Pan Celtic Festival promises to be one to remember
Dancers from the Noreen-Marie Geddes School of Dancing from Scotland perform a reel during the Pan Celtic Parade last year Photo: michaelorourkephotography.ie
THIS YEAR’S Pan Celtic International Festival will be one to remember, with showstopping performances across the county from Tuesday 22 April to Saturday 26 April.
The Pan Celtic festival celebrates and shares Celtic heritage, culture and language over five days and nights of music, song, dance, storytelling, poetry, sport, craft, art and friendship.
Not to mention the Pan Celtic 2025 fundraising raffle, which has a grand prize of two nights B&B for two people with dinner on one night at one of the four-star luxurious hotels of the Talbot Collection.
The festival will be opened by minister for social protection, rural and community development and the Gaeltacht Dara Calleary at 7.30pm Tuesday 22 April before a one-of-a-kind opening concert at Visual. The fun doesn’t stop there, with local and international musicians performing from 4.30pm throughout Carlow town.
But music isn’t all that’s on offer at the festival, with Ireland’s ‘Queen of the Offbeat’ Áine Gallagher stopping in at The Good Room in Scraggs Alley to perform her bilingual comedy ‘For the Love of Milseáin’ on Wednesday 23 April from 9-10pm. The award-winning comic is on a mission to prove that speaking as Gaeilge can be both accessible and hilarious in this quirky comedy special. Tickets for the show can be booked on Eventbrite or bought at the door for €5, with all proceeds going towards St Clare’s Food Kitchen.
On Thursday 24 April, the talented dancers of Music Generation Carlow/Wexford/Waterford will perform at The Tower with one of Ireland’s finest trad bands TÉADA, a collaborative performance that promises to be both moving and magical.
Shortly after that performance, the Carmarthen Symphonic Wind Band from Wales present a gala concert in aid of Carlow’s Sacred Heart Hospital at 7.30pm at the Seven Oaks Hotel. This amazing band consists of 50 members ranging in age from early teens to early eighties, playing a range of woodwind, brass and percussion instruments. The programme will feature a playlist of classical pieces through to music from TV shows, film scores, military marches and popular music. Tickets for the event are €10 donations to the Sacred Heart Hospital.
Friday 25 April and Saturday 26 April see the return of Streetfest on Tullow Street from 11am to 4pm. With festive fun for all the family, including music, street entertainers, busking, face painting, juggling, caricature art and lots more.
The full programme for this year’s Pan Celtic International Festival can be found online at www.panceltic.ie.
