Irish Trad Music Blog

Image by M+MD via Flickr Christy Moore has been singing, writing and collecting songs for most of his life. He has been on the road since 1966, and has made over 30 albums, both solo and with the prestigious bands Moving Hearts and Planxty. His live performances have run the gamut from small folk clubs in Ireland and England to premier concert halls throughout the world. Christy is regarded by many as one of Ireland’s most important and influential artists. He has been called ‘Ireland’s Woody Guthrie ’, and in February 2004 was awarded the very first IRMA (Irish Recording Music Association) Lifetime Achievement award for his remarkable contribution to Irish Music over the last forty years. His solo style includes driving rhythms on guitar and bodhrán as well as slower ballads. In 2006 Christy paid a surprise visit to the legendary An Góilín traditional singers' club in Dublin and sang songs reflective of the Irish language and socially radical culture of the club such as Na C...

A St. Charles woman was charged with a felony over the weekend after she pulled a fire alarm to protest an Irish pub's playing of Irish music , police said. Shona A. Lukes, 25, of the 200 block of North Tyler Road, was charged with giving a false fire alarm, a Class 4 felony, after the incident Sunday at McNally's Irish Pub, 201 E. Main St. in St. Charles. Police said Lukes fled after pulling the alarm about 7:06 p.m., but was arrested a short time later on the first block of South First Avenue, where witnesses identified her for police. St. Charles police spokesman Paul McCurtain said a McNally's manager told police Lukes and a man were intoxicated and had been "complaining all night about the establishment playing Irish music." Lukes, who appears to have no prior criminal history in Kane County other than traffic offenses, was being held Monday in the county jail on $15,000 bond. Her next court date is May 14 in front of Kane County Judge James C. Hallock. http...

Image by candyschwartz via Flickr Henry McGlade The Yard Bar in Matt Molloy’s, Westport, will be hopping this Friday when Frankie Gavin and his renowned folk group De Dannan take to the stage. Frankie Gavin is one of the genuine legends of Irish music. He first graced our TV screens at the tender age of six, endearing himself to those who saw him playing the tin-whistle . Many years and seven solo albums later, his forays into the realms of jazz, gospel, rock and even the Eastern European Jewish tradition of Klezmer have become the stuff of legend. Gavin is also the original founding member of De Dannan. For many years, De Dannan were the forerunners in the Irish traditional music world, but after 33 years, 14 albums and a number of changes in the line up, the group disbanded in 2003. At that time, the band had already been instrumental in bringing singers Dolores Keane , Mary Black , Maura O’Connell , Eleanor Shanley and Tommy Fleming to international prominence. In August of last...

Image via Wikipedia Virginia, Co. Cavan -- For seven years now the NYAH festival in Co. Cavan has sought to involve the community in this Ulster county and widen the awareness of the rich musical heritage all around it. NYAH is one of those wonderful expressions (pronounced neeyah) used to describe music from the heart that is neither forced nor phony, so the festival tends to recognize those who have made the deepest contributions not only in the Breffni County but all around Ireland. Its influence and success as cultural and tourism driver has grown in that span to such a level that it has encouraged Cavan town to take on one of the largest challenges in the traditional Irish music world, Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann (All-Ireland Festival) later on in August. Last year, I visited the NYAH festival for the first time and found its magnetic pull once again bringing me northward upon arrival in Dublin last week. The festival (www.cavanmusic.com) spreads over three weeks around St. Patrick...