Patrick O’Keeffe Traditional Music Festival Announces New Stage Production ‘Luach’
New Arts Council-funded stage production celebrating the rich cultural heritage and living traditions of Sliabh Luachra will be showcased at the Ivy Leaf Arts Centre, Castleisland, on Sunday, 18 October at 2pm and 8pm.
The Patrick O’Keeffe Traditional Music Festival is delighted to announce Luach, an ambitious new initiative to develop an original stage production celebrating the unique cultural identity, history and living traditions of Sliabh Luachra.
The project is an initiative of the Patrick O’Keeffe Traditional Music Festival and has been made possible through funding received under the Arts Council Project Award.
At the heart of Luach is the development of a new theatrical production tracing the cultural and artistic story of Sliabh Luachra, from the hedge-school tradition of the eighteenth century through to the vibrant musical and artistic community of the present day.
The production will draw on the extraordinary musical, literary and social heritage of the region, bringing together music, song, dance, storytelling and specially developed narrative to tell the story of Sliabh Luachra in a new way.
To develop the production, the Patrick O’Keeffe Traditional Music Festival has enlisted Céim Arts, Jonathan Kelliher and Joanne Barry, who will provide artistic direction and lead the research, devising and development of the work.
Acclaimed Sliabh Luachra musician Bryan O’Leary will serve as Musical Director for Luach, overseeing the musical development of the production and working with the participating musicians on the selection, arrangement and presentation of music throughout the show.
A strong group of musicians has been assembled for this development phase, including Colm Guilfoyle, Aidan Connolly, Niamh Dalton, Seán Fleming, Conor Daly, Suzanne Quille and Aoife O’Sullivan.
Together, the creative team and performers will draw on the music and traditions associated with Sliabh Luachra while exploring new ways of presenting this material within a theatrical setting.
Jonathan and Joanne will work alongside musicians, singers, dancers, storytellers and other artists connected with Sliabh Luachra. Through a programme of workshops, rehearsals and creative development sessions, existing traditional material will sit alongside newly devised work and new arrangements created specifically for the production.
Céim Arts will also oversee the staging and overall theatrical presentation of Luach, including its narrative structure, visual identity, stage and costume design. Multimedia and specially commissioned projections will form part of the production, helping to guide audiences through the different periods in the cultural story of Sliabh Luachra.
The development process will also be documented by Clíodhna Dowling of Glic Creative, capturing the people, places and traditions which inform the work. Elements of this material will also contribute to the visual and multimedia aspects of the stage production.
This current phase of Luach is focused on bringing the production as far through the creative and development process as possible, through research, collaboration, rehearsals and production planning.
Special showcases of the work will take place at the Ivy Leaf Arts Centre, Castleisland, on Sunday, 18 October 2026 at 2pm and 8pm, giving audiences an opportunity to see the stage production as it emerges from this period of development.
Through Luach, the Patrick O’Keeffe Traditional Music Festival aims to create a significant new piece of work which honours the extraordinary cultural inheritance of Sliabh Luachra while presenting its music, stories and traditions in a fresh theatrical setting.
The longer-term ambition is to create a production capable of bringing the story and spirit of Sliabh Luachra to audiences both within the region and further afield.