Classical and contemporary show for Ballymahon’s Castlecor House

The Laurels in Mullinalaghta hosts Tradfest on Saturday

30 August 2021

Castlecor House, Ballymahon

Longford Live & Local’s free music concerts just keep coming and this weekend there are even more genres of live music performances to choose from. We are now officially into the last three weeks of the programme with north and south of the county set to be entertained once more, this weekend.

This amazing series of concerts has been delivered by the Longford County Council Arts Office in partnership with Republic of Culture and funded through the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media’s Local Live Performance Programming Scheme.

Last Saturday, as the country basked in some beautiful late summer weather, the residents of Edgeworthstown and surrounds were treated to two fantastic concerts in the beautiful setting of The Green. A perfect place for a public concert, Saturday’s audience experienced the homegrown talent that Edgeworthstown has in abundance. They were entertained by hometown heroes Sarah Haughey, Peter Costello, Strad, 4 Degrees West, Neon, and Aoife Mulligan.

On Sunday it was a little more of an ‘all-county’ affair with headliner Brendan Kelly and his Band, being supported by Rêves, the Ross Sisters, Rílóg, Ray Scully and Aisling Rynn.

And there’s more… If you haven’t had a chance to take in a concert yet we still have some very interesting events to come on the summer-long programme which runs up to 18 September. We have two niche events happening this weekend.

Trad Fest takes place at The Laurels GAA grounds, in Mullinalaghta (beside Derrycassin Woods), Saturday 4 September at 4pm. This dedicated traditional Irish music festival celebrates the involvement of some of Longford’s finest musicians including Noel Carberry, Noel & Sean Sweeney, Michael Lennon, Sean Owens, Liam Doherty, Donna McCann, Laura Callaghan, Eoin Smith and some All-Ireland winning Sean-Nós dancers.

Then on Sunday 5 September at 3pm, a classical and contemporary spectacular lies in store in the beautiful surrounds of Castlecor House. Nestled in the leafy heartland of Longford, on the outskirts of Ballymahon, this impressive manor house has stood the test of time since the 1700s. Previously described as “perhaps one of the most intriguing buildings” in Ireland, it currently operates as a guest house and is located a few minutes’ walk from the Royal Canal Greenway; just over an hour and a half by road from Dublin and around an hour from Galway. One of its most fascinating features is its octagonal grand hall complete with mirroring fireplaces, that opens out onto its grounds.

Proprietors Loretta Grogan and Brian Ginty have generously offered the 18th-century manor house as a venue for a concert of equal grandeur, a celebration of classical and contemporary music, all as part of the continuing Live and Local programme taking place across the county. “We are delighted to host Longford Live & Local. Down through its history, the house’s famous octagonal hall has long been associated with music and song and this is another wonderful chapter to add to that,” commented Lorretta.

The concert features the highest quality musicians from the modern-day classical crossover scene including Longford’s own Emer Barry, Maria Matthews, Paul Hennessy and Fintan Farrelly. The programme includes a celebration of traditional Italian opera and some more contemporary arrangements of much-loved work and song from the greats of operatic composition.

Tickets for both events taking place this weekend can be booked for free by logging onto Eventbrite.ie and searching for Longford.