The 2014 Sliabh Luachra Music Trail, celebrating the unique traditional music style of the area, will be launched by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan TD, at Ballydesmond Community Centre, on this Friday evening, March 7th.
The initiative aims to create a year-round calendar of events, bringing together festivals and venues throughout the region to attract visitors with an interest in the music and culture of the region.
Exciting Initiative
This exciting initiative is being led by the Arts Offices of Cork and Kerry County Council with assistance from IRD Duhallow. Discussions leading to Friday night’s launch have been on-going for the past couple of years.
Sliabh Luachra, which straddles the borders of northwest Cork and east Kerry, occupies a unique position in the world of traditional music. It is associated with a specific and idiomatic traditional music style. The Sliabh Luachra Music Trail will celebrate this tradition. The Inaugural 2014 concert on the Sliabh Luachra Music Trail, in association with Kanturk Arts Festival, is on March 15th and features Matt Cranitch and Jackie Daly, Conal Ó Gráda, Con Fada Ó Drisceoil and TG4 Young Musician of The Year, Toureencahill accordion player, Bryan O’Leary.
Musical Heritage
“As well as promoting the region’s rich musical heritage, the Sliabh Luachra Music Trail hopes to ultimately play a role in celebrating and preserving its style and repertoire. One of the key aims is to publish a calendar of events highlighting festival activity and regular music sessions throughout the region,” said Cian Heffernan of the Cork County Council Arts Office.
The Sliabh Luachra Music Trail for 2014 includes: The Maurice O’Keeffe Festival in Kiskeam, Co. Cork in April; Con Curtin Festival in Brosna in June; Scully’s Fest, Newmarket Co. Cork in August and the Patrick O’Keeffe Traditional Music Festival in Castleisland on October 24th – 27th.
It has the makings of a great Friday night in Ballydesmond and the start of something out of which only good can come.
