable diversity of what is called traditional music, the laughter and the friendship.

Belfast Tradfest runs from 27 July - 3 August this year and full details are available from belfasttradfest.com

And if you want to get a flavour of the launch, the whole thing was recorded and will be broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 tomorrow night at 9pm with Céilí House being introduced by Kieran Hanrahan.