Ensemble Ériu with Neil Ó Loclainn (double bass, flute), Jack Talty (concertina), Jeremy Spencer (fiddle), Matthew Berrill (clarinet), Paddy Groenland (guitar), Maeve O’Hara (marimba) and Matthew Jacobson (drums).
Led by Jack Talty and Neil Ó Loclainn, Ensemble Ériu draw on a wealth of creative sources to perform arrangements of Irish traditional music rooted in the repertoire of West and North County Clare. The group brings together a chamber ensemble of some of Ireland’s most exciting young musicians from a range of performance backgrounds. The result is a unique combination of the fresh and familiar, a soundscape that is creatively progressive, yet rooted in tradition.
The band’s eponymous debut album, released in 2013, was described by The Irish Times as “one of the best Irish albums of 2013”. In 2015, Ensemble Ériu was awarded the prestigious Gradam Comharcheol by TG4 and their second album, Imbas, was nominated for The Irish Times Best Traditional Album of 2016. The group were commissioned by the Model Arts centre, Sligo to compose a suite of music inspired by the work of Jack B. Yeats and the subsequent music, the Stargazer suite, was released on Dublin based Diatribe records in 2017. The album was listed at no.3 in Songlines’ top 10 essential Irish albums of all time.
Clare Local Live Performance Scheme 2022 brought to you by Clare Arts Office and supported by the Dept. of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Media & Sport.
One of the most articulate, imaginative and entertaining voices in contemporary Irish music” Songlines
