Waltons Guitar Festival of Ireland

Welcome to the official GFI website, Ireland's first and foremost guitar festival headquarters. The festival will run from 26 June to 3 July next and will showcase the absolute best of classical, fingerstyle, world, traditional and jazz guitar in the best venues throughout Dublin. Not only will you get the chance to hear the legendary John Williams, Tommy Emmanuel, David Russell, John Feeley, Clive Carroll and many more, but also there will be seminars, workshops, free open-air gigs, masterclasses and cinema presentations.

This is a world-class festival right in the centre of Dublin, it's a chance to learn, develop, enjoy and experience the very best there is if you are not into any of that then come along and listen to the most comprehensive guitar line-up you will see in Ireland this year. So whether you are an enthusiastic amateur, a keen student working for a grade examination, avid concert goer or an aspiring international concert artist, there is something here for everyone. Hope to see you there!

Alec and Michael.

GFI Press Release

John Williams and Tommy Emmanuel to Headline the 2nd Waltons Guitar Festival of Ireland.

Following the success of the inaugural Waltons Guitar Festival of Ireland, the organisers have announced the second staging of the event, to take place in Dublin from Sunday 26th June to Sunday 3rd July inclusive.

The festival, which celebrates guitar music in its many forms, will include performances by top international and Irish classical guitarists, jazz and traditional guitarists as well as a stellar line-up of steel-string exponents of the guitar. Some of the artists for this year's event include:

John Williams (joined by multi-instrumentalist Richard Harvey)
Tommy Emmanuel
David Russell
Xuefei Yang
Impromp2
John Feeley
Clive Carroll
Amanda Cook
Preston Reed
Frank Bungarten
Arty McGlynn (with Nollaig Casey)
Graham Anthony Devine
Louis Stewart
John Goldie
Colin Reid
Clive Barnes

Concerts will be staged in central Dublin locations. John Williams and Richard Harvey will play The National Concert Hall on Thursday 30th June, Tommy Emmanuel, with special guest Clive Carroll will play Vicar St. on Friday 1st July, Xuefei Yang, the much lauded Chinese guitarist will play a Sunday afternoon performance at the National Gallery on 3 rd July.

An integral part of the festival is the comprehensive Guitar Summer School, which comprises daily tuition, lectures and workshops, based at Trinity College. This learning programme is available on a residency basis, with students staying in Trinity College, but classes and workshops are also available on a non-resident basis. Numbers are limited. Further details and bookings at www.guitarfestivalofireland.com

The varied programme will encompass free open-air lunchtime concerts at Meeting House Square, Temple Bar (sponsored by Temple Bar Properties), the open-air screening of three guitar-inspired films, over successive nights at Meeting House Square, including ‘Sweet and Low Down', ‘Flamenco' and a docu/film celebrating the work of Rory Gallagher.

Commenting on this year's programme, Alec O' Leary, co-founder and director of the Waltons Guitar Festival of Ireland said:

“We are thrilled that John Williams has returned this year to headline what is a very strong and varied programme. Only in its second year, the festival is already one of the biggest guitar festivals in Europe and the positive response to last year's event makes us confident that this year's activities will prove even more popular. The guitar is the world's most versatile and popular instrument and this year's programme, featuring jazz, flamenco, world music, contemporary steel-string, and classical guitarists, underpins just why guitar music enjoys such a broad following”.

Fellow director and co-founder Michael O'Toole, commented:

“Our ambition from the start was to establish the festival as a premium event on the international music calendar. Our commitment to procuring only the very best artists for our series of concerts and similarly the leading teachers and composers to moderate at our summer school, is already paying dividends – the word has spread and each of the artists and teachers we have sought to participate in this year's festival have all said yes. It's very satisfying to have this level of success so early on in the life of the festival”.

Ends.