October 27-31, 2026
A Celebration of West Limerick Music, Heritage and Culture
What does this week have? Dance and music classes during the day, midday concerts at Shaughnessy’s pub, youth sessions, gentle sessions, evening sessions, walks, talks in the Library, children’s workshop, fiddle competition, Twilight Master Concerts and a Saturday concert.
Twilight concerts feature Pa Foley on Tuesday interviewed by Gabriel Fitzmaurice, Willie Kelly, Donna Long, Donal O’ Sullivan and Gabriel Fitzmaurice celebrate and talk about the music of Martin Mulvihill on Wednesday, Billy McComiskey and Donna Long with students of Brendan Mulvihill Cleek Shrey. Emily Martin and Shannon Dunne on Thursday in conversation with Billy Keane, and Friday features Dance Masters - Jonathan Kelliher, John Joe Tierney and Shannon Dunne in a demonstration of dance history and styles.
Saturday’s is the Week’s Finale Concert with Laoise Kelly on harp, Jesse Smith and Donna Long, and Billy McComiskey, The Devane Family with other artists from the week joining for the final tunes.
Tickets are on sale for each of the five concerts. You can purchase an all-access pass now for all five concerts and Friday’s ceili. Purchase tickets here or at Eventbrite.
Made possible by the generosity of Rich and Georgia Walsh, Limerick City and County Council, and the pubs of Glin.
In Memory of Brendan and Martin Mulvihill
Brendan and Martin understood that traditional music is more than melody; it is the breath of a place, the echo of its people. Their lives were a testament to this truth. As sons of West Limerick, they carried its tunes in their bones—and when they crossed the ocean to America, they carried the spirit of the Shannon with them.
Their emigration did not mark a departure, but a widening of the circle. From concert halls to kitchen sessions, from classrooms to quiet moments of sharing, they passed on the music of Glin with reverence and joy. In their hands, the old tunes found new life—played, taught, composed, remembered.
Martin, a master fiddler and deeply respected teacher, was a cornerstone of this tradition—his playing rooted in the lyrical, unhurried style of West Limerick, and his life’s work devoted to passing that music faithfully from one generation to the next.
Brendan, a masterful composer and gifted teacher, saw music as a living bridge between past and present, land and longing. He delved into the airs and dances of West Limerick, the ancient strains of O’Carolan, the songs his father once played—and gave them back to the world with grace and brilliance.
This week is a homecoming—not just to a place, but to a tradition. It invites all who gather to listen, to learn, and to celebrate the music that shaped two remarkable lives, and continues to ripple out, like the river itself, across time and tide. The goal is for this week to continue annually to ensure that musicians can share the legacy of Brendan and Martin Mulvihill for generations to come.