‘Music is the language of the world’: how a Syrian refugee became the toast of the Irish folk scene

Mohammad Syfkhan trained as a surgical nurse but fled Syria after Islamic State killed one of his sons. Settled in Ireland, he is now creating vital cross-cultural bonds

Mohammad Syfkhan: ‘I love music that brings joy because it makes me forget a little of the pain of the past.’

At Lankum’s sold-out concert at Cork Opera House last summer, their sharp-suited support act had the crowd in the palm of his bouzouki-strumming hand. It was Kurdish Syrian singer and musician Mohammad Syfkhan, whose debut album I Am Kurdish has become part of a thriving, collaborative music scene in one of Ireland’s smallest counties.

A 57-year-old father of five whose music is a thrilling mix of electrified Kurdish, Arabic, and Turkish traditional songs, covers, and originals, Syfkhan arrived in Ireland as part of a refugee settlement scheme in December 2016 with his teacher wife, Huda, and young daughter, Noor.