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Welcome to our site

Our small but beautiful festival has been running successfully for several years now in the picturesque village of Portpatrick, South West Scotland. Every September, hundreds of visitors come to share a few days of lively folk performances and sessions in waterfront pubs and around the harbour.

 

The location is the Best in the West, a beautiful harbour setting with a view of the Mountains of Mourne across the water in Ireland from where a good few session musicians are traditionally attracted.

Good Music, Good Songs, Great Time!


Local Hotels and businesses are again giving their full support with free pub gigs and sessions from musicians both local and international. Highlights include gigs from bands ‘Life O’ Reilly’, 'Belfast Folk, 'Failte', 'Mooncoyn' and others.

 

 

New for 2008 is our Friday Family Ceilidh in the Village Hall, kindly sponsored by 'Scottish Wind Energy'; 'Life O'Reilly' will keep people of all ages dancing 'till they drop. A bar will be available during the Ceilidh.


This year’s Concert, in the Village hall on Saturday evening, features top Scottish performers ‘Bodega’. (See programme page for details) Support includes talented local young singer ‘Robyn Stapleton’, who sings with the National Youth Choir of Scotland. A bar will serve before the concert and during intervals.

 

 

 

 

As always, we welcome visiting musicians and ask them to join in the usual lively sessions. Many of our local hotels rely for their trade on serving family meals; therefore Sessions are likely to start late in dining areas, please be patient!

Surprisingly, many of our Hotels also rely on selling beers, wines, spirits etc. to people using their bars – please respect this purely local custom and occasionally purchase a beverage during your session.

 

 

The Village Hall will act as a meeting place all weekend if the weather is less than perfect, and we are hoping to have an Open Stage on both the Saturday and Sunday afternoons.


Kindly supported by: Belhaven Brewery, Scottish Wind Energy, Portpatrick Community Council, The Portpatrick Trust, The Crown Hotel, The Downshire Arms Hotel, The Harbour House Hotel, The Waterfront Hotel, The Mount Stewart Hotel, Gaelforce, and partly funded by the Dumfries and Galloway Events and Tourism Challenge Fund.