Irish Folly set to take the stage at Ceilidh

Irish Folly's Klas Hoggeush, John De La Haye and Keith Gosney will take the stage at Cornwall Park's Ceilidh, a Scottish and Irish music celebration on Sunday. Photo/Supplied

Irish Folly's John De La Haye and Keith Gosney always have fun performing together.

The duo, who often rope in friends to play with them, will take the stage with fellow musician Klas Hoggeush during Ceilidh, a Scottish and Irish music celebration at Cornwall Park on Sunday.

They will also be joined by Hastings Pipe Band, Joe Christiansen and other guests, including a range of dancers.

Irish Folly singer and guitarist Keith Gosney, and his bandmate of more than 20 years, John De La Hayes, share a longtime love affair with Irish and folk music.

"There was a huge folk music boom in the 1960s," Gosney said. "Bands like the Clancy Brothers really helped to revive that particular genre and in the 1990s, thanks to Riverdance, Irish music began to become more mainstream again.

"When I was in Scotland and England I started to going to a lot of folk music festivals - I really enjoy the rhythm and the feel of the music."

During this "Irish Boom", Gosney and De La Hayes were performing every Wednesday night at Irish pubs throughout the Bay.

"They were great times for Irish music with Irish Folly regulars at the Cock and Bull in Napier, The Duke of Gloucester, Rosie O'Grady's, The Malt House and Katz Cafe in Wairoa.

"We have also assisted the City of Hastings Pipe Band with fundraisers from 1999-2001, which were held at Hawke's Bay Opera House."

Gosney was excited to be rolling out some rollicking tunes on Sunday.

"We are going to be performing at the concert, and playing all the crowd favourites, It's going to be a wonderful night.

"The evening is going to celebrate people's connection to Irish and Scottish music."