Question of Taste: Diarmuid Mac Gloinn of Ye Vagabonds

Ahead of an event at Sounds From A Safe Harbour, the singer includes Mám, Spiderman and Richie Kavanagh among his selections

Brían and Diarmuid Mac Gloinn of Ye Vagabonds. Picture: Rich Gilligan

Diarmuid Mac Gloinn from Carlow, along with his brother Brían, is a member of Ye Vagabonds. The band plays original and traditional folk music. Ye Vagabonds will host the final event at the upcoming Sounds From a Safe Harbour festival, collaborating with an exciting group of artists for a once-off gig called Lighthouse Constellations.

Best recent book you've read:

We both recently read Rick Rubin's  The Creative Act which is a great book to read when you’re working on a creative project. He has a very mystical or even spiritual view of creativity but he offers very solid practical advice including such nuggets as: “impatience is an argument with reality”.

Best recent film:

Neither Barbie nor Oppenheimer really did it for me but I did recently see the latest animated Spiderman movie and was impressed with the animation and laughed a lot at the jokes.

Best recent gig you’ve seen:

Mám is a recent show that stands out for Diarmuid

Mám in Bord Gáis Theatre, if that counts. If we’re talking just straight-up music gigs, then it has to be the Crash Ensemble playing Glassworks by Philip Glass in The Complex.

Best piece of music you’ve been listening to lately (new or old):

'Beehive' by Niamh Bury, a stunning first single by our good friend Niamh. Gorgeous singing, great lyrics, beautiful arrangement.

First ever piece of music that really moved you:

Hard to be specific. As a kid I was really into my parents' record player so my Dad had to teach me how to use it properly so I didn’t damage the records. That’s how I ended up being really into Simon and Garfunkel. I loved the songs 'America' and 'Punky’s Dilemma'.

The best gig you've ever seen (if you had to pick one!):

I feel like the best gigs we see aren’t just the ones where the “best” musicians are playing. A really great gig is about the venue, the sound, the crowd, the specific friends you’re with, the energy in the room. We saw Rozi Plain in the Kino a few years back and there was something very joyful and special about that whole experience. It would be hard to beat it.

Tell us about your TV viewing:

I recently watched Severance and can’t wait for another season. Brían just recently started watching Game of Thrones for the first time.

Radio listening and/or podcasts:

Blindboy Boatclub. Picture: Marc O’Sullivan

Dublin Digital Radio, John Kelly’s Mystery Train always, Blindboy, Song Exploder.

You're curating your dream festival – which three artists are on the bill, living or dead?

We’re not curating a festival. We are, however, curating a night at SFSH festival and it’s going to be pretty dreamy but we can’t tell you who the artists are yet… 

 Your best/most famous celebrity encounter:

Richie Kavanagh shook our hands at a ploughing championship in 2002. We’ll forever regret not having taken a photograph of the occasion.

You can portal back to any cultural event or music era – where, when, and why?

Ireland in the third century BC because no one has any idea what that would have sounded like. It’d be pretty amazing to find out.

In your own life, have you been doing anything in particular in relation to climate change, biodiversity, etc?

Along with Anja Murray, Brían has been involved in producing radio series about trees and birds for Lyric FM. We grew up with an avid bird watcher and conservationist for a Dad so it’s always in our consciousness. We try to read up, stay informed and do whatever we can.

• Sounds From a Safe Harbour in association with Quiet Lights festival, present Ye Vagabonds ‘Lighthouse Constellations’, an evening of collaborations at Cork Opera House, Sunday, September 10 at 6pm. soundsfromasafeharbour.com