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music · Friday 17 July 2026 · 8:00pm 
Sean Keane at Ballymaloe Grainstore
At Ballymaloe Grainstore · Ballymaloe House, Shanagarry, Midleton, Co. Cork
At Ballymaloe Grainstore · Ballymaloe House, Shanagarry, Midleton, Co. Cork
Seán Keane has one of the most immediately recognisable voices in Irish music - warm, unhurried, and able to carry a song from a whisper to something close to a roar without losing any of the intimacy. This is his eighth consecutive summer concert at the Ballymaloe Grainstore, which tells you something about how well the pairing works. If you have never seen him live, this is the kind of evening you book once and come back to every year.
Keane resists easy category labels. His roots are in traditional Irish song, but he draws equally from folk, country, and blues, applying that singular voice to whichever tradition suits the material. The result is a set that feels personal rather than genre-bound. For this show he is joined by guitarists Fergus Feely and Fergal Scahill, giving the arrangements a richness you rarely get from a solo support.
The setting is central to the experience. The Ballymaloe Grainstore is a 17th-century farmyard building converted into an intimate 300-seat venue on the grounds of Ballymaloe House in Shanagarry. The acoustics are excellent - it was designed to present music well - and with a hydraulic stage, mezzanine balcony, and a capacity that keeps you close to the performer, it is one of the finer small concert rooms in Munster. There is no bad seat. Book early; this one fills up on the back of the annual run.
The Grainstore is in Shanagarry, about 35km east of Cork city and roughly 8km south of Midleton town. By car, take the N25 east from Cork and follow signs for Cloyne and Shanagarry; the Ballymaloe House estate is well-signposted. Parking is available on site. By public transport, Bus Éireann runs from Cork to Midleton, from where a taxi is the practical option for the final stretch into Shanagarry - it is a rural townland with no local bus service in the evening.
The surrounding East Cork area is good value for a day trip. Midleton town itself has the Jameson Distillery and a busy Saturday farmers’ market, and the coastline between Shanagarry and Ballycotton is worth the detour. There is more to see in Midleton and across Co. Cork.
Heading to Ballymaloe Grainstore in Midleton? Cork has plenty more to see. Read the Midleton area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.