Craobh Osraí Marble City Comhaltas celebrates Fleadhfest

With Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann on pause as a result of Covid, Comhaltas set their sights on new ways to promote Irish culture this year. The pinnacle of this plan is the Fleadhfest initiative which sees Comhaltas branches across the country and across the world producing videos showcasing their local talent. Craobh Osraí took this opportunity to showcase its many wonderful musicians, singers and dancers using some of Kilkenny’s most iconic and stunning venues as a backdrop for the production. Kilkenny has a wealth of talented musicians, singers and dancers along with some of the most picturesque countryside and celebrated music venues in the country. Craobh Osraí’s two episodes for the Fleadhfest series are now live and take full advantage of all Kilkenny has to offer. Tune in to these videos to enjoy dancing from Kilkenny Castle, a song by the Nore, tunes from members of Craobh Osraí’s junior group in Rothe House, Callan and Bennetsbridge, instrument making in Tullaroan, a chat with some well known faces in the home of hurling in Kilkenny, Nowlan Park, and a whole lot more.

Our members were thrilled to have a chance to polish up their dancing shoes, tune up their instruments and show off their talents all over Kilkenny city and across the North of the county in celebration of Fleadhfest.

PRO Nicholas Dunphy remarked ‘We were delighted to have an opportunity to come together in a safe and socially distanced manner to produce these videos after not being able to perform for so long. This production would not have been possible without the dedication of our fantastic members, the skill of branch member Paul Dargan behind the camera and the cooperation of venue managers who kindly allowed us to film in their premises. We would like to thank everybody who helped us make this possible. We see this production as a great celebration of Kilkenny; showing off both the talent to be found around the county and our iconic venues like never before. We hope that the people of Kilkenny will tune in to watch and will enjoy the videos as much as we enjoyed putting them together.’