Féile Lughnasadh Milltown back and bigger than ever!

| By Sean Moriarty

Organisers of this year's Féile Lughnasadh are in talks with a number of international acts ahead of its annual festival in August.

The Milltown festival, which takes place from August 3 to 6 this year, is renowned for bringing big names to the mid-Kerry town.

In the past the festival has hosted the likes of The Chieftains and last year the headline act was accordionist Sharon Shannon.

"We were very proud to host a performer of the calibre of Sharon Shannon in Milltown," said organiser Owen O'Shea. "Milltown has hosted some major acts from The Chieftains to Kila to Michael

O Suilleabhán over recent years, and this year we intend to maintain this high standard with another programme of globally-renowned acts."

The festival will open with a parade and launch on Thursday night (August 3) and this will be followed by the ever-popular 'Singing Club'.

"This will be a brilliant occasion for music lovers, and will be 100% free to all,” said organiser Vincent Prendergast.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday will feature open air concerts in the town square, while Sunday afternoon will feature the open-air céilí and fun events for families.

"This will be the best event in the country this August weekend, it's the place to be," added Turlough O'Brien, the chair of the local Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann branch.

Chairperson Pat O’Leary spoke of how the tourism industry of Kerry has used the platform of KTIF since its establishment in 2020 to form solutions to challenges faced by the industry and represent the industry with a collective voice at both county and national level.

In its four years of operation, KTIF has also raised the profile and advocated for tourism industry education and upskilling.

In 2021 and 2022, KTIF’s active sustainability sub-committee worked with industry partners to achieve a Global Destination Sustainability ranking of 13th in the world.

The federation also continues to lead the collaborative destination marketing for Kerry through its tourism brand Discover Kerry.

Members of KTIF are being encouraged to support the development of www. discoverkerry.com which is a partnership project of KTIF, Kerry SciTech, and Kerry County Council.

Chairperson Pat O’Leary is encouraging