Bittersweet is how violinist, Catherine Leonard describes the feeling she anticipates when she and pianist, Hugh Tinney will perform the last event in the West Cork Music’s Concert Series at Bantry House on Saturday.

NOW in its 11th year, the Masters of Tradition Festival in Bantry, Co Cork (August 14-18) has turned out to be exactly the kind of festival that its artistic director, Martin Hayes, envisaged.

FOR fiddle virtuoso Martin Hayes, every Masters of Tradition festival in Bantry, West Cork, is special, so how to celebrate its 10th anniversary?

In Portugal, fadó means destiny, and it also describes a style of music that is characterised by mournful tunes.

To set the scene for the first part of our Top 50 poll, Joe McNamee looks at the state of play in the Irish music industry.