14th Frank Harte Festival

In September 2019, the 14th Frank Harte Festival will be celebrating and commemorate the life and work of Frank Harte.  Born in the village of Chapelizod in Co. Dublin in 1933, where his father Peter owned The Tap public house. He was introduced to traditional Irish songs at the age of fourteen, when he heard a tinker singing The Valley of Knockanure and selling ballad sheets at a fair in Boyle, Co. Roscommon. Since his teens, Frank was fascinated with songs that tell stories and was an avid collector for many years.

The first Frank Harte Festival took place in 2006 and since its inception has become a focus for traditional singing. It is organised and run by An Góilín, the leading promoter of traditional singing in Dublin, this festival will once again celebrate and commemorate the life and work of Frank Harte, a close associate and friend of the Club.

This years invited guests include The High Seas – Caitlín Nic Gabhann, Ciarán Ó Maonaigh, Cathal Ó Curráin (Donegal and Meath), Conchubhar Ó Luasa (Cork), Dan Milner (USA), Sinéad Caher (Belfast), Tony Fitzpatrick (Dublin) and Kathy Hobkirk (Scotland).

The official opening of the Frank Harte Festival happens Friday night starting at 8pm. This will be followed by a Singing Session featuring the invited guests. Entry costs €5 but is included in the weekend ticket.

Saturday will see a Singing Workshop commencing at 11am. The Workshop will be presented by Kathy Hobkirk and Máire Ní Chróinín and will cost €10 but is included in the weekend ticket.

At 1:30pm an illustrated talk about The Unstoppable Irish (The changing fortunes of the Irish in New York) will be presented by Dan Milner. Admission to this talk is Free. Later on in the afternoon at 3pm there will be a Singing Session. Admission to this session is Free.

For the 14th Frank Harte Festival, the Grand Concert featuring the invited guests will commence at 8pm. Entry to the concert costs €20 but is included in the weekend ticket.

Sunday will see a Singing and Walking Tour, As I was walking through Dublin City, starting at 11am. Booklet €3.00. Then later on in the afternoon there will be a Singing Session and Final Farewell to the invited guests starting at 3pm. Entry costs €3 but is included in the weekend ticket.

Please note that Weekend registration covering all events is available at a cost of €35.

Full details of all the events for this years 14th Frank Harte Festival, are available on the official website goilin.com. In the meantime, for the latest up to date information on the Frank Harte Festival, please visit Frank Harte Festival on Facebook.

If you have any queries, then please call Fergus Russell on +353 (0)87 672 4714, Máire Ní Chróinín on +353 (0)86 294 0652 or Jerry O’Reilly on +353 (0)86 816 1557. You can also email your queries to [email protected].