Chris Kelly and Máirín Fahy met and fell in love through traditional music, later going on to tour with Riverdance and also embarking on their own projects. These include Trad on the Prom, which started in 2005 and features leading Irish musicians, singers and dancers. Fellow cast members include the couple’s son Dara, a dancer, and Máirín’s multi-talented siblings Yvonne and Ger. The show was once perceived as being for overseas visitors but increasing numbers of Irish people are attending and loving it as BERNIE Ní FHLATHARTA learns.

A Galway couple who met through traditional music and who travelled the globe with Riverdance are celebrating twenty years of their home-grown production, Trad on the Prom, which has been voted Ireland’s top music, song and dance experience by Tripadvisor.

This is the 20th consecutive season of the popular production – they even managed to stage six shows during lockdown, when regulations eased.

Chris Kelly and his wife, Máirín Fahy never dreamed their summer show would become such a hit but they put its success down to hard graft, their love of music and, above all, the quality of talent on their doorstep.

The two-hour show, staged three times a week during summer certainly showcases that talent, be they musicians, singers or dancers. The show is tweaked constantly, keeping the novelty alive for the performers and audiences.

Chris and Máirín play guitar and fiddle respectively. Máirín, who has been playing the fiddle since she was five, is one of the famous Fahy family of the Ballinakill Céilí Band, which was co-founded by her grandfather, Thomas Whyte. She’s joined on stage by her brother Ger and younger sister, Yvonne. Ger’s son and daughter often join them too, making it a real family affair.

Trad on the Prom is a slick, professional production, showcasing the best of trad, with almost the performers having individual musical careers. Listening to Chris’s introductions is staggering as he reels off their achievements – tours with Riverdance and other performances worldwide, individual albums, and international titles for music and dancing.

When Trad on the Prom opened in its first home, the Salthill Hotel, in 2005, it was perceived as being a “show for tourists” and although audiences are still mostly international, there has been a growing appreciation of its quality –  and entertainment factor – among domestic audiences too.

Playing live is what it’s all about, explains Chris, who is as passionate about getting the balance of entertainment right as he is about the front-of-house experience for audiences.

They’re doing something right, as Trad on the Prom has been the number one Tripadvisor show in the country for years!

“The welcome at the door is just as important to us as the music we play, the entertainment factor and value for money. We’ve learned a lot about production since we started and we like to think that we’ve something to show for it here in Leisureland,” says Chris, a native of Mountbellew, who started out wanting to be a rock star until he met Máirín and her family. He was hooked on their musicality and passion for trad, and fell for Máirín whom he met when they toured with Moylough man, Tomás Mannion’s show, A Taste of Ireland.

Pictured: From left: Musical siblings Ger, Máirín and Yvonne Fahy and Máirín’s husband Chris. The multi-talented quartet are at the heart of Trad on the Prom.