On the Town: The Brennan family of Co Donegal will be centre-stage at this year's Earagail Arts Festival.
The family, which includes Enya, Moya Brennan and Clannad as well the next generation of award-winning traditional musicians, will take part in a three-concert programme entitled Oidhreacht (Legacy).
"This is a celebration of the Brennan parents and their family and their culture and their contribution to music," said festival director Angela McLaughlin.
The festival programme, which was launched in Letterkenny, Co Donegal, this week, will feature three concerts with the Brennans, reflecting the different aspects of their musical life, including choral, jazz and traditional music.
"It's a celebration of the passing on of a musical tradition over time," said Traolach Ó Fionnáin, the festival chair and the county arts officer. There will also be a civic reception for Leo and Baba Brennan in the course of the two weeks.
Baba Brennan came along to the launch party with two of her children, Bartley and Deirdre. She married Leo in 1952. They returned to her native Gweedore some time afterwards and have been there ever since.
"The common thread linking the concerts all will be their passion for music and their desire to share it," said McLaughlin.
"One of the central themes is time and the relationship between art and science. This has influenced the rest of the programme," said Ó Fionnáin.
The 17th Earagail Arts Festival is expected to attract more than 20,000 people this year. It will run from July 4th to July 17th, with an extension of four weeks for its visual arts programme, which is inspired by Einstein's discovery of the theory of relativity and coincides with the UN's Year of Science. The pieces, which will be on view at Letterkenny Arts Centre and the Glebe Gallery, will involve five exhibitions on the theme of "time".
Others at the launch included Dessie Larkin, chair of Letterkenny Town Council; Martin Hilferty, president of Letterkenny Chamber of Commerce; and Manus Ó Ceallaigh, of the Falcarragh Traders' Association.
For more information, go to www.eaf.ie or contact the booking office at 074-9120777