Chief O'Neill Traditional Music Festival 2.71

Join us for a great weekend of traditional Irish music — concerts, workshops, sessions and fun — as we celebrate the centenary of Captain Francis O'Neil's landmark book: ‘Irish Minstrels and Musicians’.

As the famous ‘Chief’ of the Chicago police force, Captain O’Neill won fame and affection in America, but he never lost his love for the Irish music he had learnt as a child growing up in Tralibane near Bantry in West Cork.

By collecting traditional tunes from Irish musicians in Chicago, and publishing them in an impressive series of books that are still in print today, O’Neill helped to safeguard the future of traditional Irish music.

Help us to honour his achievements by coming to Bantry for the inaugural Chief O’Neill Traditional Music Festival this summer!