A MAJOR European stage is beckoning for some of Killarney’s finest performers in traditional music, song and dance who will be among the headline acts at a major Irish cultural festival in Sweden in late June.
The big event will take place in the bustling town of Staffanstorp – which is officially twinned with Killarney – and the focus for the weekend celebration will be on the promotion of all that is good on the traditional Irish entertainment scene.
The 12-strong cast of Celtic Steps – the hugely successful live show currently running for the season at the INEC Killarney – have been invited to showcase their many talents at the festival and they will perform on Friday, June 27 as a warm-up to their headline performance, in the main event in the town square arena, the following night.
Celtic Steps producer David Rea said it will be a great opportunity to highlight the best of Irish trad and it will give the visiting Killarney contingent an opportunity to promote the many attractions of Killarney to a huge new audience.
“We’ll play there on the Friday and again on the Saturday and we’ll fly home on Sunday in time to be back on the INEC stage that night,” he said.
Also travelling to Sweden from Killarney will be a young group of traditional Irish musicians who have represented Fossa GAA club at the All-Ireland Scór finals and recently performed on the hit TG4 entertainment competition Scór Encore.
Dean O’Sullivan, John Murphy, Seán Kelliher, Christy Buckley and Cian O’Sullivan, who have been performing together for a number of years, will get a big opportunity to play before a big international audience in Sweden.
Staffanstorp, located in Skane County near Malmo, has a population of just over 15,000 people and it has been a sister town to Killarney for a number of years.
Killarney-based musician and entertainer Liam O’Connor performed there to great acclaim last year and in 2012.
