This concert took place in glór on Saturday 6th November. The Concert is now available to view On Demand. Tickets: €10 plus €1 booking fee. Link is valid for 48 hours from first click.
glór is delighted to announce a very special concert in honour of this year’s MÓRglór Award 2021, which this year has been awarded to Garry Shannon, Majella Shannon, Sharon Shannon, and Mary Shannon.
An inspiration to many musicians, both in Clare, nationally and internationally, and outstanding ambassadors for the traditional arts in Clare, the Shannons are from Bealacana in the parish of Ruan. They were all involved on the farm as they grew up and consequently still have a love of the outdoors life. Their early exposure to music was mainly through the singing of their parents Mary and IJ and later through records and tapes of Trad, Country, and Pop music. They started in the late 70s on tin whistles at the Teach Ceoil in Corofin under the tutelage of musicians such as Tom Barrett, John Byrt, Tony Linnane and Gus Tierney. As time went on, they soaked up the music of bands such as The Mellow Men, The Prodigal Sons and The Grogans in the local lounge bars in the company of their parents.
They spent years competing at the Fleadhanna Ceoil, but the music was truly embedded only when it became their social outlet through attending Friday night sessions driven by Frank Custy in Toonagh Hall. Playing for dance became second nature with Frank’s Toonagh Céilí Band and soon, they were also recording and touring abroad with Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin’s Dísirt Tóla.
Since then, they have all travelled independent avenues at home and abroad as performers and as teachers, with Sharon in particular achieving exceptional international recognition as a collaborator and crossover performer.
On Saturday November 6th, the people of Clare will come together to acknowledge a depth of gratitude to The Shannon family for their enormous contribution to traditional Irish music with a concert in glór featuring the family, friends, and extended family, along with some of the most renowned traditional musicians and singers in the county and the country.
The Shannon Family MÓRglór concert will adhere to current government guidelines and tickets are strictly limited.
County Clare is renowned and celebrated globally for its rich musical heritage with music, song and dance all playing a central role in the cultural life of the county.
MÓRglór is an acknowledgement and celebration by glór of the wealth of professional & semi-professional artists, alongside the talented individuals, groups, and communities within the county, all of whom provide a vital stimulus for the growth and development of Clare’s unique culture.
This prestigious annual award, named after Clare’s cultural ambassador and visionary, Muiris Ó Rocháin, is curated by glór in partnership with Dr. Tim Collins as producer of the event, and who coordinated the original concert in 2013. An anonymous panel of traditional arts practitioners and experts, assembled by glór, selects an Awardee, fitting with the objectives and spirit of MÓRglór. The previous MÓRglór recipients were Corofin Traditional Music Festival (2014); Eoin O’Neill (2015); Frank Custy (2016); Geraldine Cotter (2017); Chris Droney, (2018); Mary MacNamara (2019).
