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theatre · Friday 10 July 2026 · 9:30pm 
The Piano Men by Candlelight - Elton John and Billy Joel Tribute, Kells
At Headfort Arms Hotel · Headfort Place, Kells, Co. Meath
At Headfort Arms Hotel · Headfort Place, Kells, Co. Meath
On a summer Friday evening in July, the garden of the Headfort Arms Hotel in Kells fills with candlelight and the sound of two of the twentieth century’s most beloved piano songwriters. Frank McNamara - Ireland’s best-known concert pianist and former musical director of RTÉ’s Late Late Show for over a decade - performs a set of beautifully arranged instrumental versions of Elton John and Billy Joel classics, accompanied by the Bridgerton String Quartet. It is a relaxed, open-air concert that suits anyone who grew up with Rocket Man or Piano Man, and equally anyone who simply wants a warm evening out in good surroundings.
Frank McNamara has been running his Candlelight Classics series around Ireland for several years, and the Piano Men show is one of its more popular programmes. The format is straightforward: McNamara plays orchestral arrangements of the greatest hits from both songwriters - think Tiny Dancer, Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me, It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me, and The Stranger - while the quartet adds warmth and texture. The setting is the hotel’s garden, lit by what the organisers describe as a thousand candles, giving it a theatrical atmosphere without the formality of a concert hall. The show runs for approximately one hour and fifteen minutes, starting at 9:30pm, which means the first notes go up as the summer sky begins to darken. Doors open at 8:45pm, so there is time to settle in before the performance begins.
Kells is on the N3 road, roughly 50km north-west of Dublin. From Dublin, take the M3 motorway and continue on the N3 - the drive is under an hour in normal traffic. Bus Éireann operates services between Dublin and Cavan that stop in Kells, so a bus-and-walk combination is workable for those coming from the city. The Headfort Arms is right in the town centre on Headfort Place, and on-street parking is available in the surrounding streets. Kells is a compact town, so once you are in, everything is within easy walking distance.
Kells is one of the older towns in the Boyne Valley - it gives its name to the Book of Kells, the illuminated manuscript now housed in Trinity College Dublin, and was historically associated with early Christian monasticism. The town has a round tower and high crosses worth a look during daylight hours. There is more to see in Kells and across Co. Meath.
Heading to Headfort Arms Hotel in Kells? Meath has plenty more to see. Read the Kells area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.