Bofin to Burren brings best of trad to the Salthill Hotel

Arts Week with Judy Murphy

Inishbofin singer and fiddle player Desmond O’Halloran, his cousin Johnny on melodeon and De Dannan’s fiddle player Ronan O’Flaherty from Galway City, will be in concert in The Salthill Hotel next Thursday, June 8, as part of a special concert from the Bofin to   Burren group.

Presented by traditional music pub, Tigh Chóili, Bofin to Burren is a gathering of some of Ireland’s finest traditional musicians.

Fronted by Desmond, who is best known for performing with Sharon Shannon, it also includes Céilí House’s Kieran Hanrahan (Stockton’s Wing) on banjo and At the Racket’s Seamus O’Donnell on saxophone, flute and vocals.

Damien O’Reilly, formerly of the Kilfenora Céilí band and a member of Cruinniú will be on button accordion for the concert, while his brother Pádraic will play piano. Pádraic is a leader of the Ennis Céilí Band who won three All-Ireland Céilí Band titles in a row in the early 2000s. He’s also widely known for accompanying various artists live and on CD.

The only woman in the group, Caitlín Nic Gabhann, will dance and play concertina. Caitlín is a member of Cruinniú and the Mooneys, and performs regularly with her husband Ciaran O Maonaigh.

The Bofin to Burren group has its roots in a trad festival that brothers Pádraic and Damien O’Reilly have organised in Corofin, Co Clare every March for the past 15 years.

After the 10th festival, the brothers released a compilation CD of various live performances at concerts over the years. This was simply intended as a fundraiser for the event.

However, when they heard that CD, the 2011 All-Fleadh committee in Cavan asked Pádraic to assemble an all-star line-up of some of their favourite guests at the Corofin festival over the years. That group was invited perform in the Fleadh Dome on the final night of the 2011 Fleadh.

“None of the all-stars were available, so I asked the lads,” Pádraic jokes. “Seriously, what I did was put together my favourite people and musicians that I thought could work as a group for what was meant to be a one-off show.”

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.