The Journal of Music Podcast

As the arts sector faces a prolonged period of uncertainty, what needs to be done? How much will it cost? And how should the government respond?

We begin with some extracts from a debate on the arts that took place in Dáil Éireann, the Irish parliament, last Thursday 14 May, and editor Toner Quinn then speaks to Louise Donlon, director of the Lime Tree Theatre in Limerick and a former member of the Arts Council, and musician and independent consultant Dermot McLaughlin.

'When the words don't work, visually I can explain what it is' – For this latest episode of the Journal of Music podcast, Toner Quinn speaks to music documentary film-maker Myles O'Reilly.

The traditional Irish group Dervish recently celebrated thirty years together and received a BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Lifetime Achievement Award. Their most recent album is the Great Irish Songbook which features artists such as David Gray, the actor Brendan Gleeson, Andrea Corr and Rhiannon Giddens.

For this Journal of Music podcast, editor Toner Quinn spoke to singer Cathy Jordan about the early days of the group, the band’s recordings over the years including At the End of the Day and Travelling Show, the experience of performing at the Eurovision Song Contest and the impact that had on the band, the new album, writing her own songs and the importance of folk music. 

For more on Dervish, visit www.dervish.ie. 

To support the Journal of Music, visit www.journalofmusic.com/support

The Journal of Music podcast is issued every Wednesday. Listen on Soundcloud or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts. Recent topics include ‘COVID-19: Artists Around the World’ (including contributions from Jennifer Walshe, Simon Jermyn, Anna Murray and Martin Hayes) and interviews include fiddle-player Kevin Burke and singer Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh. Browse all of our recent podcasts here.  

Toner Quinn speaks to renowned fiddle-player Kevin Burke about his music and recordings and his work with groups such as the Bothy Band and Celtic Fiddle Festival.

In this week’s podcast, editor Toner Quinn speaks to four Irish artists who are abroad during the COVID-19 crisis and finds out what impact the pandemic is having where they are. The contributors are composer Jennifer Walshe in London, bass guitarist Simon Jermyn in New York, composer Anna Murray in Tokyo and fiddle-player Martin Hayes in Asturias, Spain.

In this week’s podcast, editor Toner Quinn speaks to four people who run music festivals in Ireland but who have had to cancel or postpone the event because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The contributors are Louise Tangney from Vantastival, Anna Lardi Fogarty from Music for Galway and Cellissimo, Elaine Fitzgerald from the Cork International Choral Festival and Declan McCarthy from Fiddle Fair.

In this week’s podcast, editor Toner Quinn speaks to four people in music whose work has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and we ask, with so many concerts and festivals cancelled, what now for music and the arts? The contributors are fiddle-player, composer and Frames band member Colm Mac Con Iomaire; Angela Dorgan, CEO of First Music Contact and Ireland Music Week; Gerry Keenan, CEO of the Irish Chamber Orchestra; and Crash Ensemble clarinettist Deirdre O’Leary.

Editor Toner Quinn speaks to singer and flute-player Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh about her new recording 'Thar Toinn' / 'Seaborne', her musical upbringing, the years with the group Danú, and what inspires her work.

On Saturday 29 February 2020 as part of the New Music Dublin festival, the Journal of Music held a panel discussion event marking twenty years of publication.

The theme of the discussion was ‘The Next Twenty Years of New Music in Ireland: What Do We Need to Do?’ and featured contributions from composer and guitarist Benjamin Dwyer, flautist Lina Andonovska, composer and harper Úna Monaghan and lecturer in musicology and music critic Adrian Smith. The discussion was chaired by editor Toner Quinn.

In 2017, a year after the album True Born Irishman was released, Dublin folk singer Daoirí Farrell won two BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. It was a remarkable achievement for a singer who only started singing publicly in his mid-twenties. In this podcast interview, Daoirí speaks to editor Toner Quinn about his development as a singer, how he dealt with challenges along the way, and his recent recording A Lifetime of Happiness.