MAKEM SONG FESTIVAL DATES

The TOMMY MAKEM International Festival of Song invites the song people of the world to come to Armagh, heartland of Irish myth and legend on Thursday 7, Friday 8 and Saturday 9 October 2010.  The festival, named in honor of the area\'s most famous musical son, will involve three days of lectures, sharing of ideas, singing and presentation of old and new songs and will work toward a further understanding of the dynamics of the song tradition and its universal centrality in the cultures of the world.

The festival invites all to enjoy the culture and hospitality of the local people and experience the living inheritance of the song tradition, perhaps the strongest of any part of Ireland.  One of the highlights of the festival will be ‘THE KEEPERS OF THE TRADITION’ event when the committee pays tribute to musicians and singers who have faithfully kept the song tradition alive through their special talents and perseverance.

The festival will be held in The Navan Centre, Armagh City Hotel as well as Tossey’s cottage on Mullyard.  Already a group of American visitors and folk music enthusiasts have ‘booked in’ for the event which celebrates the late Tommy Makem.