EAMONN CEANNT, the County Galwayman who was one of the seven signatories of the 1916 Proclamation, and who was crucial in reviving interest in, and paving the way for, the uilleann pipes central role in modern Irish music, is to be celebrated through a series of events in the city.
Chief among these will be the Eamonn Ceannt Memorial Concert, featuring the great Liam Ó Flynn, in the Town Hall Theatre on Wednesday June 15 at 8pm.
Ó Flynn is best known as a co-founder of Planxty, and for his orchestral work with composer Shaun Davy, most notably on The Brendan Voyage. As well as a successful solo career, he has also worked and recorded with Kate Bush, Mark Knopfler, Mary Black, Emmylou Harris, and the late Seamus Heaney.
At the concert, Ó Flynn will be joined by two fiddling greats - The Chieftans' Sean Keane and The Bothy Band's Paddy Glackin.
The concert will also hear a newly composed piece by Dave Flynn, commissioned by the Galway City Arts Office and the Galway Music Residency, entitled 'Calmly Awaiting The End', performed by piper Mick O'Brien and the ConTempo Quartet.
The title comes from the last letter Ceannt wrote to his wife Aine O'Breannan, before his execution at Kilmainham gaol on May 8 1916: "My dearest wife Aine, Not wife but widow before these lines reach you. I am here without hope of this world and without fear, Calmly awaiting the end."
There will also be a solo performance from Ronan Browne. Tickets are available from the Town Hall on 091 - 569777 or www.tht.ie
Events on the street
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Julie Fowlis, the multi-award winning Scots-Gaelic singer, performs a free, outdoor concert, on Mainguard Street, on Friday June 17 at 8pm.
Nominated as Folk Singer of the Year at the 2015 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, and Best Artist at the Songlines World Music Awards 2015, she has also won Folk Act of the Year 2014 at the Scots Trad Music Awards, and was the first Gaelic-language solo artist to win a Scottish Music Award in 2014. She also sang the theme song to Brave, Disney Pixar’s Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA winning animated film, set in the Scottish highlands.
There will also be an outdoor Eamonn Ceannt Tribute Concert in Eyre Square on Sunday June 19 from 3pm, featuring the specially formed Eamonn Ceannt Quartet with uilleann pipers Tommy Keane, Padraig Keane, Marion McCarty, and Cormac Cannon, with Jimmy Higgins on drums. Rebel songs will be performed by Don Stiffe, Greg Cotter, and Eamon Ó Broithe. The event concludes with the the arrival of Scottish and Irish pipe bands into the square.
For more information see www.galwaysessions.com
