UPDATE: For details of the winners click here
Celebrating the very best in folk music in Ireland from the past year, the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards event will be held at Dublin’s world-famous Vicar Street and broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 on Thursday, 17th November. Tickets for the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards are on sale now via www.ticketmaster.ie.
Lifetime Achievement Award – Mary Black
The winner of this year’s RTÉ Radio 1’s Lifetime Achievement Award 2022 goes to Mary Black, who will also perform at this year’s RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards on 17 November at Dublin’s Vicar Street. Previous winners are Christy Moore (2021), Steve Cooney (2020), Moya Brennan (2019) and Andy Irvine (2018). An artist will also be inducted into the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards Hall of Fame.
Commenting on the Lifetime Achievement Award, Black said: “To be the recipient of this Lifetime Achievement Award is a great honour. It’s hard to believe that it’s almost 40 years since my first solo album, and I have so much to be grateful for since then.
“The gift of music and song first came from my parents, who instilled in us a great love of music. I was fortunate to have an abundance of material written by exceptional songwriters who allowed me to share their stories.
“I was blessed also to have the outstanding musicians who worked with me to bring these songs alive and of course to have the audiences who loyally supported me down through the years. Míle buíochas – I am indeed honoured and grateful beyond words”.
Also on the night, founder and frontman of The Chieftains, Paddy Moloney, who passed away last year, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards Shortlist
It has been another great year for Ireland’s folk music scene, and this year’s RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Award nominees shortlist highlights how refreshingly innovative those musical offerings have been. The individual approach of the likes of Junior Brother led to an album that sounds like no other, challenging and dripping with authenticity.
Even in the field of tradition, we saw some remarkable reinterpretations. Inni-K provided a vital and unique reimagining of sean-nós on Inion, an album of ‘tremendous understatement, power and beauty’.
Cormac Begley‘s second solo album ‘B‘, continued that dynamic and expressive playing style which has an irresistible lure in which he set out to explore the sound potentials of the Bass and Baritone concertina range.
There were some movers and shakers amongst the numbers as well. Clare Sands has proven to be a tour de force, especially with her EP ‘Tírdhreacha Agus Fuaimdhreacha’ (Landscapes & Soundscapes) that blazed a collaborative path with Susan O’Neill, Steve Cooney and Tommy Sands, Brídín and Liam Ó Maonlaí. She followed this with her recent self-titled album – a celebration of resilience, love and hope.
Many new talents have arrived, including the likes of Wicklow-based musician Anna Mieke. Although she delivered her debut in 2020, her profile has been on the rise this year and will no doubt rise still further on the release of her second album ‘Theatre’ on 25th November, from which her single Twins made a lasting impression, clocking up over 415k streams on Spotify since its release.
While I’ve no intention of running through each nomination, they are all deserving to be on that list, it comes as no surprise that Ye Vagabonds have made a further appearance following their 2019 scoop of three awards in the categories for Best Traditional Folk Track, Best Folk Group and Best Folk Album for The Hare’s Lament.
In May they released their highly anticipated follow-up Nine Waves, a Featured Album of the Month on Folk Radio which was reviewed by David Weir who concluded: “Ye Vagabonds prove once again to be at the forefront of an ever-evolving, flourishing Irish folk scene and have done so in the most understated and inspired fashion imaginable.” You can also read a follow-up interview with them here.
Here is the shortlist for the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards 2022:
BEST ORIGINAL FOLK TRACK
- Déanamh Gaineamh / Making Sand – Pádraig Jack
- Footnotes On The Map – Jessie Buckley & Bernard Butler
- Now You See It – Susan O’Neill
- Spéir Rua – Síomha
- To War – Cormac Begley
- Twin – Anna Mieke
BEST TRADITIONAL FOLK TRACK
- An Caoineadh – Ceara Conway
- Éamonn an Chnoic – Inni-K
- Róisín Dubh – Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh & the Irish Chamber Orchestra
- Rolling in the Barrel / O’Neill’s March / Tralee Jail – Cormac Begley
- The Bird in the Bush – Pauline Scanlon
- The Bonnie Bunch of Roses – Séamus McGuire & Steve Cooney
- Úrchnoc Chéin Mhic Cainte – Cathal Ó Curráin
BEST FOLK SINGER
- Anna Mieke
- Cathal Ó Curráin
- Clare Sands
- Junior Brother
- Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh
- Pauline Scanlon
BEST FOLK INSTRUMENTALIST
- Aidan Connolly
- Aisling Lyons
- Alannah Thornburgh
- Bríd Harper
- Cormac Begley
BEST FOLK GROUP
- Navá
- Téada
- The Alt
- the olllam
- The Whileaways
- We Banjo 3
BEST FOLK ALBUM
- B – Cormac Begley
- Iníon – Inni-K
- Nine Waves – Ye Vagabonds
- Róisín Reimagined – Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh & the Irish Chamber Orchestra
- The Great Irish Famine – Junior Brother
BEST EMERGING ARTIST
- Aisling Lyons
- Alannah Thornburgh
- Cathal Ó Curráin
- Ciara O’Neill
- Les SalAmandas
The awards will feature live performances from some of this year’s nominees in what promises to be a very special night, celebrating Irish folk music and artists, both established and emerging. RTÉ presenter, John Creedon will return to Dublin’s Vicar Street to present the awards ceremony in front of a live audience.
Tickets for the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards are on sale now via www.ticketmaster.ie. Tickets are €28, including booking fee and other charges.
Stay up to date on the latest on the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards by following RTÉ and RTÉ Radio 1 on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using #rtefolkawards and by staying tuned to RTÉ Radio 1.