Brought to you by Tradfest West at The Skeff Bar, Galway.
From the Clancy Brothers to the Dubliners, the popularity of traditional Irish music around the world is undeniable.
The combination of the Irish oral storytelling tradition with tunes that can make you either tear up or throw shapes, sometimes both at the same time. It’s as much a part of our national DNA as hurling or the ability to curse up a storm.
1. Brendan Gleeson
Star of In Bruges and The General, there’s no denying that Brendan Gleeson is an extremely talented man.
His skills as an actor are known the world over to film and theater audiences.
While many of his characters have a knack for violence, the former schoolteacher turned movie star has a knack for the violin.
2. Ed Sheeran
Since exploding onto the scene in 2011, Ed Sheeran has been selling out stadiums and enchanting fans the world over with his idiosyncratic style.
Ed’s love for Irish music is well documented.
Ed treated the crowd at his 2014 Dublin gig to a rendition of the song designed to be drunkenly sang among friends, The Parting Glass.
3. Bob Dylan
One of the most influential artists in modern music, Dylan has always cited Irish traditional music as being particularly effecting when he was establishing his unique sound in 1960’s Greenwich Village. Bob idolised Liam Clancy from The Clancy Brothers above all other.
Dylan went to every Clancy gig he could and the Irish band eventually took the strange scrawny troubadour under their wing and eventually leading to his big break as the Clancy’s opening act.
When the Clancy’s brought up the possibility of recording Dylan’s greatest hits in a traditional Irish style they were met with no resistance. “You still don’t get it”, said an emotional Dylan to the Clancy’s, “you guys are my heroes”.
4. Johnny Cash
Cash grew up listening to Irish traditional songs on the radio and said the ballads performed by Dennis Day had a huge impact on his songwriting.
Johnny Cash’s self penned 1961 song Forty Shades Of Green extolled the virtues of the Emerald Isle.
Cash once recalled performing the song in Ireland and being told by an old man afterwards that it must have been an old Irish folk tune. See for yourself if it passes the trad test.
5. Amy Schumer and Judd Apatow
During last year’s whistle stop tour of planet earth to promote their smash hit comedy Trainwreck, star Amy Schumer and director Judd Apatow took some time out to enjoy a pint in Dublin. While there they assisted Glen Hansard in a rendition of “The Auld Triangle” for the benefit of some newlyweds.
Those looking to get in on the craic of a traditional Irish session should check out Tradfest West, a traditional Irish music competition organised by The Skeff Late Bar in Galway. The best amateur trad musicians will be doing battle for an unbelievable prize package worth €15,000, which includes a year-long musical residency in The Skeff. For more information simply click here.
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