THERE ARE few folk/trad musicians in Ireland today as acclaimed and admired as Daoirí Farrell. Indeed, Dónal Lunny has called him "one of the most important traditional singers to emerge in the last decade".
Christy Moore has said it is "always a treat to hear him sing", while the BBC's Mark Radcliffe described Farrell as "effortless, instinctive, natural…the real deal". Galway will be able to see and hear for itself when the Dubliner plays the Róisín Dubh this Sunday [June 23] at 8pm.
A former electrician, Farrell turned to music after watching Christy Moore perform on TV, eventually releasing his debut album, The First Turn in 2009. He then studied traditional music at the University of Limerick, under flautist Fintan Vallely. Following this he worked with Moore and Lunny, as well as Martin Hayes, Dennis Cahill, Danú, Dervish, Julie Fowlis, Arty McGlynn, Kíla, Sean Keane, and Gerry O’Connor.
In 2013 he won the All Ireland Champion Singer award at the fleadh in Derry. In 2015 he took the prestigious Danny Kyle Award at Celtic Connections in Glasgow, and in 2017 he won two BBC Folk Awards - The Horizon Award for best newcomer and the award for Best Traditional Track.
He has since released two albums, True Born Irishman (2016 ) and earlier this year, A Lifetime Of Happiness, produced by Dónal Lunny. Speaking about the latter album, Farrell said: "This is my third solo album and it feels different, somehow more grown up. That for me is partly down to the song choice. Each song was very carefully chosen and each is beautiful in its own way...and I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to have recorded it with some of my favourite musicians."
Tickets are available from www.roisindubh.net; the Ticket Desk at OMG@Zhivago, Shop Street; and The Róisín Dubh.
