Niamh and Siobhain O’Sullivan – Photo by Sheila Fitzgerald.

Scullysfest 2015 kicks off in Newmarket on the 7th of August, running for 4 nights until the 10th of August.  The festival began back in 2004 as a celebration of the fact that an open session has been running in Scully’s Bar since 1974.   The session began when local musicians decided to get together on a regular night to share and practice their music. Over the years a unique repertoire of music has grown from the session and many tunes from local players such as Timmy O’Connor and John Walsh have been popularised by Jackie Daly and others and are now standards in the Sliabh Luachra canon.

There’ll be events for all ages such as music workshops on the Saturday and a Books, CDs and instruments Market with BBQ on Sunday afternoon.   There’s two early mini concerts featuring Sliabh Luachra young Musician of the year Bryan O’Leary, Lisa & Mike O’Sullivan, Brendan McCarthy and the mighty Tim Browne with a splash of recitation and drama. There’ll be open session in the Bar every night.  The Festival is also growing a fringe with all the music Friday night taking place in Dan Hourigan’s Bar.

You can find the full program of events here: http://scullysfest.com/programme-2015

Scullys Fest is seeking to add to the wealth of genuine tradition in Duhallow and Sliabh Luachra and anyone interested should see scullysfest.com or facebook or call Eoin on 087 9100087.