“I play an Alvaro Spanish-made nylon-stringed guitar and compose link pieces that intricately intertwine with the songs aiming always for warmth and careful pacing.
I try to present music-making as a passionate dance between voice, fingers and strings. When I sing the old songs of Inishowen, and tell her stories, I endeavour to carry the listener with me, magically and gently, note over note, evoking the past and re-living the thoughts and feelings of our ancestors. I sense a rich stillness in these re-tellings, like the stillness often found in the depths of a hidden mountain lake…”
Seoirse’s speciality is Gaelic song, poetry & story prefaced by synopses and translations in English if required. The songs are rendered simply through the pure acoustic essentials of voice and nylon-stringed guitar, the accompaniment aimed at sounding harp-like at times.
Seoirse learned most of his songs and stories in Rann na Feirste in the West Donegal Gaeltacht while teaching in Coláiste Bhríde. He won several music prizes over the years, including the Ulster Fleadh (1st in Singing in Irish in 1975) as well as numerous Oireachtas prizes for arrangements. However, he didn’t return to competitive singing until 2013 when he won 1st prize at the Pan Celtic Festival in Carlow and went on to represent Ireland later that year. He has recorded seven studio albums of songs, stories and instrumental solos and has archived hundreds of other pieces most of which are available to the public through his web-site. Since his move to Inishowen in 2008 he has accumulated a number of local songs and stories dating from Inishowen’s Irish-speaking past and has even set some of the legends to music.
“…we are transported across time and borders by a fluid style which seamlessly and coherently interweaves classical, Gaelic and American folk elements. In Seoirse’s skilled hands, music and stories resonate with a fresh and tender intimacy… the delicate yet vibrant presence of a private performance by a warm hearth…” Kathryn Daily
“Wow!!! a cover of “Windmills of the Mind”, which is surprisingly effective as Seoirse (pronounced SHOR-sha) manages to infuse some classic folk moves with creative interpretations. I generally sense a vibe similar to that of Tír na nÓg and at times Magna Carta, with plenty of individuality here. And there are some adventurous arrangements in some songs, which is helpful as there are a lot of covers here… Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Bob Seger, etc. This is a double LP on one CD with eighteen songs and there are several traditionally arranged classics as well… Like Tír na nÓg, there is an Irish feeling here that does not dominate the songs but stays in the mix…” David Hintz
Seoirse’s music is available on CD in the Shop
Recent Performances
Centre Culturel Irlandaise, Paris
The Millennium Forum, Derry (later televised on TG4)
Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny (“An Piarsach” le Noel Ó Gallchóir – amhráin agus scéaltaí)
The Sugar Club, Dublin (later broadcast on RTÉ 1)
Gerstock, Moville / Moville Library
TG 4, Raidió na Gaeltachta (various appearances)
Gaelscoil Cois Feabhail
The Black Box, Belfast
Carrowmenagh Community Hall
Teachers Centre, Parnell Square, Dublin
“Dúshlán” RTÉ Television
Cultúrlann Mhac Adam-Ó Fiaich, Béal Feirste
McCracken Summer School, Belfast
Dánlann Uí Shearcaigh, Gort a’ Choirce.
Live Concert Recordings
Four live concerts, three of these originally issued on cassette, are now available as MP3 Downloads at www.threadsofsound.net
Seoirse & Peadar Live in the Cellar Club Errigal SCD 010 [1987] Irish Trad.
Péire Stróicthe Errigal SCD 011 [1989] Acoustic Pop & Folk
Amhráin agus Bodhráin (with Damien Quinn) Errigal SCD 012 [1993] Irish Folk/Gaelic
“This live concert is superbly recorded, incisive and full-bodied. Here are unusual performances of Irish songs in which virtuosity goes with a sense of spontaneity. The rhythms in the fast songs (and its nearly all fast songs here) are freely and infectiously sprung to bring out high spirit and individuality. The sound is bright and clear too, giving extra bite to the performances. Damien Quinn accompanies Seoirse sensitively, when required, and vigorously with off-beat rhythms sharply pressed home. The playing and singing are exhilarating and full of many unexpected changes of tempo, but expertly controlled. The thrust of the bodhrán passages in the opening song possesses a lively wit that never once looses impetus. Seoirse’s colourful, winning performances are totally idiomatic, bringing out point and spark in every track with great warmth and naturalness of voice and exciting guitar bravura throughout.” – Oisín Ó Gallchóir
The fourth was only released as recent as 2015 on CD:
Seoirse & Peadar The Continental Céilí Errigal SCD 026 [1989 / 2015] Irish Trad.