Streamed Online from Bantry House and other West Cork venues, in Ireland, the Best in Irish Traditional Music is available through to 17 November 2021– Bookings and Programme Here
Masters of Tradition takes place online this year but its mission remains the same – to journey to the heart of Irish music and provide a platform where subtle elements of the music can be heard.
Masters of Tradition festival dates 2021This unique festival presents Irish traditional music in its purest form and also features collaborations that stretch in many directions.
Having just commenced and through to 17 November, concerts will be streamed each Wednesday evening by the US platform OurConcerts.live . These concerts will have been pre-recorded in Bantry House, Future Forests in Kealkil and Abbestrewry Church in Skibbereen. These concerts can also be viewed on-demand after the initial streaming.
As ever, the Festival is headlined by its Artistic Director Martin Hayes, the fiddler from East Clare, whose distinctive touch and extravagant virtuosity has brought the tradition to new levels.
Find the full Programme here
Eight Days of Festival Performances not to be missed
Over the eight days of the festival there will also be performances and collaborations from guitarists Steve Cooney, John Walsh and Phil Robson; singer Christine Tobin; multi instrumentalists Francesco Turrisi and Brian Donnellan; pianist and composer Cormac McCarthy; poet Doireann Ní Ghríofa; accordionist Derek Hickey; uilleann piper David Power; and violinist Marja Gaynor.
violinist Marja GaynorThe Goodman Trio (uilleann piper Mick O’Brien, flautist Emer Mayock and fiddler Aoife Ní Bhriain) present the music collected by Canon James Goodman in the mid-nineteenth century. Immram, a setting of the suite of poems of the same name written by Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, will feature Neil Ó Lochlainn (double bass, flute), sean-nós singer Saileog Ní Cheannabháin, fiddler Lucia Mac Partlin and harpist Eilís Lavelle.
Check out the full Programme here
Artistic Director Martin Hayes
“It’s a very good programme,” says Artistic Director Martin Hayes. “We have old traditional music from the Goodman Collection, part of the South Kerry, West Cork music tradition pre-Famine. We have the poetry of Yeats, the poetry of Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, ancient harp music played by Steve Cooney and uilleann piping with David Power. We have been filming in Bantry House and all around West Cork, doing our best to bring you the feeling and experience of what you might have had when visiting here. We want to keep that alive and reach you with it as best we can, hoping we can all be in person together next year.”
The Masters of Tradition opened its doors in 2003 and since then it has welcomed such renowned names as Christy Moore, Scullion, Lisa O’Neill, Donal Lunny, Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh, Altan, Andy Irvine, Liam O’Flynn, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Moya Brenna, Liam Ó Maonlaí, Iarla Ó Lionáird, Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, Séamus Begley, John Spillane and many more.
West Cork Music - Masters of Tradition Festival | Goodman Trio in Abbeystrewry Church - credit Ben Russell
Masters of Tradition Festival Onliine by West Cork Music - Traditional Irish Music
Immram , a setting of the suite of poems of the same name written by Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, will feature Neil Ó Lochlainn (double bass, flute), sean-nós singer Saileog Ní Cheannabháin, fiddler Lucia Mac Partlin and harpist Eilís Lavelle
Masters of Tradition - Traditional Irish Music Festival, West Cork Music