News
As part of the St Patrick's week of festivities in the Cathedral City there will be a special evening of Bardic revelry in the Navan Centre on Thursday 15 March. Taking his place of ho...
Due to popular demand, the words of 'Willie Wright' have been added to the Lyrics page of this website. The poem was recited by Joan Rooney at the recent Bard Finals and is provi...
The eagerly awaited new Bard of Armagh double CD ‘Uplift the Spirit, A Cocktail of Humorous Juices’ has just been launched. This exciting collection of odes, recorded live ...
A set of photographs taken by Liam McArdle at the Bard finals is now available to view in 'Galleries' on this site.
Picture shows Joan Rooney winner of the Rosemary Twohig best female bard,...
Henry McGrath from Katesbridge was triumphant in his bid to become the Bard of Armagh 2011 with his epic poem ‘The Priest’. Henry last won the title in 2003 with ‘My ...
Maybe the recession is causing people to be more selective in their choice of entertainment, but demand for tickets for this year’s bard finals is the heaviest ever. Literally hu...
Popular Keady man, Donal McKenna seems to get better with age. Now in his early eighties, he is busy fine tuning his ode for the Bard finals on Friday 18 November.
His star is rising ...
Two county Monaghan reciters, Dermot McEnally from Monaghan town, and Joan Rooney from Donaghmoyne are rehearsing their lines for the much awaited finals of the Bard of Armagh Festival...
Four newcomers, four making their second appearance and a variety of seasoned campaigners will take to the lecturn on Friday 18 November to see who will become this year’s Bard of Arma...
The recipient for the prestigious Gerry Watters Hall of Fame Award 2011 is Mullaghbawn’s Pat McGeeney. This special memorial was put forward by the family of the late Gerry...
Several unpublished songs recorded by legendary Keady singer Sarah Makem will be on a new triple CD collection to be launched at the coming Tommy Makem Festival on October.&nb...
the 2011 Bard finals will be held in the Armagh City Hotel on Friday 18 November. Tickets will be available in early September in the following venues:
The Old Mill Keady.
Armagh Cit...
They wore Aran sweaters and sang the old ballads, popularised Irish music in the US and became "the best known Irishmen in the world" in 1961 when they performed to 84 million Americans on t...
The 2010 photo gallery is now live on this site. It gives a snapshot of each of the 12 performing Bards at the lecturn. Picture shows: Donal McKenna (Cock a Doodle Do); Frank Gall...
Castlebar poet and writer, Colleen Downham was among the winners at the recent annual Bard of Armagh Festival of Humorous Verse. Her poem ‘Lady GAA GAA’, was presented with...
Sincere thanks to Paul McParland and Lee Henry from Culture Northern Ireland for creating a video of the Bard event 2010.
Here is the link to the snapshot.
http://w...
Jimmy Rafferty became Bard of Armagh for an unprecedented fourth time at a packed Armagh City Hotel last night 19 November 2010. He narrowly pipped fierce rival Liam McNally in t...
With elegant and stylish Pearse McBride once again acting as MC, the audience is certain to be activated into good fettle as soon as he hits the lecturn. Injector of merriment, champio...
Another uproarious evening’s entertainment awaits on Friday 19 November at the Armagh City Hotel when an assortment of new odes will be aired for the first time. Some of these wi...
Popular Cavan lady, Mary Byrne is back in the Bard finals with a vengeance and is aiming to become the first lady to take the title since the competition began seventeen years ago. Mar...
The legendary Patsy O Hagan will receive the Gerry Watters Hall of Fame award at this year’s Bard Finals in the Armagh City Hotel on Friday 19 November. Patsy is a bard in big de...
The twelve finalists for this year’s Bard of Armagh humorous verse competition have been named and the big question is, can Liam McNally become the first person to win the title three ...
The newly launched ‘Collection of Lesser Sung Folk Songs’ has received outstanding reviews following the launch to a packed audience at Armagh’s Navan Centre. The son...
As a lasting tribute to former committee member, the late Gerry Watters, the Bard committee has commissioned a special memorial trophy. This will be presented annually as a Hall of Fam...
Four distinguished bards have between them won the bard title a total of ten times: Liam McNally 2008 and 2009; Jimmy Rafferty 2004, 2006 and 2007; Pat McGeeney 1999 and 2002; Patsy O Hagan ...
A book of local songs collected around Derrynoose, Keady and Armagh over thirty years ago is due to be launched at the Navan Centre Armagh on Saturday 9 September at 5.00pm. The launch is on...
With the Autumn nights dropping down and the first signs of frost, the attention of many is turning away from the sights and sounds of summer to the forthcoming feast of uproarious verse, th...
It seems that the ode has become a party piece all over the country. The words are now posted on the lyrics section of the website here and the poem is one of the tracks on the ...
Naming of bridge for Tommy and Mary — A key part of Dover's future was enshrined Friday with the names of a late Irish couple recognized as two of the city's greatest benefactors...
The TOMMY MAKEM International Festival of Song invites the song people of the world to come to Armagh, heartland of Irish myth and legend on Thursday 7, Friday 8 and Saturday 9 October 2010....
The evening of uproarious laughter as the competitors unleash their compositions of humorous verse to an appreciative audience. Over fifteen years ago the ...
All associates and supporters of the Bard of Armagh Festival of Humorous Verse will be saddened at the news of the recent death of Rosemary Twohig.
Rosemary had been suffering from ill heal...
Liam McNally was the toast of the town as he swept to an impressive victory in the Bard of Armagh finals on Friday the 20th of November 2009. He saw off his arch rival Jimmy Raff...
The epic winning poems from the recent Bard of Armagh finals feature on a brand new CD Hilarity and Jollification, just hot off the press. The CD contains popular winner Liam McNa...