Dónal Lunny
Dónal Lunny is popularly regarded as having being central to the renaissance of Irish Music over the last three decades.
Since the seventies Dónal has had involvement with some of the most innovative bands to emerge from Ireland including Planxty, the Bothy Band, Moving Hearts, Coolfin, and more recently Mozaik. He has toured across the world, collaborating with musicians of many different cultures.
Dónal co-founded Mulligan Records and produced 17 albums for the label. Since then he has produced tracks for, and collaborated on albums with Kate Bush, Mark Knopfler, Indigo Girls, Clannad, and Baaba Maal among others. He produced the internationally acclaimed album for EMI, ‘Common Ground’, featuring such artists as Bono, Neil and Tim Finn, and Elvis Costello.
He continues his work in studio production, also occasionally composing music for theatre, television and film.
A member of Aosdána, in 2008 Dónal received an Honorary Doctorate in music from Trinity College. In 2009 he was appointed Artist in Residence at the University of Limerick, where he frequently teaches.
Daoirí Farrell
Daoirí Farrell is a product of Dublin’s famous An Góilin Traditional Singers. Since launching his own solo live career at the 2016 Celtic Connections, Daoirí Farrell has gone from strength to strength.
The 2013 All Ireland Champion Singer has achieved numerous other honours from multiple BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards nominations to ALSR Celtic Music accolades.
He has received endorsements from the likes of Christy Moore (“Daoirí has assumed the mantle of Luke [Kelly]”), Mark Radcliffe (“What a voice”) and Dónal Lunny (“Daoirí is one of the most important traditional singers to emerge in the last decade”).
His music and live performances have earned the acclaim of respected publications including MOJO, The Irish Post, Songlines and more.
Leonard Barry
Originally from North Kerry and now based in Sligo, Leonard Barry is an uilleann piper whose recent work centers on the release of his third solo album, Littoral, produced by Michael McGoldrick. This project has led to extensive international touring across Europe, including appearances at the Rudolstadt World Music Festival in Germany, the Festival Interceltique de Lorient in Brittany, and the Celtic Carrousel series in Switzerland.
Barry’s recent collaborations include the commission B O Y with poet Damian Gorman and ongoing performances with Scottish piping legend Allan MacDonald. He frequently tours in a trio alongside fiddle player Andy Morrow and guitarist Seamie O’Dowd, often expanding to a quartet with cellist Kaitlin Cullen-Verhauz. Other Festival appearances include showcases at Celtic Connections in Glasgow,, and Celtic Colours in Nova Scotia