Kilkenny musician provides a powerful music backing to the Katie Taylor fight

It was one of the most charged sporting events in Irish history on last Saturday night in Dublin, a homecoming for one of the truly great living Irish legends, boxer Katie Taylor. 

While ultimately it was not to be Katie's night, it was, nonetheless, an emotionally charged occasion, with the home crowd in the 3Arena making their support abundantly clear. The response to the event was loud and enthusiastic and television audiences were in no doubt as to who the home crowd supported. 

What is perhaps less widely known is that the musical accompaniment to the start of the event was composed by a young Kilkenny musician, with his powerful composition forming part of Katie’s walk in, witnessed by a world-wide audience. 

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Éanna Ó’Casaide (17) is a 5th year student at Kilkenny CBS, and composed the music to a song commissioned for the event, sung on the night by Éanna’s cousin, world renowned singer Sibéal Ní Casaide. 

Preparations took place in the lead up to the event, with Sibéal’s management team being hugely impressed by Éanna’s powerful musical accompaniment to the song “Coming Home”.  All the work was done in Éanna’s home place of Burnchurch, Danesfort with his siblings in the band, also called “Burnchurch”. 

As the fight time came near, a decision was made to extend the walk-in part of the event, and so further work was needed to extend the piece in a very challenging timeframe. 

Such was the energy and ability of Éanna and his siblings Sadhbh (20, vocals, fiddle), Síofra (19, vocals, flute) and Ruairi (15, vocals, bass), that the extended piece was completed in good time for the final preparations. 

They’re a young, highly talented and enthusiastic group of musicians and are impressing many people along the way. They’ve appeared at Kilkenny Tradfest, Yulfest and are due to be heard on Raidio Na Gaeltachta. Their music is a unique blend of up to the minute pop with an Irish traditional edge and elegant vocal harmonies.

They’re currently working with the internationally respected Irish music producer Leo Pearson on their first album and are planning to release their first single in December of this year. 

In the meantime, they’re composing and performing, with their next Kilkenny gig coming up as part of the Ballykeeffe Amphitheatre summer series, as support to legendary Irish group Stockton’s Wing on July 22.