Louisburgh celebrates love and harmony at this year’s Féile Chois Cuain

FIDDLING AL FRESCO A scene from  the 2013 Féile Chois Cuain.

The 23rd annual Féile Chois Cuain takes place in Louisburgh over the upcoming May Bank Holiday weekend, April 28 to May 1.
The festival format changes very little from year to year, as it seems to be an unbeatable recipe, it’s the invited visitors who vary, thus providing outstanding musical, vocal and dance variety year on year.
The fun begins on Friday evening at 7.30pm in The Parochial Hall with the ‘Mol an Óige’ youth concert, featuring local and visiting musicians, entrance €5. At 9.30pm Féile welcomes one and all with a cheese and wine reception in the Derrylahan, followed by a CD launch from the renowned accordion player Hughy Grogan, of his album ‘Around the Rock’, in addition to music and singing sessions in all the pubs.
Saturday morning sees workshops and master classes kick off at 10.30am, with registration from 10am. The classes break for lunch 1-2 and finish up for the day at 4pm. The set dance workshop will take place in the Parochial Hall, tutors Róisín and PΡdraic McEneany, while all singing, music and sean-nós dance master classes will take place in Santa Maria College.
Club na Féile provides informal fun for younger children in the Pastoral Centre from 11am to 12.30pm. The sean-nós singing session takes place in the Parochial Hall from 4.15pm to 6pm on Saturday afternoon. The Grand Concert will then takes place in the Parochial Hall on Saturday night at 8.45pm, featuring music, song and dance from the tutors of the day among others. There’ll also be plenty of sessions around the town.
The Sunday concert at 4pm in the Parochial Hall always takes a theme and this years it is a celebration of love – romantic and musical – entitled ‘Ceol le Cheile’. The concert will feature artists who are coupled in both music and love, ‘couples in music’. Artists will include Liz Gaughan and Brendan Quinn, Colm Gannon and Holly Geraghty, Colm Naughton and Orlaith Keane, Catherine McEvoy and Tom McGorman, Breda Keville and Cormac Cannon, Caitlín Nic Gabhann and CiarΡn Ó Maonaigh, and PΡdraig and Róisín McEneany.
The Féile Chois Cuain Céilí takes place in the Parochial Hall on Sunday night from 9pm until midnight, with music provided by the Swallow’s Tail Céilí Band.
The ‘SlΡn Abhaile’ sessions start at 12.30pm on Bank Holiday Monday in all the pubs. This is a lovely wind-down after the shenanigans of the weekend. Often tired, but extremely relaxed after the weekend in good company, these sessions are often the sweetest.