An Spailpín Fánach: 9pm Seamie O’ Dowd, Leonard Barry, Andy Morrow with Mary Donegan, Mary Conroy & Aisling Urwin €15
Leonard Barry, Andy Morrow and Seamie O’Dowd have known each other for over 20 years through meeting at various festivals in Ireland and playing music together that has seen them perform at nationally and internationally. Most recent performances this year has seen them playing at various Festivals in Denmark, France, Spain and Ireland. The material of the performances features material from Leonard’s new album mentioned above with songs from Seamie O’Dowd, the material reflects the various influences over the years from some of the greats of Irish and World music.
Leonard Barry has been one of the most sought-after uilleann pipers for many years, sharing the stage with artists including Lisa O’Neill, Kevin Burke, Michael McGoldrick, Daoiri Farrell and Cathy Jordan amongst a host of others. Leonard launched his third solo album “Littoral” at this years Celtic Connections in Glasgow which in turn has led to a tour of the UK, Ireland and festivals throughout Europe and Ireland this year including the Doolin Folk Festival, Tradition Now in the National Concert Hall Dublin, Irish Cultural Centre in London amongst many others with this Trio Andy Morrow comes from a musical family in County Leitrim; his older brother Tom is the fiddle player with Dervish. Also a multi-award-winning fiddler, Andy started his musical journey winning various national titles whilst still at school. Andy has toured Australia and Ireland Live Dred Theatre Co’s production Trad and is a regular performer and teacher at various festivals throughout Ireland and abroad. His 2006 album with concertina player Tony O’Connell and the late Arty McGlynn on guitar is a timeless masterpiece, widely regarded as one of the classic albums of Irish traditional music. Andy previously collaborated with Leonard and Seamie with Rick Epping in the band New Road, on the album Stone Walls and Street Lights.
Seamie O’Dowd is a guitarist, singer, and songwriter who also plays fiddle, harmonica, mandolin, bouzouki, and other instruments. His musical experience spans four decades, from his first radio appearance at the age of ten on Radio Eireann programme Young Musicians, and playing publicly with his father, the renowned Sligo fiddle player Joe O’Dowd. He has since played with many great musicians and bands including Mairtin O'Connor, Cathal Hayden, Christy Moore, Declan Synott, The Chieftains, Jimmy Higgins, Tommy Emmanuel, Dervish, Steve Wickham, Matt Molloy, Liam O' Flynn, Thom Moore and Dick Gaughan. As part of the Masters of Irish Music project devised by Martin Hayes, he, along with Mairtin O'Connor and Cathal Hayden, played concerts in the Sydney Opera House and at the Lincoln Centre in New York. Seamie was also a member of Dervish for six years, during which time he played with them at the legendary Rock in Rio festival in Brazil. He was awarded The Freedom Of The Borough in 2004 by Sligo Corporation while a member of Dervish for this contribution to local culture and was nominated for the Best Folk Musician award in 2018 in RTE’s inaugural Irish Folk Awards.
Mary Donegan will be launching her new CD, ‘Notes From Beara’
Mary Donegan grew up in Kilgarvan, Co. Kerry, with deep family ties to the Beara Peninsula in West Cork. Notes from Beara is a musical reflection of those roots — drawing on the tunes and traditions of her parents and extended family, including compositions by her cousin, the late Michael Dwyer, alongside some of Mary’s own work.
For this recording, Mary gathered a group of close musical companions: Mary Conroy, Aisling Urwin, Maureen Sullivan, Peter Crowley, Eoin Stan O’Sullivan, and Raymond O’Sullivan — each bringing their own colour and heart to the music.