The Bridge Céilí Band have entered the Fleadh Cheoil Céilí Band competition twelve times and they have won it six times – 1970, 1973, 1974, 1992, 1996 and 1998; they came second in 1971 and 1995 and third in 1972, 1975, 1990 and 1991. Over the years the personnel of…
We Banjo 3 – Roots of the Banjo Tree – Album Review
Don’t be fooled by the name – there are 4 musicians in this group for a start, and their usual line up combines banjos, mandolins, guitar, fiddle and some bodhran. The band comprises 2 sets of brothers – Enda & Fergal Scahill and Martin & David Howley. With roots originally…
Rhiannon Giddens – Factory Girl – Album Review
This reviewer first listened to Rhiannon Giddens by chance when she was performing a live lock-down session on TG4 earlier this year. Her performance was lilting an Irish Trad tune which is available on this album as “Mouth Music”. Giddens has a really strong and diverse music background and she…
The Blackwater Céili Band – Music in the Valley – Album Review
The Blackwater Céilí Band hails from the Clogher Valley region of County Tyrone, taking its name from the River Blackwater, which flows through the heart of South Ulster. The band was formed in February 2015 and consists of musicians from counties Tyrone, Monaghan, Down and Leitrim. They have become a…
Irish Concertina Ensemble (ICE) – Zero – Album Review
ICE is made up of 5 virtuoso concertina players – Míchael O Raghallaigh, Caitlín Nic Gabhainn, Pádraig Rynne, Edel Fox and Tim Collins. ICE creates a new sonic template for Irish Traditional music. Situating it within this quintet format pioneers an exciting and innovative performance trajectory for the concertina, where…
Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin – Elver Gleams – Album Review
For the pianists. Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin is one of the stand out performers of traditional Irish music with influences of classical and jazz resulting in his own unique style. As an academic he also made huge contributions with the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of…
Ryan Molloy – Pianophony – Album Review
Another one for the pianists. Ryan Molloy is an academic, composer, fiddle player and pianist, but it is his piano expertise that is on show here. Released in 2019, this is a wonderful demonstration of the full range of traditional Irish music on piano. Favourite tracks on this for this…
Michael Rooney – The de Cuellar Suite – Album Review
Rooney is a leading harpist, pianist, composer and teacher. This work is a symphony of music commemorating the ship wreck of the Spanish Armada off the western coast of Ireland, drawing on the history of the event as well as his own Sligo background, this is a wonderful suite of…
The Haar – The Haar – Album Review
The band has its origins in a chance meeting at Craiceann Bodhrán Festival, Inis Oírr, resulting in an improvised live performance recorded by the shipwreck of the Plassey on the wild Atlantic seafront (that is the ship wreck on the island at the start of Fr Ted). Featuring Molly Donnery…
Steve Cooney – Ársa Cláirsí: Tunes of the Irish Harpers for Solo Guitar – Pre-Review
A CD for guitarists who want to play harp tunes. This is a brand new CD from the famous guitar player, Steve Cooney. The inspiration for this CD were Edward Bunting’s manuscripts in Queen’s University Library, Belfast. Cooney checked these in order to hunt down tunes that were played at…
