There’s something about the way a traditional song can hold sorrow and hope in the same breath. In just a few notes, it can stir up joy, nostalgia, loss and love all at once.
This is the power of music and particularly traditional Irish music, the songs and tunes that have been passed down through the generations and are deeply rooted in both the community and memory. They give us space to feel many things at once; the grief of what has been lost, the resilience that carries us through and the flicker of light that keeps us going.
It’s no surprise that music has long played a role in gathering people together for celebration, but also for comfort, connection and, when needed, for solidarity.
A concert in the An Grianán on Friday night aims to do just that by bringing together Moya Brennan and Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh along with performances from The Friel Sisters, Maura Logue and the Danú Young Women’s Choir to help fundraise and raise awareness for Donegal Domestic Violence Services, an organisation that supports some of the most vulnerable women and children in the county quietly and in ways that often go unnoticed.
We often hear about how Donegal has changed over the years, how life has improved in some ways, communities have grown and services have become more visible. But behind closed doors and drawn curtains, domestic abuse remains a reality for many while the organisations responding to it are under increasing strain.
In 2023, Women’s Aid recorded over 40,000 disclosures of domestic abuse – the highest number in its 50-year history and an 18% increase from the year before. Last year over 61,000 contacts relating to domestic abuse were made to An Garda Síochána, up 9% from the previous year.
Meanwhile, in 2022, more than 4,700 breaches of domestic violence court orders were reported. Closer to home it’s a similar picture. In 2023, the Ombudsman for Children’s Office received 27 complaints from Donegal – a small number in absolute terms, but a 3% increase on the year before.
Behind those complaints are the lived experiences of children caught up in systems that are supposed to help but too often fall short, whether that’s in education, healthcare or family law.
Despite the trend showing increased demand for help and support, the Donegal Domestic Violence Services received just under €24,000 in 2024 from Cuan, the national agency for Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence. That might sound substantial until you realise the sheer scale of what the service is being asked to do.
DDVS runs a 24-hour helpline, provides emergency refuge, advocacy in court and outreach support across a county with some of the most geographically isolated communities in Ireland. It works with women escaping abuse and children who have witnessed it and it does so on a shoestring budget that has not kept pace with either demand or inflation.
It’s against this backdrop that Friday’s concert is being held. It’s to raise funds and to raise awareness because while the work of DDVS is often hidden, the need for it is becoming more visible by the day.
People might assume that a State with tax surpluses and record budgets would provide all the funding necessary for such services. But organisations like DDVS still rely on the goodwill, generosity and engagement of their communities.
That’s what makes this concert so important. It’s more than a night of music; it’s a public statement that we see what’s happening and care enough to act because behind the statistics are people: women who live with fear in their own homes, who carry the weight of silence, shame and survival every day; children who watch and wait, unsure of what’s coming next; and support workers who spend hours navigating broken systems so that someone else’s tomorrow might be better than their yesterday.
Friday night’s performers, many of whom have been long-time advocates for justice and equality, are lending their voices to help others find theirs.
By attending, donating, or simply spreading the word, we each send a powerful message to survivors of abuse: you are not invisible and you are not alone.
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