Inis Oirr

On Saturday September 19th last, Inis Oirr were featured on ‘The Dear Green Place’, an Irish and Celtic music radio show hosted by Cindy Funk. The show, broadcast by WYSO in Ohio, U.S.A., features a mixture of live and recorded Irish and Celtic music.

“I heard about you from a friend of mine”, Cindy said, “and plan to play some of your music on my radio show tomorrow, spotlighting your unusual location. It proves that Celtic music is EVERYWHERE!”

Apparently, Cindy found out about the band from a mutual friend and featured their music when doing a story about Celtic music around the world. Other bands were featured from Switzerland, Spain and Poland but the United Arab Emirates got her vote for the most unusual location for Irish Music.

Two of Inis Oirr’s selections were featured – a song called Bridget Donoghue and a set of reels called The Green Mountain Set.

Here is a recording of the radio show featuring Inis Oirr.

Inis Oirr will play in The Club, Abu Dhabi on the following dates over the next 4 months:

• 15th October
• 5th November
• 10th December
• 7th January

All the gigs will be in The Club Bar at will start at 8.30pm. Keep an eye on The Club Website for more details about the gigs.

Register on the ‘Upcoming Gigs’ page if and you aren’t a member of The Club and you want to come to one of these gigs.

Here is the next in the series of recordings of Inis Oirr . It was recorded live at the Irish Village during their St Patrick’s Festival 2009. This is a song called Bridget Donoghue. The lyrics were written by Johnnie Patterson who lived in America. Alan Burke, a great singer and musician, wrote the music for the song.

All Inis Oirr’s recordings can be found on their music page but you can click on the link below for Bridget Donoghue

Music Clip

With the summer holidays over, the band members of Inis Oirr have all returned to Abu Dhabi. Weekly rehearsals have resumed and the band are working on some new songs and tunes that they can add to their existing repertoire. Inis Oirr will play in The Club, Abu Dhabi sometime in early October. The exact details will be confirmed shortly.

Here is the next in the series of clips that has been added to the Inis Oirr Website. It is a reel set made up of The Green Mountain, Tom Ward’s Downfall and Cooleys. It was recorded live at the Irish Village during their St Patrick’s Festival 2009.

All Inis Oirr’s recordings can be found on their music page but you can click here for The Green Mountain.

Music Clip

During March 2009, Inis Oirr played for four nights at the Irish Village, Dubai.  Each night their performance was recorded live. It was the first live recording that the band have done together and it captures the energy and upbeat musical arrangement that Inis Oirr are well known for.

Over the next few weeks these lives recordings will be added to the music page of the Inis Oirr website . Check back there regularly so you won’t miss out!

To whet your appetite, here is a reel set called Jenny Pickin’ Cockles. The other tunes in the set are Sevens and The Ivy Leaf.

Music Clip

As a fitting end to a week of music for St. Patrick’s celebrations, Bobby Gardiner, the renound button accordionist from Co Clare, joined Inis Oirr for two gigs in Abu Dhabi. His daughter, Fiodhna who plays the tin whistle in the band, was delighted to share the stage with her father.

“This has become an annual gig that I really enjoy,” says Bobby, “and I really like Inis Oirr’s arrangements and variety of instruments.”

Bobby has travelled the world over the past 40 years as a professional musician, playing traditional music from the Catskill Mountains in New York State, to the Great Wall of China. He has several recordings made over the years, including the popular ‘Memories of Clare’ album and The Master’s Choice. He can be found playing at the Bru Boru Cultural Centre in Cashel, Co Tipperary during the summer months. Check out this page on Wikipedia for more information about Bobby. For some videos of his music, check out this link to YouTube.

To whet your appetite, here is Bobby playing a selection of reels starting with Sporting Nell and finishing with The Maids of Castlebar. He goes on to lilt the Boys of Ballysodare.

Inis Oirr played at the St Patrick’s Festival of Music at the Irish Village, Dubai from March 14th-17th. They entertained the large crowds with their  jigs, reels and songs. The festival started with a sell out concert by Sir Bob Geldoff and culminated with large crowds attending the live music on St Patrick’s Day, the 17th of March.

This was Inis Oirr’s biggest gig to date and their music went down very well with the large and appreciative crowd. Dave Cattanach, the manager of the Irish Village, was thrilled with Inis Oirr’s music. ‘We’d love to have you back next year!’, he said after the last set of the night. A great end to a great week.

Here is a short video of the performance.The tune is Jenny Pickin’ Cockles

Inis Oirr recently featured in ‘m’, the Saturday magazine published as part of Abu Dhabi’s National newspaper. On a back page article, called ‘My… Band’, Inis Oirr chatted about a variety of topics related to Irish music, including the band’s name, how the group was formed, the band members and their instruments, regular and upcoming gigs and what it means to be part of the group.

Read the article online or download it here.

Final preparations are being made for five days of Irish Music at the Irish Village to celebrate St Patrick’s Day, as reported in The National on 13th March. The festivities will kick off on March 13th with Sir Bob Geldof. From the 14th to the 17th, Inis Oirr will be performing at different times in the village as follows:

Saturday 14th: 4pm, 7.45pm and 10.30pm

Sunday 15th: 8.15pm, 9.30pm, 10.45pm

Monday 16th: 8.15pm, 9.30pm, 10.45pm

Tuesday 17th: 5.15pm, 8.15pm, 10.30pm

Check out the Irish Village website for more information.