Kilkenny ready to roll out green musical carpet for St Patrick’s Weekend

Ireland’s smallest city is set to make a major mark again on our national saint’s weekend in March.
Kilkenny Tradfest and the city’s family-oriented parade and street festival will see the Marble City jumping to the sounds of some of Ireland’s best traditional and folk acts, giving an authentic welcome to visitors from home and abroad.

The acts headlining the festival include Seventies icons Horslips, the reunion tour of Paul Brady and Andy Irvine’s seminal album, Zodomo, make up of Donal Lunny, Máirtín O’Connor and Zoe Conway, multi award-winning Iarla Ó Lionáird and Steve Cooney and the street party will be led by Kila. All of this and dozens of free sessions with musicians from all over the country in the city’s bars and hotels as well as a multitude of masterclasses from most of the headline acts.
Biodiversity
The city’s celebrations on the national holiday will again have a truly green theme with ‘Biodiversity, every creature counts’, celebrating the natural life on the banks of the Nore and the surrounding pastureland.
The parade through the heart of the medieval city’s streets will feature community, arts and sports groups which will celebrate the area’s creative spirit. The city will be welcoming Mayor Kevin Taaffe from twin city Kilkenny Minnesota, and a 45-strong choir of young women from Greenwich, Connecticut USA – ‘The Sacred Heart Madrigals’.
The current dance frenzy on our airwaves will be reflected in the parade’s Grand Marshal, former All-Ireland hurling ace turned twinkle-toed Dancing with the Stars participant Aidan ‘Taggy’ Fogarty from Urlingford.
The parade will be followed by an open-air street party in the city’s historic John Street area. The organisers hope that the street’s growing development as a cultural hub, with the imminent opening of the new Butler Gallery in the landmark former barracks and alms house Evans Home, will see the reawakening of the ‘continent’ side of the city celebrated in style.