By Tommy Curran

ESTEEEMED sean-nós singer and researcher of Gaelic song, Doimnic Mac Giolla Bhríde has released a powerful new album, Gealach na gCuanta alongside a major new publication exploring the intertwined roots of ancient Gaelic harp playing and sean-nós singing.

The new album and book was officially launched by the acclaimed fiddle player Paddy Glackin in Teach Hiúdaí Beag, Bunbeg.

David, Erin and Paddy McKeown with Naomi.

Doimnic hails from An Charraig, Gaoth Dobhair and the book is dedicated to the memory of his late mother, Neilí Mhic Giolla Bhríde who passed away in September 2023.
Accompanying the album, Mac Giolla Bhríde, has authored a companion book that breaks new ground in Irish musicology and history.

Jessie Smith and Fiona Ní Ghloinn, Arranmore Island.

Born from his deep association with the tradition of sean-nós singing, and his life’s work in cultivating and preserving it, the work argues that sean-nós singing and Gaelic harp playing were not separate traditions, but two expressions of the same art form.
Drawing on historical texts, music collections such as that of Bunting, and personal papers of various collectors, the book traces how these traditions diverged over time but share a common origin.

Colm Ó Baoill, Séamus Joe Jack Ó Cuireáin, Gaoth Dobhair pictured with Pádraig Ó Baoill, Tory Island.

“We often think of sean-nós singing and the Gaelic harp as distinct traditions, but they were once one,” says Mac Giolla Bhríde. “The voice and the cláirseach were partners, and the songs conveyed deep, rich, poetry that had developed over centuries. With this project, and as a singer, I wanted to explore that lost unity.”

Mac Giolla Bhríde is a celebrated singer, piano player, accordionist, uilleann piper, composer, and researcher. A former winner of Corn Uí Riada, Ireland’s most prestigious award for sean-nós singing, he is widely recognised as a leading voice in the revival and interpretation of Irish-language song.

The dual release of Gealach na gCuanta and the accompanying book invites audiences to experience sean-nós not only as a form of song, but as part of a broader cultural and musical continuum—one that reaches back to the harpists and poets of Gaelic Ireland.

Sean Nós singer and researcher of Gaelic song Doimnic Mac Giolla Bhríde pictured with Paddy Glackin who officially launched the album and the book. Photos: Tommy Curran