Martin Hayes’ livestreamed concert from the National Concert Hall last week (8 December) gave an insight into the changing music of the fiddle-player, and revealed new collaborative directions. Toner Quinn reviews.

We hear a quiet strum of four strings, checking his tuning, and then, solo on the stage of the National Concert Hall in Dublin, fiddle-player Martin Hayes begins the air ‘The Lark in the Clear Air’. It’s a tune familiar to those who grew up in Ireland before this difficult millennium. It was the theme tune of a long-running Sunday morning radio programme. Then it was comforting, now it is wistful.

The latest release from the traditional music label Raelach Records is its very first compilation album, featuring Noel Hill, Aoife Ní Bhriain, Pádraic Keane and Nell Ní Chróinín. Toner Quinn reviews.

Rogha Raelach Volume 1, Raelach Records’ first compilation album, is not drawn from their 16 previous releases, although, with albums by Noel Hill, Ensemble Ériu, Tony MacMahon and Claire Egan, that would have made an attractive record. Rather, concertina player Jack Talty of the label has put together a collection of previously unreleased tracks from musicians he has worked with.

Why is the public conversation around music important, and how do we make it stronger? Toner Quinn reflects on twenty years of publishing the Journal of Music and the changes that have taken place.

For the past couple of months, I have been reflecting on what I have learnt from twenty years of publishing the Journal of Music. The first issue appeared on the week of 5 November 2000 and I can still remember the weight of the box of magazines in my arms as I carried it from music shop to bookshop around Dublin city, asking if they would take a few copies. Keep on reading

The government’s funding announcement for the arts last week was unprecedented, and there are lessons to be learned from the way in which it came about, writes Toner Quinn.

The scale of the funding increase for the arts and music sector in last week’s Budget was so significant that it is important to understand fully what happened. 

The government gave €130m to the Arts Council, plus another €50m for the live entertainment sector. To put this into context, the Council’s funding had peaked at €83m during the Celtic Tiger, thirteen years ago. When the economic crash hit in 2008, Continue reading →

Toner Quinn reviews two new works, ‘Óró’, which brought together artists from around Europe and took place in the Conamara Gaeltacht, and Jennifer Walshe’s live-streamed premiere, ‘Ireland: A Dataset’.

Continue reading →

John Hume’s views on the role of artists in a conflict are worth considering today, writes Toner Quinn.

John Hume, the great peacemaker of Northern Ireland who died this month, was known for his political words, but a year before the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, he also published an essay on culture and society and the role artists can play in a conflict. I came across it last week and it struck me as relevant to some of the challenges we face today. 

Continue reading →

The experience of one village in the west of Ireland shows that the new Minister for Arts faces a serious challenge, to change the way we think about culture and its role in our society, writes Toner Quinn.

A new documentary explores the extraordinary story of David Gray and Ireland in the 1990s, the making of ‘White Ladder’, and how it became Ireland’s best-selling album of all time, but is the story as simple as it seems? Toner Quinn reviews.

In the first ninety seconds of David Gray: Ireland’s Greatest Hit, the new RTÉ documentary on the singer’s successful 1998 album White Ladder, a number of images from Ireland that decade flash across the screen: crowds with tricolours singing ‘Olé, Olé’, traders on a stock-market floor, a photo-shoot marking the introduction of the euro currency, the businessman Denis O’Brien shaking on a deal, Riverdance on stage, a picture of the broadcaster Pat Kenny opening a bottle of champagne…

Continue reading →

If we are going to tackle racism, we need to improve our conversations about culture, writes Toner Quinn.

Of all the ways that we could tackle racism in Ireland – from educational campaigns to investing in communities to stronger legislation against hate speech – the potential of music and culture to open our eyes to the issue must surely warrant serious discussion.

Continue reading →

The government’s ‘Ireland Performs’ series, which was partly funded by Facebook, put already under pressure artists in an unacceptable position. We have got to think hard about the way we support music into the future, writes Toner Quinn.
Continue reading →