Martin Hayes’ soulful interpretations of traditional Irish music are recognised the world over for their exquisite musicality and irresistible rhythm. He has toured and recorded with guitarist Dennis Cahill for over twenty years, and has collaborated with extraordinary musicians in the classical, folk and contemporary music worlds such as Bill Frisell, Ricky Skaggs, Jordi Savall, Brooklyn Rider and the Irish Chamber Orchestra, RTE Concert Orchestra as well as many of the greatest traditional Irish musicians over the past thirty years. Martin has contributed music, both original and traditional arrangements to modern dance, theatre, film and television. He has performed on stage with Sting and Paul Simon and recently recorded with Yo Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project.  He is the artistic director of Masters of Tradition, an annual festival in Bantry, Co. Cork and a co-curator for the Marble Sessions at the Kilkenny Arts Festival.

Martin has been recognized as Musician of the Year ( Gradam Ceol) from TG4, Irish language television, Person of the Year by the American Irish Historical Society in New York City and is the recipient of the annual Spirit of Ireland award from the Irish Arts Center NY. He was the first musician to win The BBC Instrumentalist of the year and most recently the first to win the RTE folk instrumentalist of the year. Most recently he received an Honorary Doctor of Music from the National University of Ireland Galway.

He founded the seminal Irish American band, The Gloaming, with whom he tours internationally and with whom he shared the prestigious Meteor Prize in 2014 for their debut album. He and Dennis performed for President Obama and dignitaries both at the White House and the House of Representatives in March, 2011. Martin was the recipient of six All-Ireland championships before the age of nineteen and spent his youth playing in his late father, P.Joe Hayes’ Tulla Celi Band, which has now been together for more than 70 years.

Iarla Ó Lionáird, Cormac McCarthy and Matthew Berrill

Iarla Ó Lionáird has carved a long and unique career in music both internationally and in Ireland. From his iconic early recording of the vision song “Aisling Gheal” as a young boy to his ground breaking recordings with Dublin’s Crash Ensemble and New York’s Alarm Will Sound, he has shown a breadth of artistic ambition that sets him apart in the Irish Music fraternity. A twice Grammy nominated artist, O? Liona?ird has worked with a stellar cast of composers internationally including Donnacha Dennehy, Dan Trueman, Kate Moore, Nico Muhly, Linda Buckley, Gavin Bryars and David Lang and he has performed and recorded with such luminaries as Peter Gabriel, Nick Cave, Robert Plant and Sinead O’Connor. His unique singing style has carried him to stages and concert halls all over the world, from New York’s Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House and beyond. He has performed as soloist with concert and symphony orchestras including the Ulster Orchestra, The National Symphony Orchestra at The Kennedy Centre, USA, The Irish National Symphony Orchestra and the RTE Concert Orchestra.Also an accomplished broadcaster, O’ Lionaird’s recent Radio Series “Vocal Chords” on the mysteries of the human voice, for Ireland’s National Classical Music Broadcaster, RTE Lyric FM, won both Gold and Silver Awards at the “New York Radio Festival” 2016/2018 His own voice has graced the silver screen also, with film credits extending from “The Gangs of New York” to “Hotel Rwanda” and most recently as featured singer in the film “Brooklyn” starring Saoirse Ronan. He is the vocalist with the critically acclaimed Irish /American band “The Gloaming.”

Cormac McCarthy is a pianist, composer, arranger and conductor from Cork, Ireland. Noted for a diverse stylistic palette, and equally at home in a variety of genres, his music is said to “defy categorisation” (Lyric FM). In 2010, having completed his Masters degree in composition at the MTU Cork School of Music, Cormac received the prestigious Bill Whelan International Music Bursary, an award earmarked for young Irish composers studying abroad. He spent a number of years living in Chicago, where he completed a Masters in Jazz Studies at DePaul University. His compositions and arrangements have been performed and recorded by artists including Phil Woods, Jeff Hamilton, Mick Flannery, Martin Hayes, Andrea Corr, Gavin James, Niamh Regan, Jack O’Rourke, The DePaul Jazz Ensemble, The RTE? Concert Orchestra, The Crash Ensemble, The New Irish Jazz Orchestra and the Cork Opera House Concert Orchestra. He has performed extensively at concert venues, clubs and festivals throughout Europe and the US, sharing the stage/recording studio with artists across a wide musical spectrum, including Peter Washington, Nell Ni? Chro?ini?n, Billy Drummond, Liz Carroll, Donal Lunny, The RTE? National Symphony Orchestra & The RTE? Concert Orchestra.

Matthew Berrill is a sought-after musician and is a member of many ensembles in the jazz, improvised and traditional Irish worlds, including Ensemble Ériu and the Irish Memory Orchestra. He teaches in numerous music education projects throughout Galway County, was a conductor of the University of Galway Concert Orchestra and is a founder, teacher and ensemble director in the ‘Headford Music Works’ teaching and performing scheme. In July ’22, Matthew graduated with distinction following a two-year Masters in Jazz Performance and Composition at the prestigious Royal Academy of Music, London which was made possible by a scholarship offered by the Academy.