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Irish Times
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
‘An out-of-tune fiddle': Irish trad music is alive, but the pubs it is played in are dying
As the Fleadh Cheoil wraps up in Wexford , there will be plenty of time to reflect on the popularity of traditional music in Ireland. The previous weekend in Waterford, the 11-piece all-female trad group, Biird, drew a huge crowd at the All Together Now festival , and were later seen playing an impromptu session with Ed Sheeran during the Fleadh. Music festivals across the country now prominently feature traditional music being performed next to contemporary genres. Line-ups, support and main act combinations, and even the sounds within groups themselves are often in collision between the traditional and the new. These revolutions are both radical and referential, but none of this would be happening without the countless players, families and places that have held and passed on tunes over centuries. At the core of this heritage is the traditional music session. Over the past 20 years, a quarter of Ireland's pubs have closed, with rural areas the most adversely impacted. Like an out-of-tune fiddle, there is discordance at play with regards to the hunger for traditional music among younger generations, and the disappearance of places where it can be played, honed, shared and learned in unamplified sessions. READ MORE This brings us to Co Clare, probably the most important site of traditional music in the country. Kilfenora is a village with a storied musical history, especially with regards to the Kilfenora Céilí Band, making the place the home of céilí music. And yet if you are a musician in the village, and you want to drop in on a regular session in a pub, you'll have to drive to Doolin, Ennis or Miltown Malbay. Kilfenora Corner: A group of people has come together with a plan to purchase and reopen Linnane's Pub as a community space and social enterprise, with a focus on safeguarding musical tradition. Photograph: Ben Taylor Crucially, Kilfenora has its own sound. This subset of our intangible but vital heritage comes from the people, the land and the place. It is a sound that generated and infused tunes across the centuries through families, house dances and sessions. But where to play and pass on these tunes today? A group of people has come together with a plan to purchase and reopen Linnane's Pub in Kilfenora as a community space and social enterprise, with a focus on safeguarding the musical tradition of the area and promoting local culture. They are currently crowdfunding the project, asking for the public's help, and they need €350,000 to buy the pub and €150,000 to bring it back into use. Kilfenora Corner: 'These are the kinds of spaces that Ireland's rural villages and towns need more of. It's an idea with integrity.' Photograph: Ben Taylor The pub was the headquarters of the great Kitty Linnane, where many legendary musicians played. The plan for the project, entitled Kilfenora Corner, includes reopening the pub as a hub for unamplified sessions, with potential for a community garden, market space and creche. The project has also been approached by someone looking for a space in which to make flutes. These are the kinds of spaces that Ireland's rural villages and towns need more of. It's an idea with integrity, and imbued with a collective spirit and love of heritage and culture. Aoife Kelly is one of the people behind the project. A concertina player from a family of fiddle players, she comes from a long line of musicians, which now includes her siblings' children. Her family are all from Clare - her mother from Kilfenora and her father's side from the west of the county - and she divides her time between Kilfenora and Dublin. Her paternal grandfather was John Kelly, a member of Ceoltóirí Chualann, alongside Seán Ó Riada and founding members of The Chieftains . Aoife Kelly is one of those behind the Kilfenora Corner project. Photograph: Ben Taylor Her maternal grandfather is Jimmy O'Donoghue, aged 96 and from the townland of Clogher. When Kelly found rare photographs of house dances from the area in his home, 'Jimmy could tell me everybody in the photo, where it was, when it was, how there was an American wake for a woman in one of the photos - his memory is amazing.' She also discovered old tapes of local musicians, which formed the basis of her Sounds of Kilfenora project. Kilfenora, 1955. Aoife Kelly's maternal grandfather is Jimmy O'Donoghue (96), from the townland of Clogher. When Kelly found rare photographs of house dances from the area in his home, 'Jimmy could tell me everybody in the photo, where it was, when it was...' A recreation of the 1955 Kilfenora photograph, taken in 2022. 'You have Doolin, which has a lot of mic'd sessions. But we say 'unamplified', because that's what we do. You want to go into a pub, get a gang together, and play. There are house sessions, and that's all well and good, but they're for our friends – you're not playing with new people and meeting other people. It sounds strange, but when musicians find a place to play, it's quite special.' Linnane's could be that place once more. [ A Breton in Ireland: 'My wife calls me a culchie, which I completely embrace' Opens in new window ] Across Ireland, there is a growing number of people exploring community ownership of pubs and other third spaces. Accessing and administering finances for this are difficult, because our system around loans, mortgages and ownership is geared towards the individual and the corporate. But if the public got behind Kilfenora Corner, and the project was successful, it wouldn't just be a space for a community with a great spirit, a place to showcase Kilfenora's heritage, and a new hub for traditional music to be played, shared and passed on. It could demonstrate a people-powered model to save, preserve and invigorate villages and towns with a sense of potential and joy, not to mention to create jobs and attract tourism. Kilfenora Corner: all about preserving musical traditions of the past. Left to right are Noreen Lynch, Bridget Lynch and Tom Hegarty in a historical photo from Kilfenora. 'People are on screens, they're at home, they're lonely,' Kelly says, 'If you can have something like this to bring people together, then wouldn't that be a wonderful thing to do?'
Irish Independent
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
‘Spice Girls of trad' on their role as ambassadors for Culture Night 2025
Thousands of free events will take place across the country on September 19 When Lisa Canny, the founder of the all-female trad supergroup Biird, got a call to perform alongside Ed Sheeran at the Fleadh Cheoil, she and her bandmates had just wrapped up after performing at All Together Now over the weekend. Canny and her all-female trad collective band – often tagged as the Spice Girls of trad – have become one of Ireland's most talked-about acts of the last year. They are fresh, fierce and wildly talented, with an energy that has shaken up the trad scene.
BreakingNews.ie
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
Watch: Ed Sheeran's surprise Fleadh performance at Wexford pub
Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran made a surprise appearance at the Fleadh Cheoil in Wexford on Tuesday with a performance at the Sky & The Ground pub. Punters at the pub on Wexford's South Main Street were treated to a surprise performance from the global star, whose family roots can be traced back to Co Wexford. Advertisement Rumours had been circulating about a possible appearance from Sheeran, but Fleadh organisers had remained tight-lipped. A large crowd had gathered inside and outside the pub when Sheeran began to perform a number of his hits. The songs he played included Nancy Mulligan, a song he wrote to honour his Wexford-born grandmother Anne Mary Sheeran, who died in 2023 at the age of 98. 🎸 Ed Sheeran is currently in Sky and the Ground performing Nancy Mulligan for pub goers. There won't be a strawberry picked tonight! #edsheeran #fleadhcheoil #nancymulligan — Beat 102 103 (@beat102103) August 5, 2025 Sheeran also performed with trad group Biird. Not wanting to disappoint those who had turned out to see him, Sheeran also performed to the large crowd outside of the pub. Advertisement The 34-year-old English star recently said he identifies culturally as Irish. 'I class my culture as Irish. I think that's what I grew up with,' he told The Louis Theroux Podcast. The Fleadh Cheoil is in full swing, with 750,000 people expected to attend throughout the week. Wexford also hosted the event last year, when 650,000 people turned out. A world record attempt will take place at the Fleadh on Thursday. At last year's Fleadh Cheoil, the Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann Fleadh group successfully set a world record for a tin whistle ensemble, with over 2,000 people taking part. Advertisement This year's attempt will take place at Wexford Park, and it will look to set a Céili Band ensemble record. A group called Castlebridge Inspire, which celebrates the town's status as the birthplace of the Guinness Book of Records, will be involved in facilitating the ambitious attempt. John Ryan, who runs Castlebridge Inspire, told : "Last year we did the tin whistle ensemble Guinness World Record, the CEO Craig Glenday was over adjudicating on that one, we needed 1,015 and we got 2,516 in the end. Ireland Fleadh record attempt backed by Wexford birthplace... Read More "We had to play a couple of songs for five minutes. That was probably one of the biggest ensembles at any Fleadh to to date, and it was also the first Fleadh official Guinness World Record attempt. Advertisement "It was so successful that we've decided to do another one this year. This one is the Céilí Band ensemble which will take place on August 7th at Chadwick's Wexford Park. The record to beat this year is 386 participants so that's what the goal is. There are three polkas pre-arranged to play for five minutes, we'll have some dancers, we have 15 different instruments for the record attempt. "This includes banjos, guitars and even a harp, along with the likes of the bodhran."
The Irish Sun
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Ed Sheeran shocks fans with surprise Fleadh Cheoil appearance in Co Wexford as star belts out hits for punters
ED Sheeran made a surprise appearance at the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Wexford today. The star belted out hits including Shape of You in The Sky and The Ground pub, which was packed with punters. 4 Ed performed a number of trad tunes Credit: Mark Surrdige 4 The star was joined by members of Irish bands Biird and Amble Credit: Mark Surrdige 4 Ed played a surprise set at the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Wexford Credit: Instagram/Theskyandtheground Ed, 34, who was joined by members of Irish bands Biird and Amble, also performed a number of trad tunes. Ed's late gran Nancy Mulligan hailed from Gorey, Co Wexford. And the singer used to visit Wexford multiple times a year to spend time with family and friends as a child. Ed told The Louis Theroux Podcast: "We'd spend all of our holidays in Ireland. My first musical experiences were in Ireland. I grew up with trad music in the house.' Caolán Barron, from the Barron family run pub, said: "We're delighted to welcome Wexford-man Ed Sheeran to The Sky & The Ground during The Fleadh Cheoil 2025. "We've the spare room made up for him, and my mother has made him a chicken curry in case he needs feeding and all thanks to our closer partner Guinness for making it possible.' Ed's latest album, 'Play' is set to be released on September 12. It explores new musical ground through collaboration with producers and musicians from around the world. And it is also inspired by Ed's exposure to Indian and Persian musical cultures and his connections to the Irish folk tradition. Speaking about the forthcoming album, Ed said: 'Play was an album that was made as a direct response to the darkest period of my life. Ginger-haired pop megastar Ed Sheeran 'caused earthquake' after thousands of fans jumped to hit songs at packed concert "Coming out of all of that I just wanted to create joy and technicolour, and explore cultures in the countries I was touring. "I made this record all over the world, finished it in Goa, India, and had some of the most fun, explorative creative days of my life. "It's a real rollercoaster of emotions from start to finish, it encapsulates everything that I love about music, and the fun in it, but also where I am in life as a human, a partner, a father." He continued: "Going into this album campaign I said to myself 'I just want everything I do to be fun and playful' - so that's why we are building pubs for folk jams, doing gigs on open top buses and singing in pink cowboy hats on bars. 'SAVOUR THE MOMENTS' "The older I get the more I just want to enjoy things, and savour the moments that are mad and chaotic. "You can preorder 'Play' now, many many more playful things to come before it's out x.'
The Journal
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Journal
Ed Sheeran packs out Wexford town with a surprise gig at Fleadh Cheoil
ED SHEERAN MADE a surprise appearance at an Fleadh Cheoil in Wexford town this afternoon at the well-known Sky & The Ground pub. Massive crowds gathered on the streets of the south-east town today, hoping to catch a glimpse of the English singer, who frequently cites his Irish roots. He was joined by members of the Irish bands Biird and Amble and performed a number of his original songs as well as traditional Irish trad tunes. Ed Sheeran just rocked up to Wexford for a surprise gig 🎤👀 Ed showed up at Sky & The Ground and belted out a few tunes in front of a jam-packed pub 🍻🎶 Rumours had been flying all day - and for once, they were true! 😳 @warnermusicirl — Today FM 💛 (@TodayFM) August 5, 2025 Advertisement The Sky & the Ground quickly filled up this morning as the rumour mill ran wild in Wexford, leading to a full house at the pub this afternoon. Not wanting to leave anyone out, Sheeran made his way outside to perform an acoustic set for fans who could not make their way into the pub. Fair play…not wanting those outside The Sky & The Ground in #Wexford to feel cheated, Ed Sheeran went outside and did an acoustic/unplugged tune for the crowd gathered there. That's a big one for the Fleadh anyways…and it's only Tuesday! 😅 — Pádraig Byrne (@byrne_padraig) August 5, 2025 Caolán Barron, a member of the family who runs the pub, said they were delighted to welcome Sheeran today. He added that his mother had made up the spare room for him to stay and cook him a dinner – chicken curry – just in case he needed a feed. Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, the annual traditional music and culture festival, continues until Sunday in Wexford town. Dozens of acts and events – ticketed and free – are still to follow throughout the rest of the week. 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
