Foilsitheoirí leabhar agus ceoil. Siopa leabhair ar-líne agus sa Spidéal, Co. na Gaillimhe ag www.cic.ie. @CloIarChonnacht

RTÉ Radio 1 is Ireland's most-listened-to radio station. As a broadcaster with a public service remit at the heart of everything we do, RTÉ Radio 1 delivers daily news and current affairs, entertainment, arts and culture, sport, comedy and music. We also have one of the largest documentary units in the world in 'Documentary on One', which has over 1,000 documentaries archived on its website, www.rte.ie/doconone. In addition, RTÉ Radio 1's 'Drama on One'  is one of the oldest audio theatre departments in the radio world. For decades, we have brought our audience the very best dramatic writing and performances for radio.

Listen in the Republic of Ireland on 88-90fm
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Contemporary Irish Trad Group

Athrú are a new, vibrant, award winning, contemporary Irish Trad group that draw upon influences from Belfast and beyond to deliver music that is a combination of powerful accompaniment fused with modern tunes and delicate harmonies that is dynamic, energetic and fresh. The band originated through sessions in Belfast in early 2014, and despite their short time together have won Derry's "An Re Nua 2014" Competition, and have began recording their début EP album to be released next year. Through several competitions and festival appearances such as “Fleadh Cheoil Na hÉireann”, "Pan Celtic Festival", "Club Sásta", and supporting the likes of Trad super-groups: MOXIE, KAN, Goitse, Buille and the Máirtín O'Connor Trio; they have begun to build a strong following with their great sets and infectious onstage character.

 The band includes Belfast musicians Niall McIlroy (whistles/flutes/guitars), Cormac Crummey (guitars/fiddle/banjo), Brendan Loughran (concertina). Kevin Meehan from Dublin (bodhran/percussion/whistles) and Conor Broderick from Galway (piano/rhodes).

Rulebreaker. Trailblazer. Visionary. Phenomenon. And yet, even the breathless plaudits of the world press don’t quite do him justice. When Preston Reed picks up an acoustic guitar, words will fail you.

To watch Reed perform is to witness the bending of reality. The New York master tweaks the nose of musical convention, pokes the eye of received wisdom and burns the rulebook of the past. Using an evolution of the two-handed acoustic technique he pioneered in 1987, he fuses chord-based grooves, soaring melodic runs and polyrhythmic percussion that integrates the breathtaking potential of the guitar body. The power and depth of his original compositions are as unique as the man’s execution, as blues, rock, funk and jazz meet, interlock and attack in a sonic brew unlike anything you've heard before. Preston Reed doesn’t need a band. He is the band. 

Twenty-six years after his idiosyncratic style was born, Reed’s seismic global impact has created a sea of guitarists who play in his style, many of them inspired by 1994’s hit instructional DVD, The Guitar Of Preston Reed: Expanding The Realm Of Acoustic Playing. Today at the height of his game, Reed's recordings and live performances still define the sound of the pioneering compositional guitar genre he invented over a quarter century ago as he prepares to make another stellar addition to his studio catalogue. 

“the best new traditional band to emerge from Ireland this century” 
WALL STREET JOURNAL

Change is inevitable. It’s the very essence of music. Tempos, rhythms, dynamics. Rising, falling, swelling and settling like the tide. Following on from the success of their debut album, “Rhythm of Dawn”, released to critical acclaim, Cry Monster Cry is embracing change.

Their latest single "Citadel" still holds the signature elements that Dublin brothers Richie and Jamie Martin have become known for; warm fraternal harmonies, thoughtful, unadorned instrumentation, evocative lyrics and beautiful melodies, but a visceral, more measured approach is also now apparent. Recorded in the wilds of Donegal under the watchful eye of producer Tommy McLaughlin (Villagers, Bell X1, Luke Sital-Singh) the song presents a level of honesty and maturity that is new for the band.

Cry Monster Cry has come a long way since releasing their debut EP "The Fallen"  in 2012.
The last two years have seen the band performing on television (The Imelda May Show, Other Voices) to millions of international viewers, as well as playing a string of sold out shows across Ireland and Europe. 

Now the brothers are setting off on a new musical voyage, showcasing a conviction that has been sculpted through live performance and the bond felt between musician and audience, and a close-to-the-bone artistry that has been forged over time. Hopes, fears, successes, failures, love, anger, sadness, it’s all present. 

“[Rhythm of Dawn is] a hugely accomplished debut album, marking out a real new talent” - RTE Ten ****

“A bewitching record” - Hotpress Magazine ****

“Rich harmonies…exceedingly likeable” - The Sunday Times ****

“Insular, thoughtful and poetic. Totally addictive and alluring” - Pure M Magazine ****
 “Weaves its way into your affections” - Irish Daily Mail ****

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