Aoibhe Kettle & Brendan O’Connell - "Echoes of Tradition - Traditional & contemporary tunes to honour Ireland’s cultural roots"

Reflecting the times when the medieval lords of the manor commissioned works by court and itinerant musicians, this brilliant young duo will present a set of tunes stretching back into the early repertoire of Irish traditional music and reaching forward to their own contemporary compositions.

Aoibhe Kettle (harp)

Aoibhe is an accomplished harper and fiddle player from Wolfhill in County Laois, currently in her third year of undergraduate study at The Irish World Academy, University Limerick. Aoibhe has a number of All-Ireland accolades to her name, namely, 1st prize in Senior Harp Slow Airs 2024 at The All Ireland Fleadh Cheoil Na hÉireann. Her musical passion lies in composing for harp and is hugely inspired by older traditional Irish music composers up to newer composers such as Bill Whelan and Michael O’Sullivan. She recently finished her composition, “The Famine Suite” for harp and will be recording this work and others on her up- coming EP, releasing later this year. Aoibhe has been invited by fiddle player Martin Hayes to perform in Bantry House on Friday 22nd August at this year’s Masters of Tradition festival.

Brendan O’Connell (concertina)

Brendan is a multi-instrumentalist from Dublin, whose long history of music dates back to when he was two years old, playing the bodhrán in the Craobh Chualann bodhrán class on Friday nights. This was the foundation for Brendan’s love of music and engendered an ear for music and how it can be accompanied. In 2005, at the age of 2, Helen McGloughlin had the faith to take him and her bodhran class on stage to perform at the National Concert Hall. Since then, he has gone on to perform in the National Concert Hall three more times in the finals of Siansa Gael Linn, culminating in a second place with the group Léargas.

In the meantime, Brendan played on tour with his Comhaltas branch in San Sebastian, Sitges, and Glasgow, and has played with his brother Tiarnán at the Kilfenora Tradfest, Féile Na Tána ( 9 times) and at the ufaFabrik Internationales Kulturzentrum in Berlin as well as a number of appearances on TG4 and RnAG. He is a twice All-Ireland Champion in the bodhrán and a highly accomplished concertina and banjo player, with numerous medals in both, and has performed solo twice at the Consairtín festival. Brendan is currently working on an album, which he plans to have finished later on this year.

Please note: As parking in the grounds of the Castle is strictly limited, a courtesy return shuttle bus will operate between Carrigtwohill Railway Station and Barryscourt Castle. The service to the Castle will run every hour from 10.05am to 4.05pm, and the return service will run from the Castle to Carrigtwohill Station every hour up to 7.30pm.

Aoibhe Kettle & Brendan O’Connell - Echoes of Tradition