Irishtradmusic.nl ceased operation February 2021

In the period of 2015 till 2021, I ran the site http://www.irishtradmusic.nl, which was the source for quality Irish traditional music concerts and workshops in The Netherlands.

In 2015, I decided to actively promote Irish traditional music in The Netherlands after having spent so many years travelling through Ireland in search for music and its history. During all these visits I had joined many music workshops and witnessed numerous music sessions, as well as concerts, of Irelands greatest musicians.

I wanted to share this enormous rich (musical) culture in my own country by giving the artists a beautiful place to perform and also sharing their knowledge of their instruments and music via workshops. Additionally, I wanted to counter the much prevalent notions that Irish music is ‘always fast’, ‘always sounds the same’ and is very much associated with drinking alcohol.

Over the course of several years, I have been privileged to have been able to arrange workshops and/or concerts with such great artists as Matt Cranitch (fiddle), Jacky Daly (button accordeon), Jack Talty (concertina), Cormac Begley (concertina), Martin Hayes (fiddle), Bryan O’Leary (button accordeon), Paul de Grae (guitar) and Reidun Schlissinger (harp).

With help of some of my friends, I was responsible for all aspects of the organisation, including PR, securing venues, ticket sales and taking care of the artists. By selecting unique locations, for example Kasteel Dever, Kasteel Hackfort, and Cultuurmolen Mechelen (BE), the audiences got a most intimate setting to enjoy the music and the stories behind the tunes.

During the Covid outbreak in 2020, the opportunity for such concerts or workshops ceased to exist, which made me suspend the activities of Irishtradmusic for the time being. Perhaps one day, I might have the opportunity again to resume operations. Until then I want to thank all of you who have supported Irishtradmusic over the years!