Since its inception by the Temple Bar Company in 2006, TradFest has expanded its offering to reflect its ethos of "Trad without Frontiers". This allows for a varied line-up at each festival that incorporates various musical forms including
Celtic folk,
folk,
folk rock,
nu folk,
world music, and
traditional Irish music. The incentive was to provide a musical interlude for Irish and international visitors in January, a month hitherto without any festival events. Since it formed, TradFest has used a number of Dublin's historic buildings to host its concerts. Previous venues have included Dublin Castle,
St Patrick's Cathedral, the
National Stadium, St. Stephen's Church (the Pepper Canister), the Button Factory and the Grand Social. In 2023, TradFest partnered with
Fingal County Council to expand TradFest and program TradFest concerts in the county of Fingal. Artists who have performed at TradFest in Fingal include Janis Ian, Ralph McTell, Frankie Gavin, Stephen Rea, Liam Ó Maonlaí, Stockton's Wing and Cathy Jordan. Venues have included Malahide Castle, Swords Castle, Donabate Parish Hall, St. Patrick's Church, the Millbank Theatre, Skerries Mill, the Séamus Ennis Arts Centre, Draíocht and Shackleton Gardens. == Past events ==