Today marks the release of Curlew Song feat. Ríoghnach Connolly, the new single from Clare Sands, the Cork-born sixth-generation fearless fiddler, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. The single is taken from her upcoming album ‘They Tried to Bury Us’ coming out this October 9th.
The plight of the iconic Curlew has surfaced before on KLOF, through albums such as Simmerdim: Curlew Sounds, which, alongside the birds plight, highlighted how the sound of the Curlew overlaps between major and minor, making them “haunting, melancholic and strangely ecstatic, all at the same time.” It’s no wonder superstitions arose around the bird, such as The Seven Whistlers – In Shropshire and Worcestershire, there were said to be six whistles in search of a seventh, and when that seventh was found, the world would end.
Sadly, the bird is now on the Birds of Conservation Concern Red List and efforts are being made to stabilise the population numbers (via projects such as the RSPB’s Curlew LIFE, which has identified five priority landscapes, vital breeding grounds, such as the Antrim Plateau and Lough Erne Lowlands).
On the single, Clare shares:
Written in Gaoth Dobhair in the Irish-speaking Gaeltacht of West Donegal, this song is about that inner fire that keeps us going – the perpetual search for it, the struggle to hold onto it, and if it goes out, how to reignite it.
This is represented by the curlew in the song. It’s breeding population in Ireland has declined by 98% since the 1980s due to habitat loss, and it’s estimated that only 100–150 breeding pairs remain. We are living through extinctions in real time. I wanted the song to draw attention to the curlew and its extraordinary call – a sound that was believed to be a harbinger of death in Irish tradition, but also a symbol of renewal and rebirth.
The incantation at the end is inspired by the Song of Amergin, an ancient poem believed to be the oldest in Irish literature – and the first ever uttered on Irish shores. The poem gives voice to a world in which human beings are not separate from nature, but part of it. “By bringing that ancient incantation into a song about the disappearance of the curlew, I wanted to draw a connection with the deep respect for the natural world that existed in old pagan Ireland – when land and nature was deeply woven into our culture and beliefs.” The song is ultimately about that connection, and our responsibility to keep it alive.
Video Credits: Cáit Ó Neill provided the curlew footage; videography by Méabh Ní Dhoibhlin, from Moneyglass, County Antrim.
On Curlew Song, you can hear:
Clare Sands- Vocals, Viola
Ríoghnach Connolly- Vocals
Stephen Loughran – Flute/Low Whistles
Cian McGrory-Guitar
Laura McFadden-Cello
Conor Mallon-Uilleann Pipes
Sean Óg Graham – Additional production and instrumentation
On the album ‘They Tried to Bury Us’
They Tried To Bury Us is a collection of songs that gives voice to the silenced: the endangered curlew; Lí Ban of Lough Neagh; lost words of our native tongue; the Rostrevor oak; those seeking refuge on our shores and the Palestinian poets whose words embody defiance and inspire generations. All songs have a deep North of Ireland connection – the album was written across Ulster with an incredible array of musicians based in the Northern counties, alongside producer Seán Óg Graham (Beoga, Karen Casey). It is an album that rises from the earth against oppression and insists that love and hope will never be buried. Coming 9th October 2026.
Pre-Order (DL/CD/LP): https://claresands.bandcamp.com/album/they-tried-to-bury-us
LIVE DATES:
Sat 10th Oct – Yarn, Ballycastle, UK
Fri 16th Oct – Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin, Derry
Sun 18th Oct – Belfast Empire Music Hall, Belfast
Fri 23 Oct – The Dock, Carrick on Shannon
Sat 24th Oct – Revive, Donegal
Fri 13th Nov – Dublin Unitarian Church, Dublin
Sat 14th Nov – Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray
Fri 20th Nov – Live at St. Luke’s, Cork
Thurs 3rd Dec – Cleere’s, Kilkenny
Sat 5th Dec – Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford
Thurs 10th Dec – Monroe’s Live, Galway
Sat 12th Dec – Jim O’ The Mills, Thurles
Sat 19th Dec – Ionad Cultúrtha an Dochtúir Ó Loinsigh, Ballyvourney