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Music from the Newry based Oriel Traditional Music Archive (OTMA) will be brought to life by some of the area’s finest musicians in a special concert to be held in the Patrick Kavanagh Centre in Inniskeen, County Monaghan next week.
The project is based at Gaeláras Mhic Ardghail in Newry, where the OTMA archive is safely housed and accessible, together with other archives accommodated by the Gaeláras (books, music ephemera) one of the largest Irish language archives outside of universities in the province of Ulster.
The ‘No Earthly Estate’ gig will see some of the music preserved by the archive performed by renowned local musicians Gerry O’Connor (fiddle), Nuala Kennedy (flute and voice) and Eilís Lavelle (harp).
The gig will be held on Saturday 6 September 2025, beginning at 8:00pm, and will demonstrate the particular influences and features of music from this historic district.
Most of the material will be from the 19th and 20th centuries, not only coming from the better-known Donnellan and McGahon Collections, but also featuring lesser-known material.
That will include music and songs gathered by Mary Ann Carolan, Séan O’Boyle, the McArdle brothers and Lizzie O’Brien among others.
Oisín McCann is the OTMA chairperson, he said he was delighted to organise the concert in as great a venue as the Patrick Kavanagh Centre:
“’No Earthly Estate’ is shaping up to be a great evening and we are very excited to have such top class musicians from the Oriel region perform on the night.
“I personally am very excited to hear what gems they have unearthed from our archive, and I am very interested in hearing how they will give some of these tunes and songs a new lease of life.”
OTMA has been collecting, recording and disseminating traditional music across the Oriel area since 2022. It has developed archival systems, recruited volunteers including those with disabilities, undergone training and has a popular website where they upload videos, audio, and other different types of material relating to the Oriel tradition.
The Oriel area had historically been known as a centre of arts and culture. In particular, the unique geographical aspects of the region, encompassing the south Ulster and north Leinster region, has produced very specific repertoires undocumented elsewhere.
These include Ulster-Scots music and British Army band pieces as noted in the Donnellan and McGahon Collections, published locally in the 17th-19th century, as well as songs from the Irish language tradition.
Tickets are €20, or €15 for the unwaged, the doors will open at 7:30pm, Saturday 6th September, Patrick Kavanagh Centre, Inniskeen, Co Monaghan.
See www.otma.ie
