![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/0021c028-614.jpg\"\/)
\nLisa O’Neill is one of the contributors to Sl\u00ed na Samhla\u00edochta\/The Way of Imagination,<\/p>\n
Musical Director Simon O’Reilly introduces Sl\u00ed na Samhla\u00edochta\/The Way of Imagination, a live performance coming to the National Concert Hall this October that brings together spoken word, music, and visual art in an exploration of the concept of T\u00edr na n\u00d3g through the work of the late author, traveller, broadcaster and documentary maker Manch\u00e1n Magan.<\/p>\n
Sl\u00ed na Samhla\u00edochta began at the Hedge School Festival in Doolin in 2023, an event I co-founded to bring musicians, writers and visual artists together to create new work.<\/p>\n
For the closing performance, Manch\u00e1n Magan brought a spoken-word piece inspired by T\u00edr na n\u00d3g and An Saol Eile, the Otherworld of Irish tradition. Myles O’Reilly and I created a live score around his words, while Crosby Dunkley developed the visuals that accompanied the performance.<\/p>\n
None of us expected the response. From the opening moments there was a stillness in the room that is difficult to describe. The audience seemed completely immersed and, afterwards, many spoke about how deeply they had been affected. I came away feeling we had created something that deserved another life.<\/p>\n
\nLisa O’Neill is one of the contributors to Sl\u00ed na Samhla\u00edochta\/The Way of Imagination,<\/p>\n
We only performed the work twice more before Manch\u00e1n’s untimely passing. Like everyone who knew him, I struggled to imagine it continuing without him.<\/p>\n
Some months later I went back to the original recordings. Listening with fresh ears, I realised the performance held something we hadn’t fully explored. It wasn’t simply a live event; it was the beginning of a much larger piece. With the support of Manch\u00e1n’s wife, Aisling, his brother Ru\u00e1n, the encouragement of Myles O’Reilly, and the commitment of Claddagh Records and Universal Music Ireland, I began shaping it into an album.<\/p>\n
What began as one evening’s collaboration has become a way of celebrating Manch\u00e1n’s work and the friendships that made this project possible.<\/p>\n
Manch\u00e1n’s recorded voice remains at the centre of the work, leading us through Irish mythology, language and the Otherworld. Around those recordings, I invited an extraordinary group of musicians, many of them close friends of Manch\u00e1n, to become part of the project. Lisa O’Neill, Liam \u00d3 Maonla\u00ed, Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Crash Ensemble, Branwen Kavanagh, M\u00e9abh McKenna, Ultan O’Brien, Neil \u00d3 Lochlainn and Myles O’Reilly have each brought something unique to the music.<\/p>\n
Crosby Dunkley’s visuals have grown with the project. They are not simply a backdrop but another voice within the performance, responding to the music and the spoken word, drawing on the landscapes and imagery that shaped Manch\u00e1n’s imagination.<\/p>\n
![\"N\/A\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/0024e506-614.jpg\"\/)
\nA recording of Sl\u00ed na Samhla\u00edochta is released this October<\/p>\n
One of the oldest voices heard this evening comes from a Bronze Age horn, an instrument more than 3,000 years old. Its sound reaches back to a time before written history, reminding us that stories once travelled through music, ritual and memory.<\/p>\n
When we first performed Sl\u00ed na Samhla\u00edochta in Doolin, I never imagined where it would lead. What began as one evening’s collaboration has become a way of celebrating Manch\u00e1n’s work and the friendships that made this project possible. I hope it draws you into the same sense of wonder that we experienced when we first created it.<\/p>\n
Sl\u00ed na Samhla\u00edochta\/The Way of Imagination will be performed at National Concert Hall, Dublin on Monday 5th of October 2026, with performers including Lisa O’Neill, Liam \u00d3 Maonla\u00ed, Crash Ensemble, Colm Mac Con Iomaire, M\u00e9abh McKenna, Myles O\u2019Reilly, Branwen Kavanagh, Neil \u00d3 Lochlainn, Ultan O\u2019Brien and visual artist Crosby Dunkley. – find out more here<\/a>. <\/p>\n Sl\u00ed na Samhla\u00edochta the album is released on the same day, via Claddagh Records<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Musical Director Simon O’Reilly introduces Sl\u00ed na Samhla\u00edochta\/The Way of Imagination, a live performance coming to the National…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":606102,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[93,61,60],"class_list":["post-606101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=606101"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606101\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/606102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=606101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=606101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=606101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}