Recommendations for ITM singers

Have just learned of and started listening to Joe Heaney. Would welcome any suggestions for recordings of traditional singers (or recorded storytelling???) of similiar style.
Thank you

I was lucky enough (for somebody here in the USA) to have met the man and heard him sing and tell stories in person. For myself, I’ve not heard anyone quite like that.

I’m sure people in Ireland would know.

Róisín Elsafty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8paj2hQHIo

play video

Darach Caháin, Sean Mc Donagh .

Liam Weldon

Paddy Tunney
Dolores Keane

You might be interested to know there was recently an artistic biopic on Joe’s life called “Song of Granite” & last I checked it was viewable to stream for members of amazon prime. The book on his life “Brightest Star of the West” is also very good & even has lots of information on Sean Nos as an art form itself, which I think is huge for anyone just coming into listening to it. There is also a Joe Heaney Archive website with lots of recordings made available of his with lyrics & background info on most of his songs. He certainly had an interesting life and is an absolute master of his craft.

Sean ac Dhonncha, Dara Ban Mac Donnchadha, Darach O Cathain, The Ghriallais family (Nan, Nora & Sarah), Johnny Mhairtin Learai Mac Donnchadha, Aine Bean Mhaitiu, Peadar O Ceannabhain, Patsy O Ceannabhain, Josie Sheain Jeaic Mac Donncha, Meaiti Jo Sheamuis O Fatharta, Colm Keane

Outside Connemara tradition you have Nioclas Toibin, The O Suilleabhain family (Diarmuid, Eilis, Danny Maidhci), Elizabeth Croinin, Labhras O Cadhla, Nell Croinin, Lillis O Laoire

There’s a lot of greats Im forgetting but Im running out of battery… These are some I enjoy most

Ahh, thank you all so much for the insights so far!

As a beginning fiddler I’m fascinated by the intonation and accents and character conveyed just in the voice alone, hoping to inundate my ears with this sound maybe someday it’ll work its way down through my bowing arm 🙂

Check out Clo Iar Chonnachta

Also there is a fine documentary film about Joe Heaney called “Song of Granite”.

Oops, sorry for repeating that….

reddit.com/r/seannos

^can be a good resource for checking out some of the greats too

The ‘Corn Ui Riada’ is also a competition held each year and the past couple years have been uploaded onto youtube. There is also a great compilation “Corn Uí Riada - Buaiteoirí 1972-2007” which gathers recordings of most of the winners from each year (available at CIC). There is another great collection called “Amhran ar an Sean Nos” that was put out by RTE years ago that I’m sure is out of print but may be worth tracking down copies of, and the collection “Seoltai Seidte” features some great early recordings made for Gael Linn, mostly featuring Joe Heaney & Sean ’ac Dhonncha, but with some others as well and great instrumentals from players like Denis Murphy & Tommy Reck.

Frank Harte was a famous singer and song collector and there’s an annual festival in his memory in Dublin in September. I’m going in hopes of learning some techniques and improve my song list. There are a couple o f good albums including one with Donal Lunney.

“Have just learned of and started listening to Joe Heaney. Would welcome any suggestions for recordings of traditional singers (or recorded storytelling???) of similiar style.”

Nioclás Tóibín

The Irish Traditional Music Archive (ITMA) has a whole lot of sound clips of field recordings.
https://www.itma.ie/digital-library/sounds

Con O’Driscoll.

We need some LEVITY. Learn, and sing, comic songs, too.

You might also like Colm O’Donnell.

Traditional singers would also include English language singers, so I would add Len Graham, Roisin White, Jackie Boyce, Maurice Leyden, Paddy Tunney, Geordie Hanna, Eddie Butcher, Joe Holmes, Sean Corcoran, Francy Devine.

If it’s Irish language you’re after, I’d add Iarla O’Lionaird and Lorcan MacMathuna.

m.d.

Did anyone yet mention Dolores Keane’s aunties, Sarah and Rita?

Donal Maguire, Nell Ni Chroinin, Thomas McCarthy, Kevin Mitchell.