When July and August comes around, Sean Keane sets his heart on Westport. The lovely Mayo town is home to the renowned singer from Caherlistrane every Wednesday night from 3 July to 28 August.

“We started off doing a few shows some years ago in Westport Town Hall Theatre and the demand took us by surprise. It has now reached the situation where we set aside eight or nine Wednesday nights for our shows in Westport every summer.

“It is a great town and attracts a lovely clientele. We get people from America and England and all over Ireland who are in the Westport region. I am joined on stage by Shane MacGowan (Tubbercurry) and Fergus Feely and the shows are very homely with plenty of chat and stories, music and song,” said Sean.

Like many young lads back in the 1970s, Sean spent some time in England.

“In 1979, I went to England and spent three years working on the buildings. It was a great experience. I changed jobs five times in one week. The music scene was heaving there at the time.

“If I wasn’t playing music at the weekends, I would go to places like the Galtymore, The Gresham or The Forum, where the bands were over from Ireland.”

He released his debut album, All Heart No Roses, in 1991 and was encouraged to continue on the music trail by Ciarán Mac Mathúna of RTÉ Radio who gave the album decent airplay and a good review.

The show runs from 8pm to 10.30pm at Westport Town Hall Theatre. Tickets are priced at €28.

Clodagh takes top honours in Leitrim

Clodagh Togher from Belmullet took the top prize at the 2024 Cowboys and Heroes Festival, held near Ballinamore in Co Leitrim.

A feature of the festival is the competition for newcomers to the scene and Clodagh emerged as the overall winner taking the award back to Erris.

Clodagh Togher with organiser Shauna McStravock from Tyrone.

Her dad is the well known entertainer, Michael S Togher, who has also penned several songs including My Darling Kathleen which remains one of Mike Denver’s most requested numbers.

Clodagh has released a version of the Karen Carpenter classic, Top of The World. It will be interesting to see her career unfold.

Billy still going strong

Antrim singer and musician, Billy McFarland, is celebrating 70 years in show business. The man from Ahoghill is still in big demand for concert shows.

Billy fronted his own big band during the showband era and enjoyed major popularity, especially in the Ulster region. He received a standing ovation for his guest spot at a show in The Clayton Hotel in Galway back in March.

He has just released a new single, You’re So My Kind Of Perfect. Billy remains a great ambassador for the music scene.

Tipperary goes country in style

Country roads will take a few thousand people home to Holycross on Sunday, 14 July for the annual Cut Loose Country Music Festival that has become such a regular feature on the summer calendar over the last decade.

This is hurling country and the big country festival will once again be hosted at the Holycross-Ballycahill GAA grounds.

The Irish Farmers Journal is pleased to be on board as one of the sponsors of the Cut Loose Country Festival in the heartlands of farming country.

This year’s show features Derek Ryan, Michael English, Louise Morrissey and Claudia Buckley.

People make the trip to Tipp from many parts of the country and it all adds up to a wonderful afternoon and evening. There is a full bar and food service, dance floor and picnic area with ample seating and free car parking.

In the event of bad weather, they have a full covered stand along one side of the pitch to accommodate all visitors.

Michael Lowry is still chair of the organising committee, and together with a brilliant group of loyal volunteers, will be on hand to extend a warm welcome to all patrons who make the journey to Holycross. The music runs from 12.30pm to 8pm.

Tickets from tickets.ie and priced at €30.

Visit cutloosecountryfestival.com