Scoil scairte previous guides | spiral 6
Manchán Magan
Manchán Magan writes regularly for The Irish Times, presents The Almanac of Ireland on RTÉ Radio 1 and has presented dozens of documentaries on issues of world culture for TG4 & RTÉ. His book Thirty-Two Words for Field explores the insights the Irish language offers into the landscape, psyche and heritage of Ireland. www.manchan.com
Annemarie Ní Churreáin
Annemarie Ní Churreáin is a poet from the Donegal Gaeltacht. Her books include Bloodroot (Doire Press, 2017), Town (The Salvage Press, 2018) and The Poison Glen (The Gallery Press, 2021). She is a recipient of the Arts Council’s Next Generation Artist Award and a co-recipient of The Markievicz Award. Her writing for stage has been performed at The Abbey National Theatre of Ireland. The Yale Review has reported that Ní Churreáin “often captures a whole world of cultural and historical implications in a single, simple, but metaphorically rich image”. Ní Churreáin has held literary fellowships in the U.S. and throughout Europe. She is the poetry editor at The Stinging Fly magazine. Visit www.studiotwentyfive.com
Hala Alyan
Hala Alyan is a licensed clinical psychologist, professor at New York University, and writer. She is the author of the novel SALT HOUSES, winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and the Arab American Book Award and a finalist for the Chautauqua Prize. Her latest novel, “THE ARSONISTS' CITY, was a finalist for the 2022 Aspen Words Literary Prize. She is also the author of four award-winning collections of poetry, including THE TWENTY-NINTH YEAR. Her work has been published by The New Yorker, The Academy of American Poets, LitHub, The New York Times Book Review and elsewhere. Her latest poetry collection, THE MOON THAT TURNS YOU BACK, was recently published by Ecco. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.
Gearóidín Ní hÁrdaigh
Gearóidín Ní hÁrdaigh comes from a small Gaeltacht village in southwest Donegal called Gleann Cholm Cille, a place steeped in Gaeilge, culture, tradition and beauty. She is a native Irish speaker and has placed the language at the forefront of everything she does. She has been working for Oideas Gael for the past seven years. Working with Oideas Gael has allowed her to share her knowledge with learners both online and in the classroom. She studied Gaeilge and Home Economics in St. Angela’s College, Sligo and has just graduated with a Masters in Education. Coming from a fishing background and this has equipped her with a passion for placenames and fishing customs.
Lucy Ní hAodhagáin
Lucy Ní hAodhagáin (They/She) is the founder of Wild Awake Ireland, an organisation which seeks to rekindle cultural and ecological resilience through the restoration of ancestral lifeways in Ireland. Lucy works in the fecund liminal zones between the cultural, ecological and spiritual, weaving together ancient wisdom with the dream of decolonial futures. Rugadh agus Tógadh, Born and Bred, in Béal Feirste, Lucy now makes home beneath the watchful gaze of An Mhucais mountain in the Donegal Gaeltacht, all while deepening their love of An Ghaeilge by harvesting sleabhac from the rocks, following the tracks of An Fia, and weaving criol baskets through the long winter months. Lucy is also the co-editor of Airmid's Journal and a passionate committee member of Bród na Gaeltachta, Ireland's first Gaeltacht pride festival in An Fál Carrach.
Catriona Ní Ghribín
Catriona Ní Ghribín is a musician and singer from the Gaeltacht of Gaoth Dobhair. Now living in Belfast, she is performing with several bands including the groundbreaking Tradtronica band, Huartan. Catriona's interest in song collecting began when she completed her work experience at the ITMA in Dublin in 2020, she went on to complete her Masters in Research at Queen's University and is now continuing this important work with her PhD.
Maighread and Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill
Sisters Maighread and Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill belong to a renowned singing family originally from the Donegal Gaeltacht. The unique style and repertoire of traditional singing they represent so gloriously, comes down to them through generations of the Ó Domhnaill family. Tríona (who was a member of one of the most influential groups in contemporary Irish traditional music, The Bothy Band) is a skilled keyboard player of piano, clavinet and harpsichord and also a composer and arranger of traditional material. Their live performances are unforgettable heart-rending events. The sound of their solo and combined voices is indescribable but lingers in the memory forever.
Moya Brennan
Moya Brennan’s effortless vocals and timeless music pay homage not only to her vibrant traditional Irish heritage but also her grasp of contemporary forms. With Clannad, Moya rose to prominence with a pioneering approach to traditional music which has garnered them 15 million record sales worldwide and a string of awards, including a Grammy in 1999. Her career to date includes 25 albums, numerous film scores and she has sung with many great artists, including The Chieftains, Robert Plant, Paul Brady, Shane MacGowan and Bono. The power of her whispered tones and the beauty of her music touch the soul. Gently, yet persistently, her songs and her music are redefining Irish music.
Roisin El Cherif
Roisin El Cherif is an Irish Palestinian artist from Galway who came onto the Irish music scene as a singer/songwriter in 2016 with her first offering, ‘Kerosene’. Following this successful release, Roisin graced the stages with notable performances around Ireland, including music festivals Body & Soul, Electric Picnic, and Sea Sessions. In 2018, Roisin's EP ‘Glass House’, a mixture of ambient pop and haunting vocals, was well received. Citing Florence & the Machine, Stevie Nicks, Daughter, and Tracy Chapman as influences and a background in film production, Roisin has built a distinctive visual style to go with her ethereal sound, drawing on mythology and magic.
Gearóidín Breathnach
Gearóidín Breathnach, an award-winning Sean-Nós singer, storyteller, and author, has a rich heritage and deep love for Irish arts and culture. Her legacy is rooted in her connection to the traditional arts and her belief in “Ó ghlúin go glúin” - passing stories, songs, and folklore tales from one generation to the next. Her work transcends ages, with both young and old enjoying her contributions at home and abroad. From the Donegal Gaeltacht, Gearoidín promotes the Irish language in everyday life, beautifully intertwining it with the art of sean-nós and traditional storytelling. Her father Neidí Frainc Mac Grianna, was a renowned storyteller who greatly influenced her passion for preserving and celebrating the Irish storytelling tradition.
Ajeet
Ajeet is a world music artist weaving inspiration from traditional folk to meditative soundscapes. Many experience Ajeet’s music as healing, rejuvenating, and a place of deep connection. Collaboration is central in her work, and some of her collaborators include Trevor Hall, Aisling Urwin, Sukhmani Rayat, Rising Appalachia, Snatam Kaur, Seamus Egan and Peia. Her creative process extends beyond live performance to her recording studio, where she produces and engineers her own work and others. Celebrated as #1 on the iTunes World Chart and Billboard Top 10 New Age Chart, Ajeet’s music continues to be embraced by communities across the globe.
Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh
Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh is a fiddle player and sean-nós singer from the Gaeltacht of Gaoth Dobhair in County Donegal. She is passionate about preserving the traditional music from her area. She is also a composer and has been commissioned to compose music for various projects over the years. She is a founding member of the renowned traditional music group, Altan. www.mairead.ie www.altan.ie
Aoife Ní Ghloinn
Aoife Ní Ghloinn grew up in Carlow, but with a deep connection to her family roots in Arranmore Island, Donegal, and to the language and music of that region. She is Director of the Centre for Irish Language in Maynooth University and co-founding director of the Féile Róise Rua singing festival on Arranmore.
Fiona Ní Ghloinn
Fiona Ní Ghloinn worked for many years in education and social work before returning in 2019 to her ancestral home of Arranmore. Since then, she has combined her professional expertise with her love of Irish language and music through various roles in community development and the arts. She is the driving force behind Féile Róise Rua.
Paddy Glackin
Fiddle player Paddy Glackin is from Dublin. His father, Tom, was from County Donegal and was a noted fiddler who had a significant influence on Paddy’s style. Paddy has also been inspired by John Doherty, the Donegal travelling fiddle player. Paddy was senior all-Ireland champion fiddle player at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann at age nineteen. He was a member of the traditional music group ‘Seachtar’ and then of ‘The Bothy Band’ in the 1970s. He was the recipient of the TG4 Gradam Ceoil Musician of the Year award for 2022.