CAMPBELL'S TAVERN in Cloughanover, near Headford, is about to mark a major milestone, celebrating its 1000th trad session in a row this weekend.
Every Wednesday night since 1998 the venue has held a trad session, and to mark that achievement, a trad weekend takes place at Campbell's tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday, at 8pm, with sessions in each of the bar's rooms, on each of the nights, hosted by musicians who have anchored the session over the years.
"A rich vein of traditional music runs deep at the Cloughanover crossroads through the Joyce, Cunningham, Keane, and Coyne families," says proprietor Willie Campbell. "It was a young Pat Coyne who suggested 'Lets start a Wednesday session and see how it goes', and here we are 20 years later. Wonderful musicians have guested as weekly anchors since then and this variety, along with the open nature of the session, which encourages all to join in, has added to its longevity. In a time when most live music happens seasonally or at weekends, this session still brings our tradition alive midweek."
