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Irish Traditional Music Archive and National Concert Hall to celebrate legendary traditional music collector Breandán Breathnach in latest concert.
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Start Date: March 15, 2026
Time: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Venue: National Concert Hall
Breandán Breathnach (1912-1985) is one of the lasting figures of Irish traditional music.
An uilleann piper, collector, writer and publisher — Breathnach is responsible for some of the most famous recordings of Irish music ever made. Following his death, his collection formed the foundation of the Irish Traditional Music Archive (ITMA), which today holds the world’s largest, most comprehensive collection of Irish traditional music, song and dance.
On Sunday 15th March at 7.30pm, ITMA and the National Concert Hall will celebrate the extraordinary legacy of Breandán Breathnach in the latest edition of the biannual Drawing from the Well Concert Series.
The concert’s lineup includes some of the biggest names in Irish traditional music, who will develop performances for the night based on Breathnach’s extensive collections in ITMA. The concert will feature acclaimed concertina player Noel Hill; singer, fiddle player and TV presenter Doireann Ní Ghlacáin along with Dublin concertina player Sarah Flynn; Lankum uilleann piper and singer Ian Lynch; dancer Edwina Guckian, who will be hosting a traditional cake dance; master accordionist Charlie Harris of the Tulla Céili Band, legend of the tin whistle Mary Bergin; Matt Molloy of The Chieftains, and many more. The programme will be co-presented by RTÉ presenter Aoife Nic Cormaic and ITMA’s Seán Potts.
Speaking about the event, ITMA CEO Liam O’Connor said: “The work of great collectors like Breandán Breathnach serve as a continuing inspiration to our contemporary artists, fuelling new creative endeavours. It is a source of great satisfaction for the Archive that we are now, in association with NCH, staging the ninth Drawing from the Well concert in the series, platforming a group of artists who have all engaged with the Breathnach collection in ITMA and developed their solo performances through that productive engagement.”
“Once again we will use the spoken word as part of the concert presentation, and we are delighted to have broadcaster Aoife Nic Cormaic who will co-host the event with uilleann piper Seán Potts.”
Tickets are available at both nch.ie and itma.ie. The full concert lineup will include: Mary Bergin (tin whistle), Matt Molloy (flute), Pádraic Keane (uilleann pipes), Edwina Guckian (dance), Aidan Vaughan (dancer), Caitlín Nic Gabhann (dance), Noel Hill (concertina), Doireann Ní Ghlacáin (fiddle, song), Sarah Flynn (concertina), Bryan O’Leary (accordion), Ian Lynch (song), Ciarán Ó Gealbháin (song), Nia Byrne (fiddle), Charlie Harris (accordion), Conor Connolly (accordion, piano, song), Libby McCrohan (bouzouki), Fiachra Potts (uilleann pipes), Aoife Nic Cormaic (presenter), Seán Potts (presenter)
