Traditional Irish folk music is one of the best known and most popular exports from Ireland.
Over the years , we have seen traditional music continue to thrive grow and develop and it continues today all over the world.
Bands like the Chieftans helped spread the popularity of Irish traditional music in the 1970’s. The Bothy Band and Planxty were also important to Irish traditional music in that era.
De Dannan , Patrick Street and Altan continued to widen the popularity of instrumental Irish music followed by the likes of Lunasa , Dervish .
Here are just some of the current touring artists that we think are worth going to see if you want to experience the exhilaration of live traditional Irish music.
Composed of Cathy Jordan (vocals, bodhrán, bones), Tom Morrow (fiddle, viola), Shane Mitchell accordion), Liam Kelly (flute, low whistle), Séamus O¹Dowd (guitars, harmonica), Michael Holmes (bouzouki) and Brian Mc Donagh (mandola, mandolin).
Lunasa ; Lunusa are Sean Smyth on fiddle, Kevin Crawford (flutes, low whistles, tin whistles ), Trevor Hutchinson (double bass ), Ed Boyd (guitar ) and Cillian Vallely (uilleann pipes, low whistles ).
Ushers Island – a “supergroup” uniting two generations of musicians. Donal Lunny, Andy Irvine and Paddy Glackin link the band’s heritage right back to the glory days of Planxty, the Bothy Band, Moving Hearts, Mozaik plus two of today’s leading heirs to these pioneering artists, Mike McGoldrick and John Doyle
The Gloaming – another Irish trad “supergroup” made up of T
Iarla Ó Lionaird (singing), Thomas Bartlett (aka Doveman – piano), Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh (violin), Martin Hayes (violin/fiddle) & Dennis Cahill (guitar)