At last night’s RTÉ Folk Awards at Vicar Street, Dublin, there were some big winners, including John Francis Flynn, who managed to be nominated in four categories, walked away with Best Folk Singer and Best Emerging Artist. As mentioned in our preview, Flynn was our Artist of the Month back in August with his debut album I Would Not Live Always. You can read our in-depth interview with him here.
“Taking turns both tender and turbulent, I Would Not Live Always is bracing, unpredictable and without a doubt one of the most deeply affecting folk debuts of recent years.” David Weir, Folk Radio UK
While his single and video My Son Tim (watch above) was also a strong contender for Best Traditional Folk Track, that honour went to Ye Vagabonds, who also picked up Best Folk Group. Ye Vagabonds, the sibling duo of Brían and Diarmuid Mac Gloinn, have continued to hold a strong presence on the scene since 2019 when they picked up three awards. Earlier this year, they released a double A-side single, ‘I’m a Rover and The Bothy Lads’, which did them proud last night.
Ye Vagabonds also managed to pick up Best Folk Group, which must be the icing on the cake after recently finishing their ‘All Boats Rise’ canal boat tour. They had been planning this very ambitious and novel trip and tour for over a year, a journey in a slow barge along the inland waterways of Ireland, which lasted for over a month. Filmmaker Myles O’Reilly accompanied them as they performed small, informal ‘happenings’ of many different strands throughout the smattering of counties encompassing the River Barrow and the Royal and Grand canals. The duo also wrote a three-part guest feature for us on that tour during which they played gigs with several artists, including the fellow winner on the night – John Francis Flynn. You can read those guest posts here.
Best Folk Album award went to Solas an Lae by Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin and Ultan O’Brien, which was up for three nominations. It was an album that left a big impression on us at Folk Radio UK, featuring in our Folk Shows as well as an in-depth album review from Richard Hollingum who concludes:
So, if we were looking for a contemporary rendition of sean-nós, then I would suggest that there would be no better place to start than here. Solas an Lae is the complete package, the tune and the words and the presentation together encompassing the emotional tales of the tragedy of life. To me, this is what makes sean-nós what it is. And here it is being continued and continually worked on by young artists. The importance of the tradition is to recognise that it is not a static beast but one that keeps moving, branching, embracing—and singing about the issues that matter, great and small. Excellent.
Best Folk Instrumentalist went to Caoimhin O’Fearghaill, who faced stiff competition from Brian Finnegan and Martin Hayes. Hailing from An Rinn in the Waterford Gaeltacht, O’Fearghaill plays Uilleann Pipes, Flute, Guitar, Bouzouki, and sings – he released his fourth album Na Píobairí Uilleann in 2020. Here he is performing Johnny McGreevey’s, The Concert Reel, The Salamanca at Cork Folk Festival this year.
Best Orginal track went to Mick Flannery and Susan O’Neill. As I said in my preview, it was quite a powerhouse track. On the track, Susan says, “This is the sweet one, the call and response. There is a feeling of love and balance here as both voices verbalise the same lyrics, thoughts and gratitude.”
Mick adds, “This song arrived at night/morning early in pandemic lockdowns. It was partly inspired by hopeful talk of a “reset” and/or environmental benefits to a great slowing of human activity.”
Also, on the night, Christy Moore was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award which was presented to him by Damien Dempsey. This week marks the release of his new album Flying into Mystery (19th November 2021). Has mentioned here, when speaking about his latest project, Christy said ‘It has been a very different album recording process this time around…. Since 1969 I have been involved in recording but never with a total absence of live performance. Since March 2020 all my focus has been on this album. Once more I’ve been privileged to receive some great songs which kept me well occupied. I produced with Jim Higgins and David Meade engineered the project. There are songs from Ricky Lynch, Paul Doran, Mick Hanly, Wally Page, Tom Tuohy, Gary Moore, Jim Page and Bob Dylan. These sit side by side with traditional songs and a couple of my own offerings. …Thanks for listening….’ Christy Moore.
The legendary Armagh singer Sarah Makem was also posthumously inducted into the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards Hall of Fame. The Makem family are famous musicians and singers – Sarah’s husband was fiddler Peter Makem, and her sons were musicians Tommy and Jack Makem. During the 1950s, she was recorded by the likes of Jean Ritchie and Peter Kennedy during their song collecting trips. Here she is singing one of her most well-known ballads, “As I Roved Out”, a version of which was used for the opening of the BBC Radio folk music programme of the same name in the 1950s.
If you missed it, you can join John Creedon and Ruth Smith of RTÉ and listen again here: https://www.rte.ie/culture/2021/1116/1260397-listen-rte-radio-1-folk-awards-live-from-vicar-street/
The RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards Winners
Best Original Folk Track
Chain Reaction – Mick Flannery and Susan O’Neill
Best Traditional Folk Track
I’m a Rover – Ye Vagabonds
Best Folk Singer
John Francis Flynn
Best Folk Instrumentalist
Caoimhin O’Fearghaill
Best Folk Group
Ye Vagabonds
Best Folk Album
Solas an Lae – Eoghan O’Ceannabháin and Ultan O’Brien
Best Emerging Artist
John Francis Flynn