Join us on Saturday the 18th of December for The Courthouse Singing Sessions in association with Courthouse Arts Centre Tinahely. Our special guest for the evening will be Leitrim based singer Fionnuala Maxwell.
Fionnuala is a traditional singer, composer, researcher and educator based in Co. Leitrim. She continually strives to find ways to promote our rich cultural heritage and has many years’ experience of facilitating classes and workshops in traditional singing. Fionnuala progressed through the ranks of CCÉ Fleadh competitions, winning at all levels, including All-Ireland for ballad singing and composing. This gave her the opportunity to perform on Comhaltas tours and at concerts, for radio and television and also to mingle with many of the ‘greats’ of traditional singing. From attending various music festivals and traditional singing events through the years, her knowledge of the art has broadened, being influenced by people like Rosie Stewart, Paddy Tunney, Colm O’ Donnell and Paddy Berry.
Fionnuala has spent years doing a lot of research into the area of traditional singing with a particular focus on passing the information and songs on to others through workshops and classes. She continues to write songs when inspired by local or personal events and many of those songs have been transmitted through the traditional singing realms and are sung widely at singing sessions. She also recorded two CDs of local songs and had the opportunity to record and perform with Dervish for the Leitrim Equation project and has collaborated with many other artists for various concerts and events.
Fionnuala spent much of last year focused on researching the area of traditional singing in Leitrim thanks to the support of a Traditional Arts bursary. With further support in the form of recent funding from the Arts Council through a Traditional Arts agility award, she aims to work on some of the material she has uncovered in collaboration with musicians in an effort to bring these songs to new audiences through performances and recordings.
As well as recent performances, including as warm-up act for Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh in The Dock, Carrick-on-Shannon and as part of the Wild Atlantic Way Musical Journey in the TF Royal Theatre, Castlebar, Fionnuala has recently written, performed and recorded a song for the ”As it Happened 1921 Commemorations” supported by Leitrim County Library. Her Zoom project "Back to the Future through Memories and Songs" as supported by Creative Ireland and Leitrim County Council, which saw her sharing songs and memories with some of the cocooning citizens in her area during lockdown earned her both a Leitrim Arts and a National Heritage award in 2020. She continues sharing a song and a tune in a unique way as part of the “Modern Day Mummers” as captured here for RTE and Creative Ireland https://youtu.be/53uFUqxS8Fg
Traditional Singer Rachel Uí Fhaoláin will present The Courthouse Singing Sessions on Zoom on Saturday December 18th from 9pm - 11pm and the event will be live streamed on The Courthouse Arts Centre YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU6IRAmevOz-p1I2Umtylpw
Those wishing to sing and take part on the night please email Rachel at ceolmochroi@gmail.com for login details. This promises to be a very special evening so booking early is advised. Bígí linn!