Music At Maddens Podcast

• Music At Maddens Podcast #019 Between Glasgow and Donegal with Cathal Ó Curráin & Síle Friel

  Welcome to a new episode of Music At Maddens Podcast with me, Lynette Fay.This week we welcome Cathal Ó Curráin & Síle Friel to the podcast.This week in the snug, Lynette welcomes Cathal Ó Curráin and Síle FrielTwo musicians whose lives trace the musical bridge between Glasgow and Donegal, where ferry crossings, kitchen songs, and 1 a.m. sessions shaped everything they are.What began as homework on the boat turned into a lifetime of reels, mentors, and friendships that keep tradition not just alive, but roaring.Síle brings the wild, luminous world of the uilleann pipes into focus, why they misbehave, why that’s part of their charm, and how visibility for women in piping grew through quiet advocacy and fierce community.Cathal shares how the banjo became his second name, how sessions and radio spots nudged him onto stages, and why collaboration always wins over competition.Together, they capture the pulse of the Glasgow–Donegal diaspora, where tunes, songs, and stories travel both ways until they sound like home in stereo.Along the way, we talk about mentors and milestones: Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh’s example of leadership that lifts others, Crannóg’s influence in shaping the Glasgow trad scene, and the magic of Scoil Gheimhridh Ghaoth Dobhair, where Christmas gives way to dancing and dawn music.Authenticity, Gaelic song, a few broken chairs, and the kind of crack that can’t be faked, it’s all here.If you love Irish traditional music, diaspora stories, pipes, banjo, and the unfiltered joy of a late-night session, this one’s for you.Enjoy!New episodes every Monday.Maddens BarInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/maddensbarbelfast_home_of_trad/Hatch BelfastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/belfasthatch/?hl=enAvalon GuitarsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/avalonguitarsofficial/Website: https://www.avalonguitars.com/Smithwicks Irish AleInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/smithwicks_ireland/Website: https://www.smithwicksexperience.com/

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• Music At Maddens Podcast #018 Hard Questions of Tradition with Trú

  Welcome to a new episode of Music At Maddens Podcast with me, Lynette Fay.This week we welcome Trú to the podcast.This week in the snug, Lynette sits down with TrúA boundary-breaking vocal trio bringing new life to Ulster song through harmony, heart, and fearless storytelling.Formed out of Anúna, their sound blends choral precision with rock texture and emotional weight, guided by one question: why should this song be sung today?They trace their journey from learning to breathe as one voice to finding their “fresh ears” third member whose outsider perspective became their compass, less about reverence for the canon, more about making the old pulse again.We talk about learning Irish as adults and the shock of a language that suddenly fits, cultural agency that says inheritance isn’t the only passport, and writing “The Swan,” a spare, devastating original shaped by a Basque lullaby and the ache of losing a parent.From Newry ballads and aisling poetry to Scottish walking songs, from fundraising for Ukraine to dedicating “Rebel Song” to Palestine, Trú’s music turns heritage into something living, political, and deeply human.If you love Irish song, harmony that hits the spine, and stories that ask hard questions of tradition, this one will stay with you.Enjoy!New episodes every Monday.Maddens BarInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/maddensbarbelfast_home_of_trad/Hatch BelfastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/belfasthatch/?hl=enAvalon GuitarsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/avalonguitarsofficial/Website: https://www.avalonguitars.com/Smithwicks Irish AleInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/smithwicks_ireland/Website: https://www.smithwicksexperience.com/

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• Music At Maddens Podcast #017 Songs That Built Belfast with Fergus O’Hare

  Agus Oireachtas na Gaeilge i mBéal Feirste Cois Cuain an tseachtain seo don chéad uair le 30 bliain, tá ceannródaí pobail agus Gaeilge na cathrach i mbun comhrá le Lynette an tseachtain seo. Tá suim as cuimse ag Fergus O’Hare sa cheol, san amhránaíocht ach go háirithe. Is iomaí ‘folk club’ atá curtha ar bun aige sa chathair fríd na blianta. Labhraíonn sé faoi chumhacht an cheoil le daoine a thabhairt le chéile, cuimhní cinn ar laetha ollscoile agus an tábhacht a bhaineann leis an Ghaeilge a labhairt agus a chur chun cinn.As the biggest celebration of the Irish language and indigenous arts returns to Belfast for the first time in 30 years, one of Belfast’s pioneers of language, community and music, Fergus O’Hare is our guest this week on the podcast.With his love of traditional songs, Fergus has been at the helm of many folk clubs in the city over the years.He talks about the power of music to bring people together, memories of music at university in Dublin and the importance and power of speaking and preserving Irish and indigenous languages.This week’s podcast is mostly in the Irish language.Enjoy!New episodes every Monday.Maddens BarInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/maddensbarbelfast_home_of_trad/Hatch BelfastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/belfasthatch/?hl=enAvalon GuitarsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/avalonguitarsofficial/Website: https://www.avalonguitars.com/Smithwicks Irish AleInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/smithwicks_ireland/Website: https://www.smithwicksexperience.com/

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• Music At Maddens Podcast #016 - Slides, Smiles, And Sleeves with Greta Curtin

  Welcome to a new episode of Music At Maddens Podcast with me, Lynette Fay.This week we welcome Greta Curtin to the podcast.This week in the snug, Lynette welcomes concertina player Greta Curtin for a lively tour of Slíabh Luachra style and the stories that shaped her music.Growing up in Brosna on the Kerry–Limerick–Cork border, Greta went from a TV fiddle that became a concertina to big mixed classes, sessions, and festivals that turned shyness into voice and community.She talks polkas and slides, how a tune like “Maggie in the Woods” can turn into “Mary in the Woods” a half hour up the road, choosing gigs over kitchen shifts, teaching in a music school, and watching her students become the next wave. In her work as a special needs assistant, music is a bridge: sometimes a hallway guitar, sometimes just the right pause, always a way to help a child feel seen.We also dive into the Patrick O’Keeffe Festival in Castleisland: a session trail from morning into morning, album launches, archives, and a youth award that invites players from Donegal to Dublin to learn a Slíabh Luachra set with care.With a nod to Brosna football pride, quiet All-Ireland wins, and the occasional bout of imposter syndrome, this is a warm, witty portrait of tradition that’s brilliantly alive.Enjoy!New episodes every Monday.Maddens BarInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/maddensbarbelfast_home_of_trad/Hatch BelfastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/belfasthatch/?hl=enAvalon GuitarsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/avalonguitarsofficial/Website: https://www.avalonguitars.com/Smithwicks Irish AleInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/smithwicks_ireland/Website: https://www.smithwicksexperience.com/

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• Music At Maddens Podcast #015 - Strings and Sisters with The Walls Sisters

  Welcome to a new episode of Music At Maddens Podcast with me, Lynette Fay.This week we welcome the Walls Sisters to the podcast.This week in the snug, Lynette is joined by sisters Molly, Jane, and Cara Walls, whose shared journey through Irish traditional music stretches from Moneyglass sessions to stages at home and in Nashville.They chat about growing up in a family where music was part of everyday life, the teachers who shaped them, and the moments that turned practice into passion. Cara talks about falling for the harp, Jane shares her unique path to the uilleann pipes (starting with an airbed pump hack!), and Molly reflects on teaching, fiddle playing, and finding her own sound.Together, they explore the highs of competition, the closeness and chaos of playing as siblings, and how music has held both grief and joy in equal measureFrom Crosskeys to Madden’s, country jives to late-night sessions, this is a heartwarming story of family, friendship, and the music that ties it all together.Enjoy!New episodes every Monday.Maddens BarInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/maddensbarbelfast_home_of_trad/Hatch BelfastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/belfasthatch/?hl=enAvalon GuitarsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/avalonguitarsofficial/Website: https://www.avalonguitars.com/Smithwicks Irish AleInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/smithwicks_ireland/Website: https://www.smithwicksexperience.com/

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