Laying claim to some of Ireland’s greatest musical talents from Altan to Clannad to members of The Bothy Band and more besides, the connection between Co. Donegal  and traditional Irish music goes back several hundred years, and probably beyond. But while great musicians have gone about their work, bringing the Donegal name with them when [...]

Derry has beaten off the challenges of Sligo and Ennis to win the race to host Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in 2013. The Fleadh, which is Ireland’s biggest gathering of traditional Irish music performers and competitors, is an enormously popular music festival for musicians and festival-goers alike. This is the first time in the Fleadh’s [...]

Like many public bodies, Irish language organizations are finding themselves in a state of flux. The streamlining of public services and the wielding of blunt instruments to ensure they stay within restricted budgets are just some of the challenges facing the Irish language movement. Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge are one of the bodies charged with [...]

A recent RTÉ documentary on the people of Newfoundland revealed that many of them relate more to Ireland, the country of their forebears, than to Canada, the country of their birth. This curious programme, in which many of those interviewed wore their Irish hearts very much on their sleeves, underlined, once again, that while you [...]

‘The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’, as the saying goes, and the Grammy award winning singer-songwriter Tim O’Brien has always been immersed in the Irish musical tradition. Back from his native USA to play a number of gigs this side of the ocean, he took time out to talk to LiveTrad about his [...]