Festival marks 50 years of Celtic cultural bridge

This month marks the 50th anniversary of Galway’s twinship with the Breton town of Lorient – a celebration that will be marked by nine days of music and exhibitions for Brittany Galway Fest 2025.

Charlie Le Brun, a Brittany native and skilled musician across Breton and Irish traditional folk, last played here in 2023. On Friday, May 16, he will present the layers and history steeped in his sound at Monroe’s Live, alongside fellow Breton outfit Ampouailh.

For Le Brun – a flautist, singer and composer – the opportunity to express his culture and educate an Irish crowd on the threads between his home and ours is always something to relish.

“In 1976, when my dad was 16, he came to Dublin, and he brought back home a tin whistle and the O’Neill’s book of tunes,” he says.

“Growing up in Brittany, I was exposed to Celtic traditional culture speaking the Breton language and going to a Breton school – the equivalent of a Gaelscoil here in Ireland.

“I got into Breton dancing and speaking, and my dad would be listening at home to the likes of the Chieftains, the Bothy Band and Planxty and so on.

“I was exposed from the age of ten to Irish traditional music and this is how I decided, when I turned 18 or so, to come to Ireland and live my dream of living here. I first moved to Westport to meet with Matt Molloy, my long-time flute hero, and I’m still here.”

Galway’s ties to Lorient date back as far as 1794 and a relationship forged on tobacco trading. Since 1975, the cities have been official twins, and as Le Brun highlights, there are myriad connections between the wider Breton area and Ireland.

“The language obviously has common roots although it’s quite different in a way,” he says.

“The Irish language would be closer to Scottish whereas Breton is mostly associated with Cornish and Welsh. The language unfortunately in Brittany is not doing great. We really try to push it forward.

“There are [more] similarities with the dancing. Most households in Brittany used to have a dance for any new houses, or at the end of the season after the harvesting of the potatoes.

Pictured: Charlie Le Brun...concert highlight of Brittany Galway Fest 2025.