CelticMKE Milwaukee Irish Fest Irish Fest Scrapbook School of Music Summer School Ward Irish Music Archives
01/08/2026 by Jeff Ksiazek
Check out a trio of excellent Irish traditional music albums released in 2025! Each month we'll post more recordings to check out to expand your Irish music library. Sample these from the Bandcamp widgets below and be sure to purchase them from the Bandcamp site to support these musicians.
This album of mostly unaccompanied music was released in October of 2025 by fiddler Aoife Nic Dhomhnaill and concertina player Liam Lonergan. Their album notes mentions the recording is "inspired by iconic traditional duets, such as Noel Hill and Tony Linnane, Denis Murphy and Julia Clifford, and Mick O'Brien and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh." Their tasteful performances definitely put them in the same league as these milestone recordings.
The title track, "Mullach a' tSí" (The Fairy Mound), was recorded by singer Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin - Pádraig O'Keeffe recorded the melody as "The Old Man Rocking the Cradle." This theme of the fairy realm and imagery related to Irish mythology reappears throughout the album. Caoimhe Ní Mhaolagáin (who was in Milwaukee for the 2025 festival and Irish Fest Summer School) provides some lovely Sean-nós dancing as the only accompaniment on three tracks of the recording.
Purchase from Bandcamp
Here's one for the guitar players! Marty Barry (of the Friel Sisters) and Conal O'Kane (of Goitse) team up on a flat picking tour de force, conjuring up previous works from the likes of Arty McGlynn and Paul Brady's melodic turns on his duo album with Andy Irvine. Barry contributes vocals to three songs.
The final set of jigs includes "The Strayaway Child," a tune written by Marty's great grandmother, Margaret Barry.
The trio of Nathan Gourley (fiddle), Joey Abarta (uilleann pipes), and Owen Marshall (bouzouki) follow up their debut album with a collection of expertly played traditional tunes. Note to those attempting to play along with this one - the album is recorded pitched down 3 half steps (Abarta plays a set of B pipes on the recording). The playing here is top notch, with excellent lift and great arrangements.
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