RTÉ’s Louise Duffy on being at home in Mayo and 'incredible' Folk and Bluegrass festival

“We’re at home in Mayo today coming to you live from the Octagon in Westport, right across from the Wyatt, beside Christy’s Café and we are here for a special reason to celebrate the Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival!”

Broadcasting across the nation from the RTÉ Roadcaster, Crossmolina native and RTÉ Radio Presenter, Louise Duffy opened her eponymous radio show and was in her element in a town she knows very well.

“Westport is somewhere we'd be all the time, and it's just such a great place.”

READ MORE: Mayo Folk and Bluegrass Festival announces most ambitious line-up to date

It’s no surprise she’s so familiar with the town given one of her brothers lives in Westport, her parents and another brother live in Castlebar and a third brother lives “in the middle on the road between them.”

Louise Duffy outside the RTÉ Roadcaster

She sat down with The Mayo News just after handing over the airwaves to the RTÉ News at One.

The Cox Family were guests on her show and she describes them as ‘a gateway to bluegrass.’ She explains that they were of the ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ soundtrack, which she says “kind of overshadowed the movie one hundred times over”.

“In terms of bluegrass, there's nobody as iconic as The Cox Family. They go back maybe 70 years of music. And I just think that's amazing, just to hear those sibling harmonies. They're just beautiful.”

The Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival is now in its 19th year and Louise says, “there is an element of excitement in the town and fair play to Uri bringing this brilliant festival time and time again. It’s incredible.”

She told The Mayo News it was amazing to see the depth of the line and a real opportunity for discovery. 

READ MORE WATCH: Mayo RTE star surprises fans with stunning singing voice on streets in Westport

The Cox Family weren’t the only musical family in town as the Duffy's assembled outside Westport Town Hall Theatre. 

Louise was joined by parents Martina and Tom and her brother Kevin. Castlebar-based Tom has been playing in bands since he was fourteen and Westport-based Kevin is a very talented fiddle player with Tupelo. 

The Duffy family were preparing to play music and jam together outside the An File bar as we parted ways. 

Tom, Louise and Martina Duffy 

Limited tickets are available for some of the festival’s main concerts, and more information about the festival, including the full programme and updates, visit the official website www.westportfolkandbluegrass.com.