Pictured: Doimnic Mac Giolla Bhríde. Photo: John Soffe

Esteemed sean-nós singer and researcher of Gaelic song, Doimnic Mac Giolla Bhríde will release a powerful new album, Gealach na gCuanta alongside a major new publication exploring the intertwined roots of ancient Gaelic harp playing and sean-nós singing.

There is a busy day organised for the launch, which will be officially performed by fiddler Paddy Glackin at Hiúdaí Beag’s, Gaoth Dobhair on Saturday 13th September.

“Sean-nós stems from the ancient harping tradition of Ireland which lasted at least a thousand years and to demonstrate and explain this properly a day of workshops a lecture and a concert is organised,” explains Doimnic Mac Giolla Bhríde.

At 4pm Paddy Glackin will give a fiddle workshop, Siobhán Armstrong will give a harping workshop and Doimnic Mac Giolla Bhríde will give a sean-nós singing workshop.

At 5pm all three musicians will give a lecture, explaining the connection between Gaelic harping, singing and Donegal fiddle playing.

At 8pm Paddy will launch the album/book, and a concert will follow with Doimnic (singing), Frances Morton (flute), Éanna Ó Croinín (uilleann pipes), Tomás Mac Seáin (viola) and Dan Bodwell (double bass). Paddy and Siobhán will of course contribute to the concert.

Available now via Bandcamp, Gealach na gCuanta also includes an album of sean-nós and newly composed pieces reflecting some of the most ancient and evocative compositions in existence of Irish song. Doimnic has recreated the airs for some songs where they have been lost, and the album features his own prize-winning song, Dhá dTrian Catha an Misneach.

Mac Giolla Bhríde has authored a companion book that breaks new ground in Irish musicology and history. Borne from his deep association with the tradition of sean-nós singing, and his life’s work in cultivating and preserving it, the work argues that sean-nós singing and Gaelic harp playing were not separate traditions, but two expressions of the same art form. Drawing on historical texts, music collections such as that of Bunting, and personal papers of various collectors, the book traces how these traditions diverged over time but share a common origin.

“We often think of sean-nós singing and the Gaelic harp as distinct traditions, but they were once one,” says Mac Giolla Bhríde. “The voice and the cláirseach were partners, and the songs conveyed deep, rich, poetry that had developed over centuries. With this project, and as a singer, I wanted to explore that lost unity.”

Born and raised in the Gaeltacht of Gaoth Dobhair, Mac Giolla Bhríde is a celebrated singer, piano player, accordionist, uilleann piper, composer, and researcher. A former winner of Corn Uí Riada, Ireland’s most prestigious award for sean-nós singing, he is widely recognised as a leading voice in the revival and interpretation of Irish-language song.

The dual release of Gealach na gCuanta and the accompanying book invites audiences to experience sean-nós not only as a form of song, but as part of a broader cultural and musical continuum—one that reaches back to the harpists and poets of Gaelic Ireland.

The book is available in hard copy from www.doimnic.com and includes a free, unique digital download

The album Gealach na gCuanta is available now via Bandcamp: https://doimnicmacgiollabhrde.bandcamp.com/album/gealach-na-gcuanta

 

 

Gaoth Dobhair sean-nós singer to launch powerful new book and album was last modified: September 5th, 2025 by Rachel McLaughlin

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