Neil Ó Lochlainn's Immram

Eithne Ní Chatháin- voice
Erin Hennessey - fiddle
Eilís Lavelle - harp
Neil Ó Lochlainn - double bass, flute, music
Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill - text

Immram is a suite of poems by Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill first published in her collection ‘Feis’ (1991). In 2019 Neil Ó Lochlainn was commissioned by Paddy Bushe and the Amergin Solstice Poetry Gathering to set the poems to music and the resulting suite of music was premiered at the festival in Waterville in 2021.

The music combines influences from Irish traditional music and the sean-nós singing tradition, jazz/improvised music and contemporary classical music to create an innovative post-genre style of contemporary Irish chamber music. The musicians are some of the most highly regarded young musicians in Ireland today.

‘Immram’ roughly translates as ‘Voyage’ and is a type of story found commonly in mythological Irish writing describing a protagonists journey by sea to the otherworld and the adventures that ensue during their voyage. In this work Ó Lochlainn has created contemporary musical textures for a modern audience rooted in ancient forms, such as Irish song and dance, while combining these with more contemporary influences to create a musical world uninhibited by boundaries and genre.

Neil Ó Lochlainn is an award winning musician and composer from Clare. His work is dedicated to exploring the contemporary and universal in the local and developing a unique creative music language derived primarily from Irish influences. He is co-founder of Ensemble Ériu who have released three critically acclaimed albums and received a TG4 Gradam Ceoil award. His innovative chamber ensemble ‘Cuar’ released their third album Tairseach in 2024. He has been bassist of choice for many of Ireland’s leading Jazz musicians and from 2012 until 2015 was a member of guitarist Louis Stewart’s groups. He has been artist-in-residence and received commissions from various institutions and festivals. In 2019 he was selected as an Arts Council Next Generation bursary recipient.

@neilolochlainn

@innikmusic