Aidan Vaughan dancing a reel in the flickering light of a crackling fire; the nimble fingers of US piano virtuoso David Syme cascading over the notes of Moonlight Sonata under the night sky; the gossamer voices of Cork sean nós-singer Máire Ní Chéileachair and Anna Mhoireach from the Isle of Lewis floating through the ether.

The sounds of the Indian stringed sarod and strains of the uilleann pipes and harp can be heard together in Co Cork next Sunday in an innovative international collaboration.

After a musical education that involved UCC and the Phoenix Bar, trad stalwart Con ‘Fada’ Ó Drisceoil has released a new collection of comic songs, writes Pet O’Connell

Music lovers are being invited to nominate their favourite songs or ballads for the first-ever EU songbook.

Two days after winning the men’s singing contest at Oireachtas na Samhna in Killarney, Conchubhar Ó Luasa of Cúil Aodha, Co Cork, became the youngest-ever winner of the Irish language festival’s top prize, the Corn Uí Riada.

Alannah Hopkin discusses the inspiration behind her new book of poems and songs about Cork City, On the Banks.

I’ve always been excited by musical sounds. My earliest memory is playing a little toy piano with the black keys painted on.

Ireland’s bloody past should not be sanitised, Peadar Ó Riada tells Pet O’Connell, as he prepares for the premiere of his new work inspired by Pádraig Pearse

The trad singing legend attributes his longevity to a simple diet, regular walks, and a vigilant GP, he tells Sharon Ní Chonchúir.  

****

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today

As Mise Éire features in the opening concert of the Cork International Choral Festival, Jo Kerrigan talks to Seán Ó Riada’s son Peadar about its creation

The centenary of the Easter Rising has given us an abundance of commemorative

Wayne Rooney opens up his life to the TV cameras for a major documentary, Rooney — The Man Behind The Goals, on BBC One on Monday.

PEADAR Ó RIADA is not a man likely to be haunted by thoughts of his own paucity of accomplishments.

Liam Ó Maonlaí will be appearing at Masters of Tradition which takes place in Bantry from Wednesday, August 19. He will be appearing alongside Steve Cooney and Chris Droney, with Francis Droney, Ann Droney Kirrane, and Ainé McGrath on Saturday, August 22, at Bantry House.

Percussive stylist Nic Gareiss will perform at the Masters of Tradition festival, says Colette Sheridan

Gabriel Doherty offers a personal reflection on the commemorative events marking the centenary of O’Donovan Rossa’s funeral

4/5

Ionad Cultúrtha, Baile Mhúirne

GLAMOUR is in short supply when you’ve been in a band for 25 years, says Kila’s Rossa Ó Snodaigh. 

An anthology of poets who were born in the province after 1960 is the first since the late Sean Dunne’s 1985 guide, says Colette Sheridan

A new film documents the hugely successful revival of the uileann pipes, writes Eoin Edwards

Plans are under way to establish a monastery in Cork’s Muskerry Gaeltacht.

Days after its launch and the 1916 centenary website Ireland.ie has already been taken down for maintenance. 

Ó GHLÚIN go glúin, from generation to generation, the sean-nós singing tradition is passed carefully down in Cork’s Múscraí Gaeltacht: from the 200-year-old songs of Máire Bhuí Ní Laoire, to Bess Cronin, Peaití Thaidhg Pheig Ó Tuama, Máire Ní Cheocháin and Diarmuid Ó Súilleabháin to today’s young singers. And to Nell Ní Chróinín, winner this month of sean-nós singing’s most coveted prize, the Corn Uí Riada.

Harpists from the USA, Canada, and Italy will travel to Co Limerick for next week’s Harp Festival to commemorate the Brian Boru Millennium.

Newly elected MEP Liadh Ní Riada said her priority is to triple the amount of EU funding Ireland is accessing and to use it to develop jobs in rural Ireland.

Brian Crowley will once again top the poll in the Ireland South European elections with Sinn Féin newcomer Liadh Ní Riada and Fine Gael’s Seán Kelly on course to take the second and third seat.

Sinn Féin’s past and present collided on a sun-drenched pier in Cork City this weekend.

Cork tenor and retired teacher Seán Ó Sé has overcome cancer and recorded a new album, says Pet O’Connell

As Philip King takes to the stage with Scullion at a musical celebration hosted by UCC, he tells Ed Power how his studies there helped shape him as an artist

For the past five years, University College Cork’s FUAIM concerts and seminars have celebrated the diversity of Irish music and its interconnectedness with further flung forms.

Renowned tin whistle player and founding member of the Chieftains, Sean Potts has died aged 83.

Fifteen talented traditional musicians will take to the stage of the Rochestown Park Hotel in Cork this Friday to compete in the final of the Séan Ó Riada Gold Medal Competition, broadcast live on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta.

Fifteen talented traditional musicians will take to the stage of the Rochestown Park Hotel in Cork this Friday to compete in the final of the Séan Ó Riada Gold Medal Competition, broadcast live on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta.

Traditional Irish singing legend Sean Ó Sé has spoken openly about his battle with cancer in the hope that it will encourage men over 50 to get regular health checks.

THE Encyclopaedia of Music in Ireland is the summation of 10 years of research, and brings together some 2,000 articles by 240 contributors in a handsome two-volume, cloth-bound edition.

The respected traditional musician, poet, and writer Tomás Ó Canainn has died, aged 82.

Two previously unpublished works by the composer Seán Ó Riada have been recorded for the first time on a CD to be released today.

As well as the Eurovision, highlights include the return of The Good Wife to RTÉ