The music of composer Seán Ó Riada will be celebrated by Louth Contemporary Music Society (LCMS) when a unique arrangement of his Mass is performed on Sunday, March 10, 2012, in Dundalk.
The new arrangement was completed by Dmitri Yanov-Yanovsky.  A native of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, he most recently has been a composer-in-residence at Harvard University and [...]

A new series of the popular TG4 traditional music programme Geantraí, will be broadcast on TG4 starting on Sunday, January 29, 2012, for a 13 week run. The programme will be repeated on Fridays at 8pm on TG4.
The series which has built up a loyal audience among traditional music followers in Ireland and abroad will [...]

After a rollercoaster week of about-turns and top level political intervention, Derry has been selected to host the 2013 All-Ireland Fleadh, the first time the event will take place in Northern Ireland.The 31-member central executive of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Éireann met in Dublin  yesterday (January 28) to decide between Derry, Sligo and Ennis for an event [...]

Oidhreacht an Chláir has launched a new masterclass series in Irish traditional music in Miltown Malbay this February.
The series will start off with musician Noel Hill’s concertina masterclass on the weekend of February 3, 4 and 5 at Áras OaC, Flag Road, Miltown Malbay.
This is an intensive course aimed at the advanced and advanced intermediate [...]

the Dubliners are to be honoured for their lifetime achievements at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. The winners of the awards – to be presented on February 8 – were announced by presenter Mike Harding on his British-broadcast Radio 2 show.
Meanwhile The Dubliners will celebrate their 50th anniversary concert in the historic [...]

Molly Malone was a character invented to send up the Irish, according to a new study into the roots of the song. Experts insist there isn’t any evidence to prove that Dublin’s most famous female ever lived in the capital or that she was a prostitute by night.
Professor Daithi O hOgain, from University College Dublin, [...]

The village of Slane in Co.Meath will pay tribute to one of it’s most famous musical families when the first annual Johnstons Music Festival takes place on the last weekend in June.
The highlight of the weekend will be the festival concert on Saturday, June 25, at the T.L.T. Concert Hall in Drogheda, when for the [...]

The full brochure for this year’s Summer School

Box player Máirtín O’Connor launches his first book of tunes in Galway on March 22. Inside the Box, Outside the Box has been compiled by Máirtín and its composition reflects the depth of his connection to the tradition. It includes transcriptions of some of his popular tunes as well as some tunes that have not [...]

I met a man from North Carolina a few years back who was adamant that country and western has its roots in Irish music. I have come across this notion before and it seemed plausible – except that nobody had been able to actually trace any of these roots.The connection was finally [...]

The opening concert of this year’s Frankie Kennedy Winter School in Co Donegal on December 28 was streamed live. The concert features Seamus Begley, Tim Edey, Mick O’Brien and Caoimhin O Raghallaigh.
The concert was streamed by LiveTrad.com which brought us the Dervish Sligo birthday concert last summer. The video can be viewed at
http://ww w.livetrad.com [...]

The Ibiza Fleadh is held in Port De Torrent, Ibiza, every year in late April and early May. The Fleadh celebrates Irish dancing and culture and is held in the Sirenis Country Club Hotel.
Over 2000 Irish music enthusiasts from as far afield as America and Canada, flock to the festival which starts in late April. [...]

Wild goats are becoming scarce in the Irish countryside and some are blaming bodhran players. It’s becoming more difficult each year to find a male mountain goat to preside over the annual Puck Fair in Killorglin, Co Kerry, according to chief goat-catcher Frank Joy.
This year, Frank and his team failed to find a goat on [...]

The Sligo Live Festival has teamed up with Glasgow’s 18-day Celtic Connections Festival. This will see the festivals cooperating on programming and marketing. Initially, Celtic Connections will host a Sligo Live Sessions night each year and Celtic Connections will present a Scottish programme at the Sligo Live Sessions starting in 2011 and each [...]

Cuban, Irish and Canadian Celts share music and dance traditions …

Una Corda’s headquarters in Havana, the National Workshop of Instrument Repair, is to host a concert in the city’s first Irish Cultural Week.
Organised by the Irish embassy in Mexico, which is also accredited to Cuba, the week of cultural events, including [...]

Eddie Stack recalls St Stephen’s Day in Clare…