Sands family on song to deliver stunning home concert

This summer festival - now in its 36th year - attracts thousands of visitors annually to the Co Down town and is regarded as one of the best in Ireland.

And what a triumphant home-coming it was for siblings Anne, Tommy, Colum and Ben Sands who always produce top drawer entertainment in terms of songs, stories, lively reels and jigs as well as hilarious examples of homespun philosophy.

The Family have travelled a long road since their tentative beginnings nearly 60 years ago in their humble farmhouse cottage on the Ryan Road just outside the village of Mayobridge.

Fittingly they launched their Saturday night concert with "The Bridge of Mayo" a song they learned from their father Mick - better known as The Chief - and one which is enduringly popular with their audiences at home and much further afield.

A conservative estimate reckons that the Sands Family have collectively and individually travelled well over a million miles worldwide since they began their musical journey back in the late 1960's.

This journey has included concerts in stadia as diverse as Carnegie Hall, New York, the Luzhniki Olympic Stadium, Moscow and Germany's Nuremberg Bardenteffen World Music Festival.

But despite everything the Sands Family have achieved - as they proved on Saturday night - they are as fresh, dynamic and relevant today as they have ever been.

Famous for his peace campaigning - he penned "There Were Roses" the unofficial Northern Ireland peace anthem - Tommy has written a new song "The Times They are Not Changing" while brother Ben also has a new composition "Irish Rain".

But only Colum Sands could write a song called "Apathy and Indifference" and make it laugh out loud funny!

It was an incredible three hours spent in the company of these gifted musicians and storytellers who were given a much deserved standing ovation at the end of the evening.

But the whole event was made even more special when the Sands were joined on stage by sister Mary - who joined Anne for a song - and brother Hugh.

It always promised to be an unforgettable night - and the Sands Family certainly did not disappoint. It was an incredibly special event.