logo
Michael D Higgins set to release album of poetry recorded in the Áras

Michael D Higgins set to release album of poetry recorded in the Áras

Ireland's outgoing President has recorded an album of spoken word tracks, Against All Certainty, and it will be put out by Claddagh Records later this year.
The words of President Higgins will be accompanied by songs from musician and filmmaker Myles O'Reilly.
O'Reilly was among the performers on stage when the President and his wife Sabina welcomed guests to the Áras last month for an annual garden party.
Recordings for the album, which includes readings of 10 of the President's poems, were completed in the confines of the Áras in late 2023.
Listeners have been told to expect to be 'fully transposed into the incredibly interesting life and times of the poet before he became Ireland's President, from childhood to adulthood'.
In 2018, when President Higgins was campaigning for re-election, the hashtag #keepthepoet went viral on social media, a nod to his talent with a pen and paper. Ireland kept the poet, and the poet kept up the poetry.
This is far from the President's first foray into poetry. His first collection of poems, The Betrayal, was released in 1990, followed by The Season of Fire (1993), An Arid Season (2004) and New and Selected Poems (2011).
Against All Certainty is not his first release during his time in office, either. In 2015, his first written work since he was elected President was released when the text of The Prophets are Weeping was shared publicly.
The President has also done readings of his work in the past. As part of a series released by UCD, he read a number of his works in videos released on YouTube in 2021.
In a previous collaboration with Claddagh Records, he joined a star-studded cast that also included the likes of Bono, Liam Neeson, Aidan Gillen and Hozier.
ADVERTISEMENT
In 2022, a rerecording of Patrick Kavanagh's Almost Everything was released by the label. Bono read On Raglan Road, Neeson read Memory of My Father, and President Higgins read Stony Grey Soil.
Through that reading of Kavanagh's poetry, the President has already racked up nearly 15,000 streams on Spotify, though he has some catching up to do in the monthly listeners category, where he stands at just 140.
Those streaming numbers could get a boost in the coming days, with the title track from Against All Certainty available now on Spotify, Apple Music or wherever you get your presidential spoken word.
Garech Browne, who co-founded Claddagh Records in 1960, was a longtime friend of President Higgins, who spoke at Mr Browne's funeral in 2018.
Against All Certainty is available to preorder now ahead of its release on Friday, September 5, when it will be made available in full on streaming platforms.
For the physical media enthusiasts among us, it will also be released on CD and vinyl. Through a deal struck by Claddagh Records with Universal Music, the words of the Irish President will be introduced to a global audience.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Rise of AI bands shakes up music business
Rise of AI bands shakes up music business

RTÉ News​

time6 hours ago

  • RTÉ News​

Rise of AI bands shakes up music business

A rising tide of artificial intelligence (AI) bands is ushering in a new era where work will be scarcer for musicians. Whether it's Velvet Sundown's 1970s-style rock or country music projects Aventhis and The Devil Inside, bands whose members are pure AI creations are seeing more than a million plays on streaming giant Spotify. No major streaming service clearly labels tracks that come entirely from AI, except France's Deezer. Meanwhile, the producers of these songs tend to be unreachable. "I feel like we're at a place where nobody is really talking about it, but we are feeling it," said music producer, composer and performer Leo Sidran. "There is going to be a lot of music released that we can't really tell who made it or how it was made." The Oscar-winning artist sees the rise of AI music as perhaps a sign of how "generic and formulaic" genres have become. AI highlights the chasm between music people listen to "passively" while doing other things and "active" listening in which fans care about what artists convey, said producer and composer Yung Spielburg on the Imagine AI Live podcast. Spielburg believes musicians will win out over AI with "active" listeners but will be under pressure when it comes to tunes people play in the background while cooking dinner or performing mundane tasks. If listeners can't discern which tunes are AI-made, publishers and labels will likely opt for synthetic bands that don't earn royalties, Spielburg predicted. "AI is already in the music business and it's not going away because it is cheap and convenient," said Mathieu Gendreau, associate professor at Rowan University in New Jersey, who is also a music industry executive. "That will make it even more difficult for musicians to make a living." Music streaming platforms already fill playlists with mood music attributed to artists about whom no information can be found, according to University of Rochester School of Music professor Dennis DeSantis. Meanwhile, AI-generated soundtracks have become tempting, cost-saving options in movies, television shows, ads, shops, elevators and other venues, DeSantis added. AI takes all? Composer Sidran says he and his music industry peers have seen a sharp slowdown in work coming their way since late last year. "I suspect that AI is a big part of the reason," said Sidran, host of The Third Story podcast. "I get the feeling that a lot of the clients that would come to me for original music, or even music from a library of our work, are using AI to solve those problems." Technology has repeatedly helped shape the music industry, from electric guitars and synthesizers to multi-track recording and voice modulators. Unlike such technologies that gave artists new tools and techniques, AI could lead to the "eradication of the chance of sustainability for the vast majority of artists," warned George Howard, a professor at the prestigious Berklee College of Music. "AI is a far different challenge than any other historical technological innovation," Howard said. "And one that will likely be zero-sum." Howard hopes courts will side with artists in the numerous legal battles with generative AI giants whose models imitate their styles or works. Gendreau sees AI music as being here to stay and teaches students to be entrepreneurs as well as artists in order to survive in the business. Sidran advises musicians to highlight what makes them unique, avoiding the expected in their works because "AI will have done it." And, at least for now, musicians should capitalise on live shows where AI bands have yet to take the stage.

President Higgins to perform one of his last civic duties at the official opening of Wexford's Fleadh Cheoil 2025
President Higgins to perform one of his last civic duties at the official opening of Wexford's Fleadh Cheoil 2025

Irish Independent

time12 hours ago

  • Irish Independent

President Higgins to perform one of his last civic duties at the official opening of Wexford's Fleadh Cheoil 2025

The festivities will kick off at 1 p.m. on the Gig Rig on the Quay with a performance by a local youth orchestra before President Higgins takes to the stage at 3 p.m. for the official opening ceremony. Afterwards, from 4 p.m. there will be a 'star-studded array of traditional acts' playing late into the night as proceedings begin in earnest. Confirming the president's appearance, chief executive of Wexford County Council (WCC) Eddie Taaffe said there were also tentative plans to have a fireworks display on the closing night of the Fleadh a week later. 'That will be a jam-packed evening on the Gig Rig, headlined by the All-Ireland winning ceilí band, we're also hoping to have a fireworks display on the night as well, to mark the end of what will hopefully be two successful Fleadhs in Wexford,' he said. That closing ceremony will also see the Fleadh baton passed to a delegation from Belfast as it prepares to emulate Wexford's successful staging of two consecutive events. With the event now just weeks away, Mr Taaffe said there will be a 'certain amount of disruption' in Wexford town in the coming days as crews prepare for the arrival of an estimated 700,000 people to the county. , Traffic management plans, including the bus schedules, are on the Fleadh Cheoil website.

President Higgins urges EU presidents to speak up on Gaza, calling silence a 'moral failing'
President Higgins urges EU presidents to speak up on Gaza, calling silence a 'moral failing'

The Journal

time20 hours ago

  • The Journal

President Higgins urges EU presidents to speak up on Gaza, calling silence a 'moral failing'

PRESIDENT MICHAEL D Higgins has asked other European presidents to call for action to end the suffering in Gaza, saying silence on the issue would be a 'moral failing'. President Higgins urged his fellow presidents to call for an end to the loss of life of civilians, the unconditional release of all hostages, and the provision of full unimpeded access to aid for those suffering. The President made the plea in a letter to the Arraiolos group, an informal group of European Presidents, which considers responses to societal challenges and promotes multilateralism. He said: 'The Arraiolos Group has a strong voice and leadership role to offer in relation to what is happening in Gaza. Silence, failure to take an initiative will be rightly construed as a moral failure.' The Israeli military today began a second day of its daily 'tactical pause' in three areas of Gaza, in what it claims is an effort to ease the worsening humanitarian crisis. President Higgins condemned the 'unacceptable violence' and avoidable loss of civilian life in Gaza. He said said the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas was 'rightly condemned' by all member states and asked fellow presidents not to remain silent now. He said: 'We were not silent and called for the unconditional release of all hostages. While Israel has a right to defend itself, we cannot let that horrific event provide a licence or cover for the totally unacceptable loss of life, including from malnutrition and dehydration by infants and mothers that is now being perpetrated in Gaza.' Advertisement The President highlighted the food insecurity Gaza is currently facing, with over 80% of cropland and 83% of agricultural wells having been destroyed. He condemned the deaths of civilians, adding that over 1,000 Palestinians, mainly children, have been killed while seeking to collect aid. He said 80 children have died of malnutrition and 20,000 mothers in Gaza are being subjected to conditions of dehydration and malnutrition. He added that least 1,580 medical personnel have lost their lives, with a further 180 in Israeli detention centres. The President quoted Pope Leo XIV's condemnation of this assault on civilian life and his call on the international community to respond with the urgency these issues demand. He endorsed the three urgent steps called for by the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres: an immediate ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages, and full, unimpeded humanitarian access. He commended the Foreign Ministers who have recently come together to call for an end to the violence and loss of life. President Higgins has sent the letter to each of the members of the Arraiolos Group. The group is made up of the presidents of Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Slovenia. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store