Welcome to this, the 20th Rockfall Festival.

Rockfall started out in 1989 with 9 bands and 1 DJ (Billy Murphy) in 5 venues. This year we will have 24 bands, 5 solo artists and 10 DJs in 17 different venues with a total of over 20 gigs as well as a quiz and film night taking place over the weekend.

The festival began as a fundraiser for the O’Neill Centre in Kilkenny, an organisation close to my own heart. The fantastic work that is carried out in the O’Neill Centre is detailed in our programme, available in shops and pubs around Kilkenny.

Rockfall has a second purpose in that it has been and remains to be a showcase for young up and coming talent as well as the many fine established bands that Kilkenny has produced over the years.

This is a festival that brings the talent together like no other festival in the City, because it it a music festival almost entirely made up of Kilkenny musicians, bands, DJs and what talent we have here. If there was an All-Ireland for Rock ‘N’ Roll we would surely be champions at that too!

It is the generosity and musicianship of these performers that has contributed to making Rockfall such a success. All acts perform free of charge with some musicians playing more than once over the weekend. Over the 20 years there has never been a “No” when performers have been asked to play at Rockfall. To these performers we will be forever grateful.

Thanks also to the volunteers who collect at all venues and to the publicans who allowed us to do this. I am sure the publicans will agree that Rockfall has contributed greatly to festival life in Kilkenny over the yeras.

Thanks to Kilkenny Borough Council & Kilkenny County Council for grants, all programme advertisers, Paul Colfer and Eamon Walsh (Diageo) and Diageo for the Cellar Bar (launch night), Michael O’Grady (for the ‘Rockfall’ name), Broderick’s Music Warehouse, Michael Morton for all his patience and his talent in producing our programme (printed) and posters. Special thanks to Tomas Jackman for organising the Bank Holiday Monday gig in Kytelers.

Thanks to the hard working Rockfall Committee of Rory Broderick, Sheila Ryan, Michael Morton, Malcolm Noonan, Canice Kennealy, Ken McGuire, Geoff Rose, Caroline Long, Barry Delaney and Andrew McGuinness.

Eamon Cleere
Organiser

O’Neill Centre, St Joseph’s Road, Kilkenny