Muireann and band tune up to celebrate Blasket Islands

Arts Week with Judy Murphy

The Blasket Islands off West Kerry have a special place in Irish folklore and history. For generations, their population had a largely unchanged lifestyle, which was reflected in their rich Irish language, their music and literature. That culture made the Blaskets hugely important for folklore collectors and linguists at the turn of the 20th Century as the Celtic Revival took place in this country.

But living on these islands wasn’t easy – and the population was moved to the mainland in 1953. Today the Blasket Islands host tourists, their permanent population long since gone. But their magic endures.

That magic will be explored next Wednesday, March 11, at Galway’s An Taibhdhearc Theatre at Celebration of the Blaskets in the company of Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh from West Kerry and her band, Gerard O’Beirne and Dónal O’Connor.

The chair of An Taibhdhearc, Aodh Ó Coiléain, is originally from West Kerry so, although it’s Muireann’s first time playing there, she’s heard lots about it, she says.

The singer, flute and whistle player has strong Galway links as she was born on Inis Oírr where her dad Feargal was manager of the local co-op. The family left when she was four and ultimately settled in Dún Chaoin, overlooking the Blasket Islands, she explains.

Wednesday’s concert will include a series of songs from Muireann’s latest album Thar Tonn (Over the Wave), all sea-related. They explore a range of themes, including fishing, emigration, tragedy and mythology, according to Muireann, who was lead singer with the band Danú before embarking on a successful solo career in 2016.

Among the songs she’ll be singing is Port na bPúcaí (The Fairies’ Tune) a beautiful, haunting piece of music deeply linked with the Blaskets. Port na bPúcaí is renowned as a tune but Muireann recently recorded it as a song.

“The first time I heard it as a child, it resonated,” she says of the tune. “My father played it and it was special to him.”

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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