Derry International Irish Music Festival by Odhrán Ó Maoláin

DIIMF

DERRY INTERNATIONAL IRISH MUSIC FESTIVAL 31 JAN - 07 FEB 2016

partners & funders PRINCIPAL FUNDERS

EVENT PARTNERS

PROGRAMME FUNDERS

MEDIA PARTNERS TRAD TRAIL SPONSOR

foreword sector: Hop House 13, participating bars, cafés and restaurants, as well as the local businesses who have come on board as Friends of the Festival.

It is with tremendous joy that Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin presents the first Derry International Irish Music Festival. After the success of the Fleadh Cheoil in 2013, we hatched the idea for an annual citywide celebration of Irish music and put much time and thought into what our ideal event would look like. We can now say that after many months of planning and hard work, the festival is just how we imagined it!

Our team work hard throughout the year to deliver high quality Irish language and arts provision, and this festival offers us a chance to place this work in an international context. We are thrilled that during the festival we officially open our new centre of excellence for music, Acadamh Cheoil Chaoimhín Uí Dhochartaigh, an exciting project which will mark the beginning of a new journey for the traditional arts in Derry and the North West. Its namesake, our late former colleague and friend Caoimhín Ó Dochartaigh, would surely be proud of both the festival and the academy. These projects are a testament to his many years of dedication teaching and promoting traditional music in Derry.

The programme reflects the great diversity that exists on the contemporary Irish music scene. Alongside some longstanding masters of the tradition, we are showcasing music at the cutting edge of the genre, ensuring that there is something for everyone to enjoy at the festival. We are immensely grateful of the support of our key funders, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Derry City and Strabane District Council, without whom this event would not be taking place, and to our other funders, whose contributions have helped enhance the programme enormously. We are especially thankful for the support from the private

We hope you enjoy the festival and keep supporting Irish music! Eibhlín Ní Dhochartaigh Festival Director 3

Odhrán Mullan Festival Producer

friends of the festival

contents

GOLD SUPPORTERS

McGroarty McCafferty & Co.

SILVER SUPPORTERS

MAIN EVENTS

WORKSHOPS & COURSES

FREE EVENTS

THE HOP HOUSE 13 TRAD TRAIL

RESIDENCIES

SHOWCASE

AT A GLANCE

PLAN YOUR VISIT

55 5

welcome to the festival FESTIVAL PATRON CARA DILLON

“

It would be impossible for me to overstate how proud I am to be Patron of the inaugural Derry International Irish Music Festival. My concert here with the Orchestra of Ireland during Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann 2013 was probably one of my all time highlights, and the prospect of performing as part of the incredible Transatlantic Sessions is equally thrilling. A festival of this kind has been long over due in our corner of the world and I look forward to promoting it far and wide for years to come. Please join us in celebrating our wonderful musical heritage and spread the word in support of this fantastic event.

”

about culturlann ui chanain Where we are Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin 37 Mórshráid Shéamais, Doire, BT48 7DF 37 Great James Street, Derry, BT48 7DF

Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin is an award-winning Irish language, arts and cultural centre in Derry City. It is home to a number of exciting creative Irish language and cultural initiatives that bring life and activity to the centre day and night.

Get in touch t: +44 (0)2871 264 132 e: eolas@culturlann-doire.ie w: www.culturlann-doire.ie

The centre has attracted widespread interest and support from the local and wider community, and has become the major driving force in the development of Irish language and indigenous arts in Ireland.

Join the conversation Facebook: facebook.com/culturlann Twitter: @culturlanndoire YouTube: youtube.com/culturlannuichanain

Alongside a year-round programme of arts activity and performances, the organization has delivered several large-scale festivals over the past five years, and continues to produce a challenging and diverse programme to cater for all ages and communities.

main events

transatlantic sessions AN EXCLUSIVE IRISH PERFORMANCE Date Friday 05 February Venue Millennium Forum Doors 7:30pm Price £33.50

EVENT SPONSOR: BANK OF IRELAND From the award-winning Pelicula/BBC TV series, the Transatlantic Sessions continue to revisit shared roots and forge new common ground between today’s finest Celtic and Americana musicians. Fresh from the success of last year’s sold out tour are musical directors fiddle maestro Aly Bain and dobro legend Jerry Douglas with the ultimate house band who will accompany some very special guests. As the headline event of the festival, this is also a one-off chance to catch the annual tour on its first Irish date since 2010. The full lineup of performers is detailed overleaf. *Ticket holders gain free entry to Late Night Festival Club (space at this event is limited, and admission will be on a first come, first served basis

house-band regulars. Centrally, though, it springs from their ongoing exploration, and cultivation, of the fruitfully intricate interrelationships between Celtic and North American music - a family tree that continues to spring fresh revelations.

Even for artists making their Transatlantic Sessions debut, there’s a sense of being enfolded into a big family embrace, both among their fellow stars in the line-up, and by the annual sell-out audiences – for each of whom the shows are a guaranteed festival highlight.

Just listen to Rhiannon Gidden’s electrifying rendition of Gaelic puirt-a-beul, or the beat-boxing accompaniment to her audacious reworking of ‘Black Is the Colour’, on her ecstatically-received first solo album, 2015’s Tomorrow Is My Turn. Giddens – currently on sabbatical from the

This feeling of kinship derives partly from the performances’ back-porch informality and spontaneity, heartily abetted by the project’s founding musical directors, dobro genius Jerry Douglas and Shetland fiddle icon Aly Bain, plus other 12

The likewise sublime voice of Ireland’s Cara Dillon is a sumptuous ornament to any song session, while LA-based duo The Milk Carton Kids add their own exquisite twists to the golden thread of harmony/guitar duos running from the Everlys to The Civil Wars.

Carolina Chocolate Drops - is of African-American, European-American, and Native American descent, a multiple lineage dazzlingly reflected in the farreaching compass of her voice and material. Karen Matheson’s new fourth solo album Urram also sees the Capercaillie vocalist extending those Celtic Connections in unexpected directions, even while focusing close to home, with its all-Gaelic material featuring guest contributions from Indian and African musicians.

Douglas and Bain lead the customary super-league backing line-up, including Phil Cunningham, John Doyle, Danny Thompson, Michael McGoldrick, Russ Barenberg, John McCusker, Donald Shaw and James Mackintosh. 13

sasquatch

MUSICAL THEATRE PREMIERE Date Sunday 31 January Venue An Croí, Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin Doors 7:30pm Price £5.00

‘Sasquatch’ is a unique piece of experimental musical theatre bringing together the extraordinary talents of poet Gabriel Rosenstock, musician-composer Eugene Skeef and dancerchoreographer Bridget Madden in a brand new multi-lingual production featuring live improvised music, singing voice, spoken voice, dance and film sequences. The sasquatch is a magical, metaphorical being and the life and death of the last sasquatch on earth represents the death of a culture, of a language, of a species, of a world ... and yet, in his drowning, in his disappearance from a cruel world, he merges with universal consciousness, with deathlessness. Sasquatch trembles on a pearly string of dew, bringing the audience into the last days of the sasquatch, and allowing them to imagine what all this may mean, what it stands for: a dirge for a species, a celebration of a species, the fragility of the moment, the preciousness of biodiversity and cultural diversity. Supported by the Community Relations Council NI & Arts Council of Northern Ireland & Ulster University School of Media, Film & Journalism

1916 - visionaries & their words IN ASSOCIATION WITH CREATIVE CENTENARIES Date Tuesday 02 February Venue An tSeaneaglais (The Glassworks) Doors 7:30pm Price £8.00

100 years on from a remarkable revolution of visionaries and poets, this event explores the writings and ideals of the leaders of the Easter Rising in a spectacular dramatisation and musical interpretation inspired by their lives, their work, and their words. With a script written by those who fought in the Easter Rising, actress Elaine O’Dea interprets the written words of its participants to a backdrop of archive footage of Ireland one hundred years ago. Complimenting these enactments, the poetry and accounts of the Rising’s leaders inspire a new musical response to their vision. Lorcán Mac Mathúna’s specially commissioned show interprets the vision of these revolutionaries and the impact they made on Irish life then and since. Bringing the vision and words of the leaders of the Easter Rising dramatically to stage, 1916-Visionaries and their Words, celebrates the works and vision of some of Ireland’s foremost thinkers and writers of the 20th Century, including: Pearse, Plunkett, and Connolly. Supported by An Comhairle Ealaíonn as part of ‘Ireland 2016’

food & folksong: a worldwide irish legacy Date Thursday 04 February Venue An Croí, Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin Doors 7:30pm Price £10.00

EVENT SPONSOR: BRENDAN KEARNEY & CO. SOLICITORS Award-winning chef Emmett McCourt presents a taster menu of Irish dishes, which like our folk songs, have travelled with our ancestors across the world. The evening will include specially chosen musical performances ‘in the round’ by esteemed folk singers The Henry Girls, Mary Dillon, Kathleen Mac Innes, Alan Burke, Daoirí Farrell and Kate Crossan; interspersed with themed gourmet canapés. The evening will be hosted by BBC Radio Ulster’s Brian Mullen. Emmett McCourt’s book Feast or Famine: A Cultural Food Journey Through the North West of Ireland won the Gourmand World Award for Best Culinary Travel Book in 2015. Supported by local suppliers: Broighter Gold, William Grant & Co., Donnybrewer Butter, and Northbound Brewery

late night festival club Date Friday 05 February Venue Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin Doors 10:30pm til late Price £5.00

EVENT SPONSOR: iPRINT Many of the festival’s performers will converge at this late night event with an exciting line-up of performances. Expect an electric atmosphere with plenty of punchy, energetic performances from a selection of festival performers. Gino Lupari (Four Men and a Dog) will host the event, and included the line-up will be Fourwinds, Troy & Sabra McGillivray, Liz Doherty, Jim Woods, Talisk, Trinty TradSoc, Connla, Athrú and a few other special guests. Please note: there will be limited seating at this event *Transatlantic Sessions ticket holders gain free entry on a first come, first served basis

flook + adam holmes & the embers IN ASSOCIATION WITH AN DROICHEAD & UU TRADSOC Date Saturday 06 February Venue An tSeaneaglais (The Glassworks) Doors 9pm Price £12.00 £8.00 with Student ID

Flook are one of the most influential folk bands of the last twenty years. Since the release of their debut album Flatfish in 1997, they have been pushing the boundaries of traditional music and redefining the genre with fresh rhythms and original melodies that have embedded themselves in the DNA of contemporary folk music. Between the bands four members, Brian Finnegan, Sarah Allen, John Joe Kelly and Ed Boyd, they have collaborated with the biggest names in the industry, including Kate Rusby, Cara Dillon, Julie Fowlis, Lúnasa and Karen Matheson. Adam Holmes crafts lyrics that resonate like old folk songs, set to melodies rooted in haunting slow airs. John Martyn’s strum and sting, laced with a slice of Paolo Nutini soul and a touch of traditional folk. In 2013 he recorded his debut album Heirs and Graces with legendary producer John Wood (John Martyn, Nick Drake, Richard Thompson). In April 2014 the album was nominated for Scottish Album of the Year. 23

100 fiddles at 55 ° north AN tACADAMH CEOIL OFFICIAL LAUNCH CONCERT Date Sunday 07 February Venue An tSeaneaglais (The Glassworks) Doors 2:30pm Price £7.00 free admission for children under 12

EVENT SPONSOR: CISTE INFHEISTÍOCHTA GAEILGE The final concert of the festival will celebrate the opening of Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin’s brand new academy of traditional music, Acadamh Ceoil Chaoimhín Uí Dhochartaigh. Hosted by BBC Radio Ulster’s Lynette Fay, the concert will comprise performances by youth groups from Ireland and Scotland, led by their tutors. Originally commissioned in 2012 for the North Atlantic Fiddle Convention held in Derry/Donegal, 100 Fiddles at 55° North is a 20-minute musical piece written by Belfast composer Neil Martin. An orchestra of fiddles will take you on a musical journey across three movements, Where Salmon Dance, Tobar Geal, and The Otter’s Pool/Whoriskey’s. This reprise performance, conducted by Neil Martin, will feature 100 fiddlers from across Ireland and Scotland, including the Foyle Fiddle Orchestra, under the directorship of Frank Gallagher & Liz Doherty. The group will also include guests Nollaig Ní Cathasaigh, Séamus McGuire & Bríd Harper. Supported by Ulster University School of Creative Arts and Technologies 24

workshops & courses 26

FIDDLE (IMPROVER) LOUISE HUNTER

FIDDLE (ADVANCED) BRÍD HARPER & SÉAMUS MCGUIRE

Date: Sat 06 Feb Venue: Cultúrlann Time: 10am - 11:30am Price: £7.00

Date: Sat 06 Feb Venue: An tAcadamh Ceoil Time: 10am - 1pm Price: £10.00

With family roots in Donegal and growing up in the vibrant traditional music scene in Glasgow, Louise plays and teaches both Scottish and Irish music. She started learning at her local Comhaltas branch under the guidance of Frank McArdle. Later as a teenager Louise was taught by Liz Doherty, whom she cites as her biggest influence. Louise runs her own highly successful fiddle school, The Southside Fiddlers, and in 2009 Louise was nominated Music Tutor of the Year at the Scots Trad Music Awards.

Bríd Harper is an Irish traditional fiddle player from Castlefinn, Co. Donegal and now living near Dungannon, Co. Tyrone. A former All-Ireland champion and Fiddler of Dooney, she released her long-awaited debut album earlier this year. Seamus McGuire’s musical heritage is firmly embedded in the flowing fiddle music of south Sligo. He performs both in the traditional and classical genres as a member of the West Ocean String Quartet. 27

WHISTLE (IMPROVER) DONNA HURSON

WHISTLE (ADVANCED) BRIAN FINNEGAN

HARP (IMPROVER) LAUREN O’NEILL

BODHRÁN (ADVANCED) EAMON MURRAY

Date: Sat 06 Feb Venue: Cultúrlann Time: 10am - 11:30am Price: £7.00

Date: Sat 06 Feb Venue: An tAcadamh Ceoil Time: 10am - 1pm Price: £10.00

Date: Sat 06 Feb Venue: The Glassworks Time: 10am - 11:30am Price: £7.00

Date: Sat 06 Feb Venue: An tAcadamh Ceoil Time: 10am - 1pm Price: £10.00

Donna Hurson, from Co. Tyrone, has twenty years experience in teaching whistle in workshops across the length and breadth of Ireland. She is well known in Ulster circles as an excellent session musician and is in demand as an adjudicator of traditional music.

Brian Finnegan, a founding member of Flook, is widely regarded as one of Ireland’s most exciting and innovative traditional musicians, flaunting his flute and whistle with a flamboyance and flair. He is an acclaimed composer, amply attested to by his solo 2010 album, The Ravishing Genius of Bones.

Lauren O’Neill, from Glenullin, Co. Derry learned harp from an early age at the Hampsey Harp School in Garvagh. She is an All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil finalist, and has shared a stage with Alan Kelly & Eddi Reader, Séamus Begley, Dermot Byrne and a host of Ireland’s best musicians. She currently studies Irish & Music at Ulster University and performs with Ceoltóirí Crosskeys.

Eamon Murray from Randalstown, Co. Antrim, Ireland is one of the most respected bodhrán players in Irish music. Eamon has held the AllIreland Bodhrán title on 4 occasions and at the age of 16 he co-founded the Irish group Beoga, a band described by the Wall Street Journal as ‘the most exciting band to emerge from Ireland this century’.

‘A thrilling talent, marvelous technical dexterity, bold musical imagination and urgency, combining playing of breathtaking suppleness and delicacy.’ Scotland on Sunday 28

‘One of the most captivating bodhrán players I’ve heard in years’ Earle Hitchner, The Irish Echo 29

IRISH TRADITIONAL SINGING MARY DILLON

SCOTS GAELIC SINGING KATHLEEN MAC INNES

BUTTON ACCORDION (ADVANCED) CHRIS MAGUIRE

BANJO (ADVANCED) DAMARIS WOODS

Date: Sat 06 Feb Venue: The Glassworks Time: 11:30am - 1pm Price: £7.00

Date: Sat 06 Feb Venue: An tAcadamh Ceoil Time: 2pm - 4pm Price: £7.00

Date: Sat 06 Feb Venue: An tAcadamh Ceoil Time: 10am - 1pm Price: £10.00

Twice winner of the All-Ireland Singing Trophy by her mid-teens, Mary Dillon comes from a background immersed in Irish traditional music. She is widely recognised as the vocalist with 1990s Irish folk band Déanta, and her long-awaited debut solo album North was released in 2013 to critical acclaim, which is a diverse collection of folk songs from the Ulster singing tradition.

Kathleen Mac Innes was raised on the Isle of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides. She was immersed from her earliest years in the Gaelic language, piping and indeed, Gaelic song and mouth music. She has a wealth of knowledge of Scots Gaelic music and an enviable song repetoire, with her solo albums garnering numerous awards and accolades.

From Derrygonnelly Co. Fermanagh, Chris won his first All-Ireland Title in 2008, winning the Senior Melodeon in Tullamore placing 2nd in the Senior Accordion the same year. He went on to place 2nd in the Accordion on two more occasions in 2010 & 2012 before finally winning in Derry 2013. Chris has toured with Comhaltas in 2012 visiting North America and Britain. He is one of the most respected box players in Ireland and a noted workshop facilitator.

Damaris Woods lives in Co. Meath and is recognised as one of the foremost banjo players of all time. Her exceptional style of banjo playing and her trademark triplets have other musicians striving to replicate them. She has made a major contribution in popularising the banjo in counties Meath, Monaghan & Cavan for playing and performing Irish traditional music. Damaris has performed across the world, including an appearances at the prestigious Celtic Colors Festival in Cape Breton, Canada.

‘This South Uist singer has a voice like peat smoke and good whisky, as robust, sassy and soulful as it is supple and expressive.’ The Guardian

‘Her voice – clear and true – is a thing of rare beauty’ The Irish Independent 30

TRADITIONAL CAPE BRETON & IRISH STEP DANCING TROY + SABRA MCGILLIVRAY & MICHAEL TUBRIDY

INTENSIVE IRISH & SCOTS GAELIC LANGUAGE COURSES Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin is one of Ireland’s leading Irish language and arts centres. The yearround language course, Céimeanna Comhrá, is augmented several times a year by intensive weekend language courses. This gives learners an opportunity to enhance their learning with guest tutors, as well as offering a chance for casual learners to improve their language skills. Irish language courses this year will be offered at basic (bun), intermediate (meán) and advanced (ard) levels.

Date: Sat 06 Feb Venue: An Croí, Cultúrlann Times: 11am - 1pm, 2pm - 4pm Price: £20.00 Participants should have some prior experience in dancing. Troy & Sabra McGillivray have been immersed in the rich musical tradition of their home in Cape Breton, Canada, from an early age. They are both musicians and dancers, and have travelled across the world teaching their traditional steps. They have documented the Cape Breton style in album, DVDs and books, and are both studying at Irish World Academy of Music & Dance.

Michael Tubridy, from Kilrush, Co. Clare, is best known as a founding member of The Chieftains. He is regarded as an expert in the ‘old style’ Irish step dancing tradition, having released a DVD of dances learned from the dance masters James Keane and Dan Furey. He is also a recipient of TG4’s Gradam Ceoil lifetime achievement award and has been recognised at the Willy Clancy Summer School for his contribution to traditional music.

The centre also has a tradition of building connections with Scotland through language and the arts. Derry’s link with Scotland has exisited since the 14th Century through Colm Cille, the founding father of the city. During this year’s festival, there will also be a beginner level Scots Gaelic course delivered using the successful Ùlpan method of teaching by a guest tutor from Scotland.

Dates: Sat 06 - Sun 07 Feb Venue: Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin Times: 10am - 4pm Prices: £25.00 (Irish) £15.00 (Scots Gaelic)

free events

BOOK LAUNCH: THE CAPE BRETON FIDDLE COMPANION & ONE WITH THE MUSIC: CAPE BRETON STEP DANCING TRADITION & TRANSMISSION Celtic music scholar and musician Liz Doherty is no stranger to Cape Breton music – in fact, she has made a study of it. Doherty’s exposure to, and research of, the island’s music traditions was the germination for this compendium on the Cape Breton fiddle: its history, its people, the tunes, the recordings. The Cape Breton Fiddle Companion widens the field of view for future adherents and scholars of Cape Breton music, raises as many questions as it answers, and thus contributes to the ongoing conversation. Swedish-born traditional dancer and researcher Mats Melin has worked and performed extensively in the Scottish Highlands, the Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland, in their schools and communities promoting Scottish traditional dance. One With the Music is informed, in part, by Melin’s PhD research on transmission practices—how the tradition and steps of generations of dancers in Cape Breton get passed on to subsequent generations. His research gives us insight not only into the processes of transmission, but also into the complex ways dance and music in Cape Breton are deeply ingrained in the island’s culture.

Date: Fri 05 Feb Venue: An Croí, Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin Time: 5pm Guest speaker: Fintan Vallely Hosted by the Irish & Celtic Studies Research Institute at Ulster University 34

LUNCHTIME WITH MARK PATTERSON FESTIVAL SPECIAL

DOIRE CATHAIR CHEOIL EXHIBITION

THE BIG TRAD LUNCH

COME AND TRY INSTRUMENT FAIR

Date: Tue 02 Feb Venue: An Croí, Cultúrlann Time: 1:30pm - 3pm

Date: Fri 05 Feb Venue: An tAcadamh Ceoil Time: 1pm

Date: Sat 06 & Sun 07 Feb Venue: Various Venues Time: 1pm

Date: Sat 06 Feb Venue: An tAcadamh Ceoil Time: 2pm - 4pm

BBC Radio Foyle’s Lunchtime with Mark Patterson will broadcast live from the heart of the festival at Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin. Come along and meet some of the festival’s artists and performers, with live music sessions, interviews and engaging discussion.

As part of the opening celebrations of Acadamh Ceoil Chaoimhín Uí Dhochartaigh, Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin will unveil an exhibition of photographs covering some of the traditional music events and activities that have taken place in the city down through the years. Along with a collection of images by local photographers Lorcan Doherty and Rory O’Doherty, the exhibition will feature archive images and memorabilia.

As part of the festival, a number of local cafés and restaurants are taking part in the Big Trad Lunch. Top class traditional music will be on display across these city centre venues. Admission is free of charge, so make your plans now to meet for a festival lunch in one of our participating venues.

Have you ever loved the sound of a traditional instrument but never had the chance to try one out? Why not come along to the instrument fair and play your first notes on a set of uilleann pipes, or pluck a few notes on a Celtic harp? This event is for people of all ages. We will have a range of instruments available and professional instructors to demonstrate.

Saturday: Café Soul; The Scullery; Café Nervosa; Da Vinci’s (starts at 2pm) Sunday: Legenderry Warehouse No. 1. 37

ALBUM LAUNCH: ‘MODAL CITIZEN’ BY JOSIE NUGENT

CAIRDE CHAOIMHÍN CLOSING EVENT

Date: Sat 06 Feb Venue: An Croí, Cultúrlann Time: 7:30pm

Date: Sun 07 Feb Venue: An Caifé, Cultúrlann Time: 4pm

Modal Citizen, the debut solo album from renowned fiddle player Josie Nugent takes you on an emotive modal pathway embracing a mixture of traditional Irish and innovative compositions influenced by time spent in Co. Clare, Cambridge, Sweden and Northern Ireland. The album features octave violin, Stroh fiddle and the inimitable Rhodes Mk 1 stage piano. Guests include Brian Stafford, Mary Nugent, Nigel & Dianne Boullier, Geordie McAdam, Alan Burke, Sean O’Donnell, Seamus O’Kane and Mark Wilson.

The festival will close with a session to celebrate the opening of An tAcadamh Ceoil, named in memory of one of Derry’s best loved fiddle players, Caoimhín Ó Dochartaigh. Celebrated annually on the weekend of his birthday, Cairde Chaoimhín brings together close friends and musicians who played with Caoimhín throughout the years for an informal event with tunes, songs, dancing and refreshments.

the hop house 13 trad trail 39

BRING YOUR INSTRUMENT AND JOIN THE TRAD TRAIL SPONSORED BY:

The Trad Trail will bring the festival to life across the city with a jam packed schedule of traditional Irish music sessions and showcase gigs. We’ve chosen some of the best musicians around to take part in the trail, but the sessions are open to any musicians that want to join in. From 1pm to 2pm on Saturday 6 February we have organised The Big Trad Lunch in participating cafés & restaurants. If you know a tune or two, we want to hear!

BAIN ÚSÁID AS DO CHUID GAEILGE! There will be a number of Irish conversation circles running in conjunction with the Trad Trail. Learners and native speakers can come along and use their Irish whilst enjoying some first class traditional music. For details on when the conversation circles will be taking place, visit: www.diimf.com or call us at Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin on 028 7126 4132. 40

FRIDAY 05 FEBRUARY

9PM - 11PM, Maldron Hotel Session with Chris, Maggie & Lorena Maguire

2PM - 4PM, Ramada Da Vinci’s Hotel Session with Troy McGillivray & friends

9PM - 11PM, The Don Bar Session with Ruadhraí O’Kane and friends

6PM - 8PM, City Hotel Session with Roisin McGrory, Clódagh Warnock & Peter Tracey

9PM - 11PM, The Everglades Session with Aoibheann Devlin and friends

5PM - 7PM, The Grand Central Bar Session with Trinty College Dublin Trad Soc

9PM - 11PM, The Abercorn Bar Session with Connla

6PM - 8PM, City Hotel Session with Bríd Harper, Donna Hurson & Chris Maguire

11PM - 1AM, The Derby Bar Session with Mohsen Amini, Hayley Keenan & Craig Irving (Talisk)

7PM - 9PM, The Snug (The River Inn) Session with Jack Warnock & friends

SATURDAY 06 FEBRUARY

7PM - 9PM, Peadar O’Donnell’s Session with FourWinds

1PM - 2PM, Café Soul Session with Mohsen Amini, Hayley Keenan & Craig Irving (Talisk)

8PM - 10PM, The Park Bar featuring: Martin McGinley and friends

1PM - 2PM, The Scullery Session with Tom Byrne, Michael Gallanagh & Michael Carey

8PM - 10PM, The Quays Gig with Connla

1PM - 2PM, Café Nervosa Session with Trudy Ní Dhómhnaill and friends 42

7PM - 9PM, The Rocking Chair Session with Sean Óg Graham, Brona Graham & Eamon Murray

SUNDAY 07 FEBRUARY

7PM - 9PM, The Snug (The River Inn) Session with Alan Burke and friends

1PM - 3PM, Legenderry Warehouse No. 1 Session with Athrú

8PM - 10PM, The Quays Gig with Athrú

3PM - 5PM, Peadar O’Donnell’s Session with Louise McKinney & friends

residencies

5PM - 7PM, The Grand Central Bar Session with Jim Woods, Damaris Woods & friends 6PM - 8PM, The Everglades Session with Josie Nugent, Brian Stafford & Lucia McGinnis 6PM - 8PM, The Snug (The River Inn) Acoustic set with Sean Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Donnell & friends 7PM - 9PM, The Quays Session with Ulster University Trad Soc 7PM - 9PM, The Rocking Chair Session with Martin McGinley and friends

Please note: All details are correct at the time of print, but subject to change. Any changes or of times or line-ups can checked online. 44

THE ARMAGH RHYMERS

EUGENE SKEEF Established in the late 1970s, The Armagh Rhymers are Ireland’s oldest professional theatre company and are still fascinating audiences worldwide. They have played festivals such as Milwaukee Irish Festival, Dublin Ohio Festival, Glastonbury, and the Smithsonian Festival, Washington D.C.

Eugene Skeef is a South African percussionist, composer, poet, educationalist and animateur and has lived in London since 1980. He also works in conflict resolution, acts as a consultant on cultural development, teaches creative leadership and is a broadcaster. As a young activist he co-led a nation-wide literacy campaign teaching in schools, colleges and communities across apartheid South Africa. As well as being at the forefront of the contemporary music scene collaborating with innovative artists, he has also been instrumental in developing the education programmes of some of the major classical orchestras in the United Kingdom.

Ceremonies performed by the Armagh Rhymers are based on primary sources of ancient history such as the Annals of the Four Masters. Their re-enactment of ancient rites through dance, poetry, music and song transports audiences and participants to another time in history, allowing them a true experience of Ancient Ireland. They are committed educationalists, using arts, drama, history and music to enhance education in literacy and languages, as well as promoting understanding and tolerance. They are pioneers in a multicultural approach to solving conflict in the community, bringing together children from different backgrounds and religions in Ireland and beyond, and they will welcome primary school pupils to Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin for participatory performances during the festival. 46

As part of the festival, Eugene will deliver a series of workshops in secondary schools enabling young people to realise the artistic potential and inspiration on their everyday lives: family, relationships, hopes, aspirations, social responsiveness and emotional and psychological states. ‘An absorbing masterclass delivered with the panache of a virtuoso instrumentalist.’ The Sunday Times 47

MUSICIANS WITHOUT BORDERS: MUSIC BRIDGE Musicians without Borders is community music organisation with a global reach, based in the Netherlands. They use the power of music to bridge divides, connect communities, and heal the wounds of war. They work closely with local musicians and organizations to build sustainable projects in response to local needs. From successful projects they develop models, methodologies and trainings to adapt for other regions. Their professional trainers are specialised in running community music-making projects in places struggling to deal with trauma, fear and isolation as a result of war and conflict.

showcase

Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin partners with Musicians without Borders to deliver Music Bridge, a bespoke community music leadership course. Local musicians and community workers are trained by expert facilitators to deliver community music workshops to meet the needs of local communities and groups. Throughout the festival, Musicians without Borders will deliver workshops with pupils in local secondary schools. 48

FOURWINDS

TALISK

CONNLA

ATHRÚ

Deeply rooted in the tradition, FourWinds produce an exciting landscape of tunes and lyrics that present Irish traditional music in a modern and creative context. Their influences include Begley and Cooney, The Bothy Band, Planxty, Brady and Irvine, Moving Hearts, Pink Floyd and even Elvis. The band has just been awarded the prestigious Danny Kyle Award at Celtic Connections. The band comprises Daoiri Farrell (bouzouki/vocals), Caroline Keane (concertina), Tom Delany (pipes) and Robbie Walsh (bodhrán).

Winners of the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award, Talisk have already made a big impression on the folk music scene since their formation in August last year. The group also won a coveted Danny Kyle Award at Celtic Connections 2015 and have performed live in session on BBC Radio 2. Mohsen Amini (Concertina), Hayley Keenan (Fiddle) and Craig Irving (Guitar) utilise their strong individual backgrounds in Irish and Scottish music to create an award winning sound.

Connla are an exciting new band with strong traditional roots as well as influences from across the globe. Their sensitive and innovative arrangements of traditional and modern folk songs and tunes have earned them praise across the folk community. They hail from the cities of Armagh and Derry: Ciara McCafferty (vocals), Ciaran Carlin (whistles) and Paul Starett (guitar) are familiar faces on the local music scene, and are joined by Armagh siblings Emer and Conor Mallon on harp and uilleann pipes.

Athrú are a five piece contemporary Irish trad band who draw upon influences from the Northern Irish traditional music scene and beyond. They produce music that is dynamic and fresh, inspired by acts at the forefront of innovation such as Flook, Buille, Aldoc and Moxie. The band members are Cormac Crummey, Niall McIlroy, Kevin Meehan, Conor Broderick and Brendan Loughran. After winning Cultúrlan Uí Chanáin’s An Ré Nua prize in 2014 they released their debut self-titled EP and toured Ireland’s folk festival circuit extensively.

Where to see them: Peadar O’Donnell’s & Late Night Festival Club (Fri 05)

Where to see them: Late Night Festival Club (Fri 05), Café Soul & the Derby Bar (Sat 06)

Where to see them: The Quays & Late Night Festival Club (Fri 05) & The Abercorn Bar (Sat 06)

Where to see them: Festival Club (Fri 05), The Quays (Sat 06) & Legenderry Warehouse (Sun 07)

at a glance