Talent of a new generation in Seán Ó Riada competition

SCHOOLGIRL Eimhear Flannery may be of a different millennium from the iconic composer Seán Ó Riada, yet nearly 45 years after his death, their musical trajectories are about to coincide.

At just 11 years old, Eimhear, from Rockchapel in North Cork, is the youngest competitor in an otherwise adult line-up of finalists for tomorrow’s Seán Ó Riada Gold Medal Competition.

Already an accomplished composer of traditional music herself, Eimhear is accustomed to sharing a stage with senior competitors, and earned honours at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann last August with a self-penned tune.