Shennaghys Jiu
Shennaghys Jiu, meaning Tradition Today, is a four-day youth festival on the Isle of Man that celebrates traditional Manx music and dance. It gives young performers a chance to play and perform on stage in a relaxed, non-competitive setting and to share Manx culture with other Celtic nations.
Manx Gaelic music declined with tourism but was revived in the 1970s, and today Manx music is taught in schools. The festival was founded in 1998 by James Alexander, Juan Garrett and Andrew Hannan. The first event was in Ramsey in April 1998, and Ramsey remains closely linked to the festival. In 2017, Shennaghys Jiu was honored with an Isle of Man Post Office stamp celebrating its contribution to Manx culture.
The 2020 festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the festival has featured traditional Manx acts as well as performers from other Celtic nations and Galicia. It places a strong emphasis on local school participation, offering language, dance and instrument workshops, and evening pub sessions to introduce young people to informal traditional music sessions. Organizer Juan Garrett says the festival’s success is encouraging, with many children getting involved in playing, dancing and Manx culture. Most performances take place in Ramsey, with some shows in Peel on the island’s west coast.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 17:48 (CET).