Welcome
2009…what a year to remember and celebrate! This might seem a crazy statement in view of our current economic difficulties but let me explain…
250 years ago Arthur Guinness began brewing the pint of plain which has become an icon of Irishness and the Irish worldwide. 250 years ago also was the birth of Robbie Burns, a failed farmer and ineffective customs and excise man who almost single-handedly revived Scottish folk song and captured the imagination of the world with his beautiful words. 200 years ago Moore’s Melodies were first published and remain dear to the hearts of the Irish everywhere. George Frederick Handel whose wonderful Messiah had its first performance in Dublin, died 250 years ago this year.
The Franciscan Order have been in Galway for 800 years, the GAA celebrate 125 years and the Kilfenora Ceili Band have had dancers knocking sparks from the floor for 100 years.
We remember the passing of Joe Heaney 25 years ago arguably Connemara, Galway and Ireland’s finest singer as we do Mickey Finn who regaled us with his sharp wit and flamboyant fiddle playing in the many hostelries around town, now 21 years passed on.
Impresario Ollie Jennings celebrates 35 years in the music business having brought Ceolteoiri Laighean and the famed Chieftains to Galway for the first time all those years ago. Whistle maestro Sean Ryan and trusty troubadour Pat Conneeley celebrate 30 years of generous music sharing with musicians and listeners alike in the Crane Bar. Likewise the Crane Bar and the Róisín Dubh celebrate 30 and 5 years of bringing great music to Galway City.
These are reasons enough for The Galway Sessions 2009 to focus on anniversaries and memories and the programme will reflect them to a greater or lesser extent. This year there will be greater emphasis on Singers and Songs.
We would like to extend a warm welcome to visitors who return to The Galway Sessions year after year and to those of you attending for the first time. A very special welcome also to the 400 delegates attending the conference at the Economics Department of NUIG.
We hope you enjoy this years events. Reflecting on the achievements of the aforementioned there is much to remember and celebrate. Through their energy, genius, innovation and talent, these people and organisations have enriched this nation, this town and all our lives…and what better way to celebrate than with a great song, a tune and a pint of plain!
Mick Crehan
Festival Director |
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| Ben Taylor (USA) |
Say you’re a gifted young artist - someone like Ben Taylor, for instance, you’ve written a pile of great songs. You’ve got a way with melody and a mastery of the understated lyric...
[more info] |
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| The Wishing Well (Australia) |
The Wishing Well evoke an extraordinary gamut of emotions with their compelling and awe- inspiring arrangements spun around magnificently poetic lyrics...
[more info] |
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| Mick Hanly |
| Now one of Ireland’s foremost singer songwriters with a string of successful and well loved songs to his name Mick Hanly joined Christy Moore and others in Moving Hearts in 1981,... [more info] |
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| Don Stiffe |
| Don Stiffe is the most recent singer songwriter to emerge on to the Irish folk scene. Don hails from Galway and his singing prowess is up there with that of Sean Keane, Sean Tyrell, Dolores Keane, and Dessie O’Halloran... [more info] |
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| Mórga CD Launch |
| Young band Mórga is launching their debut album in Tigh Chóilí, Galway. Mórga was founded in 2007 by four young musicians to create a band inspired by the sound and sheer energy... [more info] |
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| Jim Malcolm |
 In the year Guinness was born so was the great Robert Burns, the Scottish ploughman poet who gave the world “Auld Lang Syne” and “My Luve’s Like A Red Red Rose”... [more info] |
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| Brian McGrath CD Launch |
Brian McGrath launches his long awaited solo CD “Pure Banjo” witrh special guests Alec Finn and Johnny “Ringo” McDonagh.
Brian comes from Brookeborough, Co.Fermanagh... [more info] |
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| Paul Moran |
Sean-Nós Dance Workshop.Paul Moran is a champion irish dancer and has been dancing since the late fifties...
[more info] |
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| Seán Garvey |
| From Cahirsiveen in South Kerry, Seán Garvey has one of the most distinctive traditional singing voices in Ireland... [more info] |
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| Maria Doyle Kennedy |
| Maria Doyle Kennedy makes a welcome return to the Galway Sessions. Most recently feted as an actress in ‘The Tudors’, Maria has released a diverse array of albums... [more info] |
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| Seán Ryan & Pat Conneeley |
 Whistle maestro Seán Ryan from Tipperary and troubadour Pat Conneeley from Uachtar Ard have been busy entertaining music lovers at The Crane Bar for a milestone 30 years... [more info] |
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| Singers Club w Paul Moran & Tim Lyons |
 A gala evening of singing in both Irish and English from Paul Moran and Tim Lyons, who has been much too quiet of late...
[more info] |
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| No Banjo |
This Sunday residency in the Roisin Dubh from Galway’s blues, soul, rootsters is a great way to round off The Galway Sessions.
This gig will guarantee a high-energy finish to the week and leave you shouting for more! |
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| The Session Trail |
The pubs in our Session Trail are traditional in the best sense of the word and are known worldwide for the quality of their music and their special atmosphere.
These pubs have early evening as well as night time sessions and give visitors and Galwegians alike the opportunity to experience traditional music in its most intimate setting. |
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