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The Soma Festival
The Soma Festival ( sa, सोम, or ''sóma'', meaning ''drink of the Gods'', see Soma (drink); ) is an annual music, arts, and cultural festival. The festival includes concerts, musical performances, well-being activities, art exhibitions and stalls, language events, celebrations of food and drink, music workshops, and pub sessions. The festival began in 2013 and takes place in Castlewellan, County Down in Northern Ireland. The festival is directed by Belfast-born singer Tíona McSherry and run by a team of volunteers. The Festival Club brings together musicians and festival visitors on a nightly basis. History 2013–2015 The festival was established in 2013 with headline performances from The Olllam, Niamh Parsons and the John McSherry Band. Artists Lorcan Vallely and Barry Kerr exhibited at the festival. Glór Uachtar Tíre's Scoil Samhraidh Shéamuis Uí Néill, an annual Irish language weekend became part of the Soma programme and has been included on an annual basis si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Castlewellan
Castlewellan () is a small town in County Down, in the south-east of Northern Ireland close to the Irish Sea. It is beside Castlewellan Lake and Slievenaslat mountain, southwest of Downpatrick. It lies between the Mourne Mountains and Slieve Croob. It had a population of 2,782 people in the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under th Open Government Licence v3.0 © Crown copyright. Castlewellan has a wide main street which runs through two main squares lined with chestnut trees. The town was designed by a French architect for the Annesley Family. The Annesley family did not always own the land as they bought it from The Maginess Family. (see Earl Annesley), then owners of what is now Castlewellan Christian Conference Centre and Forest Park, and is unique within Ireland due to its tree-lined squares both in the old town (upper square) and new town (lower square) as well as its very wide main street. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cara Dillon
Cara Elizabeth Dillon (born 21 July 1975, in Dungiven, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish folk singer. In 1995, she joined the folk supergroup Equation and signed a record deal with Warners Music Group. After leaving the group, she collaborated with Sam Lakeman under the name Polar Star. In 2001, she released her first solo album, ''Cara Dillon'', which featured traditional songs and two original Dillon/Lakeman compositions. The album was an unexpected hit in the folk world, with Dillon receiving four nominations at the 2002 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Dillon's second album, '' Sweet Liberty'' (2003), entered the Irish album charts and UK Indie album charts. In 2004, Dillon received the Meteor Irish Music Award for Best Irish Female. Her third album, '' After the Morning'', was released in 2006. The album's opening track “ Never in a Million Years” gained Radio 2 Airplay, while other tracks featured the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and Paul Brady. Als ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uilleann Pipes
The uilleann pipes ( or , ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Earlier known in English as "union pipes", their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the elbow"), from their method of inflation. There is no historical record of the name or use of the term ''uilleann pipes'' before the 20th century. It was an invention of Grattan Flood and the name stuck. People mistook the term 'union' to refer to the 1800 Act of Union; this is incorrect as Breandán Breathnach points out that a poem published in 1796 uses the term 'union'. The bag of the uilleann pipes is inflated by means of a small set of bellows strapped around the waist and the right arm (in the case of a right-handed player; in the case of a left-handed player the location and orientation of all components are reversed). The bellows not only relieve the player from the effort needed to blow into a bag to maintain pressure, they also allow relatively dry ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rónán Mac Aodha Bhuí
Rónán Mac Aodha Bhuí is an Irish broadcaster who broadcasts mainly through Irish. He is known particularly for his popular magazine programme ''Rónán Beo'' on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta. He was born on 6 May 1970 in Cork, but was brought up in Gweedore, in the Donegal gaeltacht, where he attended Bunscoil Bhun Bhig and Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair. He is the youngest son of the author and comes from a family of eight. He studied journalism in Dublin before going on to work at several different radio stations, including Radio Ireland, RTÉ and RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta. He has also written for the Irish language publications ''Anois'', ''Lá'' and ''Nós''. Outside of his work at Raidió na Gaeltachta, he is active in the entertainment industry and established An Ciorcal Craiceáilte, now defunct, and An Cabaret Craiceáilte, which aims to bring entertainment, particularly music, to Gaeltacht areas and to Gweedore in particular. An Cabaret Craiceáilte usually takes place ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RTÉ
(RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, television, RTÉ Radio, radio and RTÉ.ie, online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on 31 December 1961, making it one of the oldest continuously operating public service broadcasters in the world. RTÉ also publishes a weekly listings and lifestyle magazine, the ''RTÉ Guide''. RTÉ is a statutory body, overseen by a board appointed by the Government of Ireland, with general management in the hands of the RTÉ Executive Board, Executive Board, headed by the Director-General. RTÉ is regulated by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. RTÉ is financed by Television licensing in the Republic of Ireland, television licence fee and through advertising, with some of its services funded solely by a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dónal O'Connor
Dónal O'Connor is an Irish multi-instrumentalist, producer and television presenter from Ravensdale, County Louth, Ireland. He is a member of Belfast-based Irish traditional groups Ulaid & At First Light. Early life O'Connor was born into an Irish-speaking household. His father is fiddler Gerry O'Connor and his mother was singer and flute player Eithne Ní Uallacháin (d. 1999). His maternal grandparents were Pádraig Ó hUallacháin, a teacher, writer and song collector, and Eithne bean Uí Uallacháin. His paternal grandmother was fiddler and fiddle teacher Rose O'Connor. O'Connor is also the nephew of singers Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin and Len Graham. Career 1996–2005: Lá Lugh to festivals O'Connor's first recorded fiddle work appeared on ''Brighid's Kiss'' in 1996, an album by Lá Lugh, his parents' group. That year, the album was voted ''Album of the Year'' by Irish Music Magazine readers. In 2001, O'Connor was invited to join Mike McGoldrick, John McSherry an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Spillane
John Spillane (born 1961) is a singer-songwriter from Cork, Ireland. Background Spillane grew up in the Cork suburb of Wilton, in a family of five boys. He was educated in Coláiste an Spioraid Naoimh, Bishopstown. Raised by his mother, she influenced his musical nature and taught him a variety of Cork songs including "The Banks of My Own Lovely Lee" and "The Lonely Woods of Upton". A shy child who shunned the spotlight, he got his first guitar at the age of fifteen and joined his first band in school. When he first began his main influences derived from artists like the Beatles, Neil Young, Planxty and Bob Dylan. His beginnings were more rock than anything else until he had a change of heart. "When I started out with rock bands, I sang in an American accent. Then I heard real Americans sing the blues and it made me feel like a fraud. Ever since then, the most important thing for me is to be true to who I am and where I come from." After finishing the leaving cert he took a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pauline Scanlon
Pauline Scanlon (born in Dingle, County Kerry, Ireland) is a singer of contemporary and traditional Irish music. Dingle is in the Corca Dhuibhne Gaeltacht, which is an area where the population's first language is Irish. Scanlon has been singing professionally since she was 15 years old. Scanlon has toured extensively worldwide with Sharon Shannon and has been featured on RTÉ's '' The Late Late Show''. She featured on Sharon Shannon's Libertango album (2003), singing " A Case of You", originally by Joni Mitchell. Her first solo album, ''Red Colour Sun'', was released on the Daisy Label in 2004. (Compass Records in the US) It blended traditional sounds with modern influences. In January 2006, she completed a new project with Donough Hennessy (formerly the guitar player for the Irish band Lunasa) along with Darrell Scott, Kenny Malone, Stuart Duncan and other musicians. The album ''Hush'' was released on 15 August 2006 on Compass Records. Scanlon sang backing vocals for Belinda C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh
Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh (born 1978) is a musician and singer from County Kerry, Ireland. Until 2016, she was the lead singer for the traditional music group Danú, and from that year on she has been half of the electronica duo Aeons. Biography Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh grew up in Dún Chaoin in County Kerry, as well as on Inis Oírr, the smallest of the Aran Islands, and Cape Clear Island, another small island off the coast of County Cork. These communities are Gaeltacht, or Irish-speaking areas, and Nic Amhlaoibh's first language is Irish. This influenced her later career, due to her early exposure to Irish language song, especially in the sean-nós tradition. She began playing piano and fiddle at an early age before progressing to the whistle and, eventually, the flute. Nic Amhlaoibh's early musical experiences also included accompanying her father, traditional Irish fiddle player Feargal Mac Amhlaoibh, to sessions. When Nic Amhlaoibh moved to the West Kerry Gaeltacht, s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karen Matheson
Karen Matheson OBE (born 11 February 1963) is a Scottish folk singer who frequently sings in Gaelic. She is the lead singer of the group Capercaillie and was a member of Dan Ar Braz's group L'Héritage des Celtes, with whom she often sang lead vocals, either alone or with Elaine Morgan. She and Morgan sang together on the Breton language song "Diwanit Bugale", the French entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996. She made a cameo appearance in the 1995 movie '' Rob Roy'' singing the song "Ailein duinn". Biography She grew up in the small village of Taynuilt in the region of Argyll, western Scotland. She was appointed an OBE in the 2006 New Year's honours list. Matheson also appeared as a guest musician on Spirit of the West's 1997 album ''Weights and Measures''. Matheson performed a solo in Secret Garden's song "Prayer" in the 1999 album '' Dawn of a New Century''. She is married to fellow Capercaillie member Donald Shaw, and they have a son. On 2 February 2010, Matheson ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beoga
Beoga (Irish language, Irish word for ''vivid'' or ''lively'') are an Folk music of Ireland, Irish folk band. They were formed in County Kerry in 2002 at the All-Ireland Fleadh although the original four members of the band hail from County Antrim and County Londonderry in Northern Ireland. The line-up features Damian McKee on accordion, multi-instrumentalist Seán Óg Graham, pianist Liam Bradley and Eamon Murray on bodhrán. Niamh Dunne, from County Limerick, joined in 2005, on vocals and fiddle. History Their 2007 album ''mischief'' was voted one of the top folk albums of 2007 at the Live Ireland Music Awards and the German Music Awards. Their third album, ''the incident'', was shortlisted for a 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, 2010 Grammy Award nomination, in the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album, Best Contemporary World Music Album category. In that year they were awarded a U.S. House of Representatives Certificate of Congressional Recognition and were describe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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