Country ladies rule the roost at Sligo Festival

The Sligo Park Hotel is the venue for the Susan McCann Music Festival, which will be staged on the weekend of 6-8 February. The venture is being organised and promoted by Showtours and will feature some well-known names from the dancing circuit over the decades.

Susan, along with Country Harmony, will be on stage all three nights, with the weekend getting off to a flying start when Margo O’Donnell will do a guest spot on the Friday night show. It is rare enough these days for Margo to perform at a dance, so country followers are in for a special treat at this show.

Another guest at the Friday night event is Kieran Lundy from Tubbercurry. Kieran, who recorded a tribute to Jim Reeves album some time ago, will sing exclusively from the Jim Reeves songbook and is assured of a very warm home county welcome.

The Saturday night show features Philomena Begley as the star attraction. Philomena can always be relied on to deliver a first-class show and the Tyrone lady will relish the chance to perform before a readymade audience of loyal followers. Other guests include local singers Tony Marren and Ray Ross.

TR Dallas is on stage on Sunday evening from 4pm to 7pm and the closing dance sees the first performance in Sligo by Muriel Day in over 40 years. Muriel was Ireland’s first female representative at the Eurovision Song Contest when she sang in Madrid in 1969. This month sees the release of her new country album. Hugo Duncan, host of Country Afternoon on BBC Radio Ulster, will also feature on the Sunday night show.

Susan McCann emerged on the country circuit in the mid-1970s. Big Tom Is Still The King was the song that really launched her career and it spent two weeks at number one in the Irish top 10 back in 1977.

“The weekend in Sligo is generating major interest and we are all looking forward to a great occasion,” says James Cafferty of Showtours. “It is a rare chance to see Susan, Margo, Philomena and Muriel on the same weekend. A lot of people have special memories of dancing to all of these artists in former times and are so much looking forward to seeing them again. Demand on accommodation is very strong and, of course, people can come along to the door on all three nights as well. We intend to roll out a real Sligo welcome for all the revellers who will join us.”