Patrons 2008
A message from our 2008 Festival Patron - Stephen Rea
I am honoured to have been asked to be festival patron for this year’s Temple Bar Trad Festival; Dublin city’s largest traditional Irish music festival. Some may find it odd to associate traditional music with an urban setting. However, Dublin city’s legacy of great traditional musicians means the city more than deserves its right to showcase and celebrate our native music and culture. The Festival organisers, TASCQ (Traders in the Area Supporting the Cultural Quarter) should be congratulated in resurrecting a traditional music festival in the city and staying firm in their convictions to make the music more accessible. Our language, music and culture are what define us in an ever shrinking world and they truly belong to all citizens of the state. Back in the time of mass emigration, the hundreds and thousands of emigrants who left our shores seeking employment and opportunities abroad brought with them the songs and tunes of our ancestors, and in places like London, New York, Manchester, Sydney and Boston, the familiar music and song fed the spirits of lonely people who in many cases would never see home again. Here at home, the tradition was suffering from a lack of appreciation by official Ireland, and was almost an underground culture, thriving without exposure on the airwaves. All that changed in the past thirty-five years, and now the music is seen as an important part of our culture and encouraged as such, with government and public funding. Today, traditional music is experiencing a renaissance with increasing numbers of young children and teenagers taking up instruments and enjoying traditional music and song. The tradition is alive and vibrant. No longer seen as backward or out of date, we can with new found confidence and pride celebrate our national heritage and culture. This year’s Temple Bar Trad Festival is a response to the interest and affection that Irish people have for their own music. It couldn’t take place without the existence of a large and enthusiastic cohort of musicians, nor indeed without an even larger number of informed and dedicated listeners. It is an opportunity for all of you, over a period of five days, to enjoy the best of music and to experience the facilities available in Temple Bar - Dublin’s cultural quarter.
Bain taitneamh as an gceol!
Stephen Rea
