Máire Ní Chathasaigh & Chris Newman

An award-winning harp and guitar duo, Máire is one of Ireland’s most important and influential traditional musicians, and Chris is a prolific composer, arranger and record producer, who have played at hundreds of festivals worldwide.

The Cramlington Train Wreckers

South Shields-based playwright Ed Waugh is here with a short film and performance about the Cramlington Train Wreckers, featuring interviews with the surviving striking miners imprisoned for their participation in derailing the Flying Scotsman at Cramlington during the 1926 General Strike.

O’Carolan by Candlelight

Fianna Ni Chonnail, a traditional Irish and Celtic harpist based in Limerick, and Imogen Gunner, an award winning fiddle player and lecturer in folk and traditional music at Newcastle University, are here for a night of candlelight music to celebrate Ireland’s National Harp Day at the perfect setting of Trinity Church, Sunderland. Local musicians are also welcome to join in for the final part of the night.

Why Shouldn’t I Go?

A one-act play written and performed by Janet Behan and directed by Jessica Higgs. In a compassionate telling of three Irish women of a certain age, these stories are not just Irish tales but contain universal truths about women, particularly our habit of succumbing to external pressures against internal better judgment.

The Magic in the Tin Book Launch

Former Newcastle United player Paul Ferris’ follow-up book to The Boy on the Shed is the brilliant, courageous, and life-affirming The Magic in the Tin. Inspired by the birth of his granddaughter Isla, this memoir continues with Paul’s successful battle against...

The Murder of Wolfe Tone

Historical entertainer Paddy Cullivan brings you the incredible story of the mysterious death of Theobald Wolfe Tone, the founding father of Irish Republicanism. An audio-visual spectacular featuring hundreds of images and incredible songs. Tickets are available via...

Sally Glennon

A lover of Country and Irish music, Sally began performing in the nineties, playing in live shows with her own band in the United Kingdom. Sally has recorded three albums, worked on her co-written E.P of four original songs, and is a popular entertainer throughout the...

Brigid O’Neill Duo

Downpatrick singer-songwriter Brigid O’Neill weaves elements of folk, country and jazz into relatable tales of happiness, heartbreak and the human condition. Christine Jeans and Geordie legend George Welch are supporting Brigid with brilliant songs and his own brand...

Down By The Liffeyside

Paddy Glackin, an Irish fiddler and founding member of the Bothy Band, is joined by duo Mary Corcoran on piano and Gay McKeon on uilleann pipes, exploring the songs of Dublin.