AS the famous Irish song goes ‘We Brought the Summer With Us’!

Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich are delighted to present our summer programme with events and courses in abundance as we gear up for the indigenous festival of Lúnasa. As the rainy July passes us by, we look forward to welcoming the summer sun, our local community and new faces into the heart of the Gaeltacht Quarter to enjoy our Féile Lúnasa programme of events.

We welcomed Belfast TradFest back again at the end of July to celebrate 250 years since the birth of Edward Bunting, a major collector of Irish traditional music and who attended the 1792 Belfast Harp Festival to transcribe the music of the harpers. It was an incredible night of song and story from Dáithí Gormley on the accordion, Úna Monaghan, Aisling Lyons, Lauren Ní Néill and Laoise Kelly on the harp, with Tiarnán Ó Duinnchinn on the uilleann pipes. 

We were proud to once again be a part of Féile an Phobail festivities earlier this month.

The highlight of this year’s Lúnasa programme will be the return of fringe festival, Liú Lúnasa which will bring the summer celebrations to a close with a two-day programme of events. This will include a two-day intensive course with lunch provided, and morning yoga with Dunla. The renowned Slam Filíochta will make a return with prizes including hundreds of pounds in cash, a ticket to EP! To finish it off there will be a fantastic concert headlined by Belfast’s newest Irish language band with completely new sound that just need to be heard, Huartan, with special guests to be announced.

Gráinne Ní Ghilín, Director of Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich stated, "The Liú Lúnasa Poetry Slam and Féile an Phobail are among the highlights this summer in Belfast’s Gaeltacht Quarter. We cannot wait to welcome thousands of visitors from home and further afield and promise a unique and rich cultural experience. Finally, a word of thanks to our principal funder, the Arts Council, and to all our funders for their unwavering support in bringing our programme of events to life."

Róisín McDonough, Chief Executive of Arts Council Northern Ireland, said: "This season sees the welcome return of the familiar creative programme of live music sessions, exhibitions and arts classes. We can also all look forward to the return of the Liú Lúnasa festival. The annual fringe festival will feature a range of events, including a Poetry Slam, a two day intensive language course and our concert to bring the festival to a close. As principal funder through our National Lottery funds, the Arts Council is proud to support the Cultúrlann as it continues to inspire, entertain and uplift people, in the ways only the arts can do."

This is but a taste of our events, further information on all our events, workshops and courses can be found in our programme available here.