Kilkenny TradFest welcomes musical geniuses Iarla Ó Lionáird and Steve Cooney

Highly regarded and much loved by sean-nós fans, both locally and internationally, Iarla Ó Lionáird and Steve Cooney have forged a unique musical partnership over many years. In 2020, the Journal of Music described their interpretations of songs from the sean-nós tradition as having ‘set a new standard of artistic integrity and creative innovation within the traditional structures of the Gaelic song tradition.’  

They have explored their own individual paths in their careers: Iarla performing with such renowned groups as the Afro Celt Sound System and the Gloaming, as well as his collaborations with classical ensembles, opera and film performances; Steve, performing in many Irish traditional instrumental ensembles and contributing to more than 250 CDs as a guitarist, bass player and producer. 

They have long shared an empathetic link that has grown out of their love of the melodic and poetic art forms created during the time when Gaelic culture was in its full flowering. Iarla grew up immersed in this culture in Cúil Aodha, County Cork; Steve grew up in Australia and brings an imaginative perspective to song, based on the traditions of the harpers. 

Friends and collaborators, both musicians have enthralled audiences at the National Concert Hall and over many decades on the international stage with their beautiful and rare music. 

Both have received critical acclaim, ‘Ó Lionáird’s real triumph is his voice: as soft as a feather and as searingly sharp as a blade when the mood Calls’ (The Irish Times). ‘His voice will astound you. It soars, and it's as profound, simple and beautiful as wild horses’ (Time Out, New York).

Steve Cooney has been described by the Irish Times as a ‘musical polymath’ best known for his development of an influential style of guitar accompaniment to traditional Irish dance music. Recognising Cooney’s immense talent and skill, the late Seamus Heaney speaking at the Fiddlers Green described how ‘Master Cooney restores the ancient link between lyre and lyric, between poetry and performance, the rhapsody and rascality’.

Iarla Ó Lionáird and Steve Cooney will perform in the Medieval Mile Museum Music series Thursday, March 17 at 7.30pm. The concert is one of the fabulous nightly concerts featuring some of Ireland’s most talented and well-loved performers of Traditional Irish music, 16th – 20th March. All proceeds from this magnificent series of concerts in the spectacular setting of the Medieval Mile Museum go to Amber Women’s Refuge. Tickets: €20 + booking fee. 

The concert is just one of the many superb acts in this year’s Kilkenny TradFest. The programming of musicians is supported by the Local Live Performance Support Scheme (LLPPS): a Government funded scheme administered through the Kilkenny Arts Office which aims to support the return of in-person music events, utilising Government resources to provide much needed employment for performers and musicians who were hardest hit by the pandemic. 

Booking for all concerts: www.KilkennyTradFest.com