Media Release 27 January 2016

Kevin Rowland from Dexys, Declan O’Rourke, Maighread & Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill, actress Olwen Fouéré and more announced for ‘IMAGINING HOME’ at the National Concert Hall

Additions - ENGLAND 29 March 2016
• Kevin Rowland and Sean Read of Dexys (formerly Dexys Midnight Runners)
• Declan O’Rourke, Irish singer/songwriter

Additions - OUT OF THE TRADITION 3 April 2016
• Maighread & Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill, singers, composers, musicians
• Treasa Ní Mhiollain, sean-nós singer
• Tríona Marshall, harp
• Aoife Ní Bhriain, fiddle
• Louis dePaor, Irish language poet
• Olwen Fouéré, actress

The National Concert Hall is delighted to announce the names of the artists to be added to the line-up for two of the seven concerts [entitled England and Out of the Tradition] as part of its Ireland 2016 series Imagining Home. The events take place between 28 March and 3 April 2016.

Inspired by the 1916 Proclamation, Imagining Home speaks of Ireland’s cultural journey over the last 100 years, its place in the world today and its shared future.

ENGLAND -29 March 2016 Programme additions

Kevin Rowland and Sean Read of Dexys (formerly Dexys Midnight Runners) and Irish singer/songwriter Declan O’Rourke, will be added to the line- up for ENGLAND, 29 March. They will perform alongside Martin Carthy, Camille O’Sullivan, Cait O’Riordan, Paul Brady, Andy Irvine, Cathal Coughlan and Lisa O’Neill in a unique event, hosted by writer and broadcaster John Kelly which looks at the musical interplay between Ireland and England.

OUT OF THE TRADITION -3 April 2016 Programme additions

Well-known traditional singers, sisters Maighread & Tríona Ni Dhomhnaill, join sean-nós singer Treasa Ní Mhiollain, celebrated Irish harpist Tríona Marshall, fiddle player Aoife Ní Bhriain, Irish language poet Louis de Paor and award-winning actress Olwen Fouéré for OUT OF THE TRADITION on 3 April. This concert explores a journey through Irish traditional music from its roots to the thriving traditional scene of today. They will joined by fiddler Martin Hayes and guitarist Dennis Cahill, Usher’s Island, the Tulla Céilí Band, fiddler Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh and Iarla Ó Lionaird.

Full details of the National Concert Hall’s Imagining Home series can be found here

Imagining Home is part of The Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme, led by Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys, T.D. It is a year-long programme of activity to commemorate the events of the 1916 Rising, reflecting on our achievements over the last 100 years and looking towards Ireland’s future. www.ireland.ie

Imagining Home media partners include The Irish Times and RTÉ Radio 1.

ENDS
For further information please contact: Sinead Doyle, Marketing & PR Manager, National Concert Hall, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2. Tel: 01 417 0057/087 1775334

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Kevin Rowland and Dexys (Midnight Runners) are one of the great pioneers of English pop. From an Irish emigrant family background, Kevin Rowland has always drawn on this Irish musical heritage. From their number one singles Geno and Come on Eileen to their albums Searching for the Young Soul Rebels, Too-Rye-Ay, Don't Stand Me Down and One Day I’m Going to Soar, “their catalogue stands comparison with any British group” (The Guardian). We are delighted they join Imagining Home in an exclusive live performance.

The acclaimed Irish song-writer Declan O’Rourke is, according to Brendan Graham of Hot Press Magazine (2012) “not a songwriter within the ordinary definition of the word. He is a sorcerer of songs, with a Dickensian skill for finding the moment that details some aspect of our humanity”. The critical and commercial success he has achieved since the release of his debut album Since Kyabram has earned him plaudits from the likes of Snow Patrol, Kate Rusby and DJs Jonathan Ross and Edith Bowman, each of whom were rapturous in their praise of Declan’s deep-honey voice and astute song writing abilities.

Aoife Ní Bhriain is a fiddler who has won numerous competitions both classical and tradition including 7-All-Ireland Titles at the Fleadh Cheoil, ESB Feis Ceoil, Camerata and Ireland Young Musician of the Year Award in 2011. Most recently she won a TG4 Gradam Ceoil award, the most prestigious honour for Irish musicians for her input on the CD Tunes from the Goodman Manuscripts.

Maighread Ní Dhomhnaill is an Irish traditional singer, known for her work with the short-lived, but very highly regarded Skara Brae and her collaborations with her sister Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill as well as other traditional musicians. Most recently she has recorded and performed with the West Ocean String Quartet and with her sister Triona, along with Moya Brennan, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh are part of a new Celtic supergroup T with the Maggies, who released their most recent CD (2010).

With a career spanning three decades, Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill has played with Skara Brae, The Bothy Band, Relativity, Touchstone, Nightnoise and of course her sister Maighread. Her latest solo release is entitled The Key’s Within.

Tríona Marshall’s music has been hailed by critics as both sensitive and revelatory. Drawing from the centuries-old harp tradition, her performances are renowned for their depth, virtuosity and flair. Her years spent performing with orchestras and The Chieftains have brought her all over the world. However, it is as a soloist, summoning the spirit, people and places of her musical world, that the depth of her journey becomes most palpable.

Louis de Paor is one of the most celebrated poets of the Irish language and is a former editor of the acclaimed Irish language journal Innti (founded by Michael Davitt, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, Liam Ó Muirthile and Gabriel Rosenstock). Now the Director of the Centre for Irish Studies at the NUI, Galway, de Paor has worked alongside many of the giants of literature in the Irish language such as Sean Ó Tuama with whom he edited a twentieth century anthology of poetry in Irish.

Olwen Fouéré is a leading Irish actor and creative artist. She has worked with The Abbey Theatre, Gate Theatre, the Royal National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company. In 1980 she formed Operating Theatre, an avant-garde theatre company with composer Roger Doyle. She recently set up TheEmergencyRoom in 2009 for projects ‘in need of immediate attention’ and as a virtual holding space for the development of art-based ideas, relationships and performance contexts. Olwen was nominated for Best Actress in the 2013 Irish Times Theatre Award’s for her work on riverrun.