Next weekend in Baltimore, west Cork, Declan McCarthy's Fiddle Fair will celebrate its 20th anniversary and one of the most beautiful villages in the world will come alive to some of the best traditional music on the planet.
Grammy-winning musician Tim O'Brien, who will perform once more at this year's event, has said of the Baltimore Fiddle Fair: "You couldn't ask for a better line-up or a nicer setting."
The Fiddle Fair was organised as an attempt by Declan to lure Nigel Kennedy, who was visiting west Cork, to play a gig in the village. Though Kennedy never made the trip, big names like Ritchie Tisdall and Seamus Creagh did and the event has thrived since.
Truly special nights have seen Christy Moore and Paul Brady on stage together, while the madder nights have seen Cathal Hayden's fiddle knocking slates off the roof. This year's line-up is as prestigious as ever. Legends such as Martin Hayes and Dezi Donnelly will be joined by Appalachian heavyweights such as Dirk Powell and Tim O'Brien.
