The Ennis Trad Festival is a festival for those who love to hear (play, sing or dance to) Irish Traditional music of the highest quality in its most natural setting. The festival brings together the very best of Irish traditional musicians, singers and dancers in a relaxed and informal atmosphere. We're delighted to announce that the 19th Ennis Trad Festival will run November 8 to 12 with a programme to suit all tastes and ages.

The festival is the liveliest and most intense celebration of Irish traditional music, song and dance anywhere and guarantees five days of the best entertainment and culture. This year the festival will host headline acts each night and showcase a record number cd launches (13 so far...) from some of our most respected musicians and singers.

Ard Ghaisce na mBuíonta - The Great Céilí Band Challenge will return to the Glór Irish Music Centre. This senior céilí band competition boasts a prize fund of €8,000 and with the closing date for entries not yet upon us it is not too late to put a band together and let us know.

For those traditional fanatics amongst us, there is a trad quiz to test your knowledge. Teams of four will battle it out for the two most coveted accolades of the festival namely the best team and the most lame team. The quiz itself is an irreverent lighthearted and utterly non PC bit of craic and a great way to ease your way into the rest of Sunday's fare.

Masterclasses are returning this year with classes in fiddle, flute, banjo, accordion and whistle to take place so far. For the dancers we have a céilí with the Four Courts Céilí Band, a sean-nós dancing workshop with Suzanne Leahy and a set-dancing workshop with Geraldine Greene. We will also have two singing sessions led by some of Ireland's most experienced and highly regarded singers. Check out the full programme here for times, dates and venues and our céilí band page for competition rules. Some venues are still to be confirmed.

The session trail will appear about a week before the festival commences and will feature unusual and experimental combinations of musicians as usual!

Please like us on Facebook at Ennis Trad Festival where we post regular updates and music clips. You can also follow us on Twitter at EnnisTradFest.

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