TradFest, Ireland’s largest trad and folk music festival, returns to Dublin from Wednesday January 20th to Sunday January 24th 2027.
Over the five days there will be more than 200 concerts and performances in concert halls, churches and pubs across Temple Bar, Dublin city, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal and South County Dublin. The full programme and tickets are at tradfest.com.
Highlights
- Wednesday January 20th: The opening TradFest Gala at The National Stadium, with Solas, Dervish and CLADA
- Wednesday January 20th: Aoife Scott’s ‘Women of Note’ concert at St Patrick’s Cathedral
- Thursday January 21st: Kate Rusby at St Patrick’s Cathedral
- Thursday January 21st: Hothouse Flowers with Allison Russell at The National Stadium
- Friday January 22nd: Féile Kíla, a Kíla 40th anniversary concert at The National Stadium, with Aya Samara, The St Joseph’s Pipe Band and the Paul Frost Brass Band
- Friday January 22nd: Iarla Ó Lionáird, Cormac McCarthy and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh at St Mary’s Church in Howth
- Saturday January 23rd: Judy Collins at the Round Room of the Mansion House
- Saturday January 23rd: Stockton’s Wing’s 50th anniversary at the Talbot Hotel in Stillorgan
- Saturday January 23rd: A solo harp recital by Alannah Thornburgh at Swords Castle
The National Stadium also hosts Le Boom and Transatlantic Women, a night curated by Altan’s Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh with Eliza Carthy, Karine Polwart, Cara Dillon and Scottish Fish.
Declan O’Rourke gives an intimate performance at Monkstown Church of Ireland, a new TradFest venue. His catalogue includes his 2026 album Oceanic.
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There will also be a special performance of Timothy O’Grady’s novel of Irish emigration, I Could Read the Sky, featuring Ralph McTell, Stephen Rea and more musicians to be announced.
New venues and new things for 2027
- New venues include Howth Castle, St Mary’s Church in Howth, Marlay House and Dalkey Castle, and there are concerts in Fettercairn, Newcastle, Saggart and Skerries.
- Howth Castle hosts Féile Barney McKenna across the festival weekend, with banjo masterclasses, performances, a photo exhibition and a Banjo Bursary Award, plus a celebration of the harp with Harp Ireland and TradFest patron Stephen Rea.
- A new storytelling strand with Aideen McBride takes place at Ardgillan Castle, the Court of Petty Sessions and Marlay House.
- The new TradFest Community Orchestra, led by Tom Doorley, will perform.
- Two more artists will be added to the TradFest Hall of Fame, with details announced on January 7th.
The festival says it’s keeping ticket prices affordable and has added public transport directions for every venue. The Able@TradFest accessible programme returns in South Dublin and Fingal.
Among the artists in the 2027 lineup
New voices on the bill include The Wran, Rachel Grace Hayes, Jack Nico and Aniar. The festival also points to past TradFest acts like Lankum and Madra Salach as examples of artists first seen there early in their careers.
- Declan O’Rourke
- Judy Collins
- Ralph McTell
- Kate Rusby
- The Dubliners Encore
- Le Boom
- Andy Irvine
- Stockton’s Wing
- Emma Langford
- Gemma Hayes
- Junior Brother
- Sharyn Ward
- LemonCello
- Caitlín Nic Gabhann
- The Wran
- Brigid Mae Power
- Susan O’Neill
- Roisín El Cherif
- Farah Elle
- MacDara Yates
- Driven Snow
- Rita Perry
- Megan Nic Ruairí
- The Breath
- Landless
- Declan O’Rourke
- Rattling Ark
- Jack Talty
- Niwel Tsumbu
- Scullion
- George Murphy & the Rising Sons
- Brianna Corrigan of the Beautiful South
- Cormac de Barra and Lisa Lambe
- Altan
- Zoë Conway and John McIntyre
- Eleanor McEvoy and John Spillane
- Pierre Bensusan
- Iarla Ó Lionáird with Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh and Cormac McCarthy
- Tommy Sands
- Mike Hanrahan and Eleanor Shanley
- Susan O’Neill
- The Dublin City Ramblers
- Aisling Lyons
- Leslie Dowdall and Flo McSweeney
- Driven Snow
- Roesy
- St Joseph’s Pipe Band
- Phelim Drew and Lorcan Collins
- Caroline Keane
- Fionnathan
- Steo Wall
- Flook
- Lauren Ní Néill
- Bird On The Wire
- The Brudi Brothers
- Sorcha Ní Scolaí
- The Cloverhearts
- Jason McGuinness
- Rachel Grace Hayes
- Derek Warfield and The Young Wolf Tones
- Aniar
- Rita Power
- SuperCéilí
Plus more to be announced.
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. Niall is the chost of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and host of monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
