The Craic is back - New York’s premiere Irish film and music event is firing on all cylinders

Preparations well under way for annual Craic Festival in NYC

“The Irish Arts Center is the ideal home for this event,” says Mulligan.  “It’ll feature storytelling at the start, then we’ll cut into a film program for young people and we’ll finish up with stepdancing with the Niall O’Leary School of Irish Dance. There’ll be free goody bags at the end too, which is always nice for the kids.”

You have to hand it to Mulligan. Fifteen years is a lifetime in show business. Especially in New York City. If your arts festival has lasted that long then its deservedly become a fixture in the city’s arts calendar. 

That’s the enviable position that Craic Fest director Mulligan, who helms the annual showcase of the best of Irish film and music which started out in 1998, now finds himself in.

When Mulligan was starting out email was still a relatively new concept, cellphones were just becoming widespread, Facebook was unheard of and Twitter was still eight years away. To have lasted through all of those changes just proves the vitality of the idea is he started out with.

“Our sponsors like Tullamore and Heineken have really helped to keep it running,” Mulligan reveals.

He also confirms he has more ambitious plans for the future involving a Craic Fest summer festival with the scope of the much-missed Guinness Fleadh. 

“We can make that a reality, we have the relationships and the success to date to make it work. If a major player wants to underwrite it we can make it happen. We have the talent and the contacts. This could be the next step for us,” he adds.

For tickets to the Craic Fest visit www.thecraicfest.com.

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Nster.com