Armagh Pipers Club
Market Place Theatre, Armagh, Sunday March 11th, 3pm £7.50/£5 armaghpipers.org
Armagh Pipers Club is a truly impressive phenomenon: a powerhouse gathering of musicians across all ages, sharing a stage to showcase the best and the most colourful playing that emerges from the belly of this magnificent beast. Expect up to 80 musicians sharing a stage, with founders Brian and Eithne Vallely offering a scaffold of support all along the picaresque way.
Old Hannah
The Grand Social, Thursday March 15th, 8pm, €10 eventbrite.ie
Straddling roots, country, bluegrass and folk, this group of family and friends mark the release of their single Follow, in advance of the launch of their debut album, Borealis, with this concert. Word has it that they've expanded their sound beyond the bounds of the Irish and North American folk and country traditions that coloured their early work. Having travelled to Kansas City to attend and perform at the 2018 Folk Alliance International Conference last month, Old Hannah will be all revved up and raring to go tonight.
Springboard with Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh
Linden House, Glengarriff, Thursday March 15th to Sunday March 18th westcorkmusic.ie
West Cork Music reprise an event they hosted last year where the inimitable Ó Raghallaigh and his bespoke 10-string Hardanger D’Amore fiddle engage in a weekend-long close encounter with musicians and aspiring musicians in pursuit of some new and invigorating musical insights. An exceptional opportunity to get up close and personal with an exceptional musician whose many musical identities include The Gloaming, This Is How We Fly and duo collaborations with Brendan Begley and Dan Trueman.
History v Archaeology – A History Ireland Hedge School
Medieval Mile Museum, Kilkenny, Friday March 16th, 6.30pm €10/€8 medievalmilemuseum.ie
Hosted by this year’s Kilkenny Tradfest, a panel moderated by History Ireland editor Tommy Graham mulls over the complex relationship between history and archaeology at a History Ireland Hedge School.
“The difference between history and archaeology is the difference between Neanderthal and Homo sapiens. The latter is more technologically advanced, and the former, although casually misunderstood, nevertheless boasts a bigger brain. Yet, it is hard to imagine one without the other.” This tongue-in-cheek observation is attributed to Bethany Dean, then an undergraduate archaeology student at University of Winchester, and offers a pithy title for what promises to be an intriguing discussion, and a timely prelude to the weekend-long tradfest.
