Longford Ukulele Céilí Festival kicks off on June 24

Last Wednesday night, June 7, saw the launch event for Longford’s first ever Ukulele Festival – The Ukulele Céilí.

The launch took place in the Albert Reynolds Peace Park, where one of the headline music events will be taking place. The group behind the event are the ‘Sneaky Tequilas’ – Longford’s resident ukulele band.

The festival is produced by Republic of Culture and is funded by Longford Live and Local and the Creative Ireland Longford programmes.

For those who do not know – a ukulele has four strings and is the smallest instrument in the guitar family. The instrument has become very popular again, and during covid many people began learning it at home or joining ukulele groups. There are several ukulele festivals nationwide most notably in the Ukulele Hooley in Dun Laoghaire.

“People are going to have a lot of fun,” said Sean Mulroy, festival programmer and Sneaky Tequila front man.

“It’s gonna be a weekend of tiny guitars, massive craic, Luigi’s chips, sneaky pints, Sneaky Tequilas, colour and song over two days in locations you’d least expect throughout Longford Town.

“And for those travelling from further afield, Longford’s Connolly Barracks is being converted into a festival Camp site for the weekend with ample space for tenting and camper van uke fans.”

The weekend is packed with things to do for music lovers and musicians including a festival music club in Escabar Friday night.
On Saturday, there are ukulele workshops and master classes, a ukulele inspired mural by Longford’s premiere street artist, Phil Atkinson, all-day entertainment and an artisan market at Louis Herterich’s newly opened Pig Market Lane.

There will also be Guerrilla Gigs in different cafes, bars and street corners throughout the afternoon.

Saturday night sees ukulele headliner bands - The Rugs, Ukulele Tuesday, Ukephoric, Galway Ukulele Group and Longford’s Coffee Beans take to the stage in Pig Market Lane and pubs and restaurants nearby.

Sunday morning there are more music workshops and in the afternoon there is the final concert - the Family Acoustic Picnic - a free event held in Albert Reynolds Peace Park (The Mall), from 2pm-5pm.

The concert will take place on an outdoor stage amid the park’s oak grove. Lay the blanket on the ground and rest your weary head. Enjoy the food trucks with burgers, coffee and ice cream.

For more information, see www.ukuleleceili.ie or Facebook.