It’s been four decades in the making.

And this weekend, DeBarras Folk Club will be celebrating 40 years of music and community with a schedule of free shows from ADT, Fir Beag, Windings, Naïve Ted, DeBarras House Party, and DeBarras Trad Session musicians.

The Clonakilty pub has earned worldwide renown as one of the finest independent and grassroots music venues in Ireland. As Christy Moore once said: “There’s Carnegie Hall, The Royal Albert, Sydney Opera House – and then there’s de Barra’s.”

This weekend, Friday, August 25th to Saturday, August 26th, you can take a seat near the wall, stage left, which is covered in flutes, fiddles, bodhráns, pipes, and saxophones for some top-notch entertainment.

Unlike most rock cafes, these instruments have a very real history.

The uileann pipes were played by a Tullamore piper at the Chicago World Fair in 1893. The mandolin criss-crossed Ireland for four years with Paddy Keenan and The Bothy Band. The fender jazz bass guitar belonged to the late Noel Redding, the former Jimi Hendrix bassist, and a celebrated resident of Clonakilty.

“Leonard Cohen said of his time spent in a zen Buddhist monastery that ‘pebbles in a bag polish each other’,” said Ray Blackwell, manager at DeBarras Folk Club.

“I think of that quote often when I think of Clonakilty, and it’s been a privilege and an honour for me and my family to serve this community for the last four decades. Hopefully, we’ll continue to do so for a few more years yet!”

Friday, August 25th:

• 7:30pm ADT
• 8:30pm FIR BEAG
• 10pm Windings
• 11:15pm Naive Ted

Saturday, August 26th:
DeBarras House Party:

• Front Bar 3pm The Céilí Allstars
• 5pm ish The West Cork Ukulele Orchestra
• 7pm Rawney
• 8pm: DJ Gustaff’s Garden Party
• 8:30pm ish The Monks
• 10pm ish The Kates

DeBarra-Palooza events are free to attend, no booking necessary.