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Siamsa Tíre offers musicians opportunity to perform on stage

Siamsa Tíre celebrates the diversity of traditional Irish music and has issued an open call for musicians to apply to perform at its monthly Trad Connections concert series.
Is there any sound as uplifting as the opening notes of a West Kerry set, a Sliabh Luachra slide, a barn dance from Clare, or any as moving as the melody of a sean nós ballad? Siamsa Tíre, The National Folk Theatre of Ireland, recognises Irish traditional music as one of the richest and deepest seams of our cultural heritage. From the Chieftains and the Clancy Brothers to artists such as The Gloaming and Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh today; our music is rooted in our past yet endlessly evolving as it plays with tradition in the present.
“We want to celebrate this with our Trad Connections concert series,” Siamsa Tíre’s Musical Director, Tom Hanafin, said.
“We want to introduce audiences to established local, national, and international traditional musicians as well as to up-and-coming acts while also supporting musicians by offering them an exciting opportunity to perform.”
Siamsa Tíre introduced this series in January 2020 just prior to the outbreak of COVID, hosting two very successful live concerts. Lockdown then meant there were few opportunities for musicians to perform.
“So, we continued with the Trad Connections series online and streamed these concerts showcasing different acts on the last Friday of every month,” Tom added.
Many well-known names have performed as part of Trad Connections to date. They include Lorraine Nash and 3 on the Bund, as well as Fergal Scahill, Ryan Molloy, Oracle, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, Macdara Yeates, Conor Moriarty and Conor O’Sullivan, The Rising, Elle Marie O’Dwyer, Zoe Conway, John McIntire, Greta Curtin, Killarney School of Music and many others.
This month’s Trad Connections concert takes place this Friday (April 29) and will feature concertina player Greta Curtin, fiddle player Jessie Healy, and guitarist Darragh Curtin perform tunes from their vast repertoire of reels, jigs, slides, polkas, hornpipes, and more. The team at Siamsa Tíre is now looking for new voices to showcase.
“We plan to continue this series into next year and beyond. We have a limited number of slots available this year and we’re currently filling slots for 2023. We welcome submissions from local, national, and international musicians. It doesn’t matter if they are well-known or new to the stage; we will consider them for inclusion in the Trad Connection series.”
Anyone who would like to be considered can complete a submission form via www.siamsatire.com/events/folk-programme/trad-connections.
You can also immerse yourself in the many and varied styles of modern Irish traditional music by watching all of the Trad Connections concerts that have taken place to date on Siamsa Tíre’s YouTube channel www.youtube.com/user/siamsatire.
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Ireland’s oldest citizen has Killarney connections
Ireland’s oldest woman met with President Michael D. Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin this week. Máirín Hughes, who turned 109 on May 22 has strong Killarney connections. The previous record […]

Ireland’s oldest woman met with President Michael D. Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin this week.
Máirín Hughes, who turned 109 on May 22 has strong Killarney connections.
The previous record was held by 107-year-old Nancy Stewart who died on September 10 2021.
Although born in Belfast, Máirín went to school in the Mercy Convent. Her father was a customs and excise officer and the family moved around a lot eventually coming to Killarney after spells in County Down and Dublin.
Her mother came from the Rathmore area and her father was from Newmarket in County Cork.
She attended the Mercy Convent and has, in previous interviews, recalled growing up on the shores of Lough Lein.
“Neighbours who had three children were given the job of taking me to school,” she said. “They were annoyed because the children were going to school for two or three years but I was put in to the same class as them – my mother had taught me.”
In 2021 she featured in the book ‘Independence Memories: A People’s Portrait of the Early Days of the Irish Nation’, sharing stories of being kept in school in Killarney during an attack on the RIC barracks down the road.
In 1924 she started a degree in science and a diploma in education at University College Cork, before working in the pathology lab in University College Cork’s Department of Medicine for 16 years.
last year she recalled her story on the podcast: ‘Living History – Irish Life and Lore’.
During the broadcast she talked about her parents’ membership of the Gaelic League in 1910; the Spanish Flu in Ireland in 1918; The Black and Tans in Killarney in 1921; the early days of the new Free State; Eucharistic Congress in Dublin in 1932, visiting the Basket Islands in 1929; and working in the UCC medical laboratory from 1932 until 1948.
This week President Michael D. Higgins hosted an afternoon tea event to celebrate the important role that a variety of people have and can play in different communities and Máirín was among the guests of honour.
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Philip is running over 100kms for Cancer charity
Local runner and charity fundraiser Philip Kissane is set for the biggest challenge of his career as he lines up for the Cork City Marathon on Sunday. Phillip has already […]

Local runner and charity fundraiser Philip Kissane is set for the biggest challenge of his career as he lines up for the Cork City Marathon on Sunday.
Phillip has already completed four half marathons at various locations around Killarney – all in aid of Kerry Cancer Support Group – or the Cancer Bus as it popularly called.
This is the second time that Phillip has run four half marathon and an official race for the charity.
Back in 2021 he finished with 5km Run Killarney event but his finishing race this time around is over eight times the distance at 42kms.
“We are delighted with Philip’s continued fundraising support but also with his awareness raising for the charity,” Breda Dyland, Service Manager Kerry Cancer Support Trust.
“We are getting busier all the time and still get no statutory funding so are dependent on fundraisers like Philip’s to keep us on the road. We have just put our new wheelchair accessible bus on the Cork route so Philip’s funding will be going towards the operation of this vehicle.”