Releases > Releases October 2025

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ENDA SCAHILL & JOEL ANDERSSON
The Dark Well
Own Label, 10 Tracks, 39 Minutes
www.thedarkwellproject.bandcamp.com
The album’s cover illustration shows a silhouette of a man standing on top of a well-head; we can imagine that somewhere in the depth of that metaphorical chimney is a deep pool of unheard, chaotic, elemental traditional music.
The metaphor is perfect for the project that came together after an online meeting. We know of the genius of Enda Scahill, his mastery of the banjo, his creation of We Banjo 3 to make Celt Grass, his work this year with the band Gadan, and here’s another left field project.
Joel Andersson is the perfect partner; he is a harmonica player, but don’t expect the usual - he’s not from the Pip Murphy tradition nor does he bend notes like Brendan Power. He customises harmonicas for the masters and there are plenty of those mouth organs in different keys and with different characters on The Dark Well. His playing is aggressive, percussive and it works on track after track.
The duo are joined by a host of top flight musicians. Check out their Bandcamp page for the full list and it is pretty much an A-list, testament to the esteem that Enda Scahill has built up in his thirty-year career at the leading edge of Irish traditional music.
This album cuts new ground, there’s a spine tingling chemistry here with the staccato notes of the banjo working in consort with the longer notes of the harmonica, making a sound that is so new, you’d be struggling to find comparisons. However, you probably know all the tunes on the album, which makes hearing them in this format an experience like no other. Those tracks are: O’Neill’s March, The Gravel Walks, Sail Away Ladies, The Porthole of the Kelp, Old Man Dillon, A set of Slides, The Green Mountain, The Showman’s Fancy, The Hag With the Money and The Wind That Shakes the Barley. Standards every one, and each is given a new lease of life, reimagined to work within the acoustic parameters of the banjo and harmonica.
Their Bandcamp page says this is: “a full album of Irish music on banjo and harmonica, a world-first recording that reimagines the tradition with breathtaking virtuosity and innovation.” As true a statement and as big a teaser as you’ll find. Dare to dip into the dark well and pull up another way of hearing the tradition, as edgy and dangerous as broken glass.
Seán Laffey

CYRIL O’DONOGHUE
Inis Cealtra (Holy Island)
FDM, Digital Single
Cyril O’Donoghue’s (R.I.P.) final song recorded during his long and eventful career in folk and traditional music is the tale of Inis Cealtra (Holy Island). The song’s genesis and its survival are works of miraculous standards. Recorded originally on a mobile phone with Cyril accompanying himself on bouzouki at his home in Shannon, County Clare. The cover illustration is by the work of Mountshannon artist Cliodhna Donnellan, herself a mean fiddler and local broadcaster.
The song speaks of a spiritual relationship with Inis Cealtra, a beloved spot in County Clare, a magical island that was once the haunt of Brian Boru and is only reachable by boat - a place, when shrouded in mist, floats between this world and the other. This ancient pilgrim site cast its spell over him many years ago, and the song reflects the power, meaning and influence it had upon his life and music, all this contributed to the story of Inis Cealtra ‘…a journey one must make alone’.
It perfectly captures all that is synonymous with Cyril O’Donoghue, his unique voice and playing captured in its most natural state, simple and unadorned. This is the man whose quiet but towering presence helped make bands like Providence, Birkin Tree, and Damp in the Attic into serious ensembles and whose accompaniments lit up sessions like Piping Heaven, Piping Hell, and his work with accordion player Josephine Marsh and piper Paddy Keenan will long be remembered. His serenity and stability made for a presence and personality that made him a traditional cornerstone.
The practical AI technology which constituted the Beatles’ final release Now and Then (2023) - from a 1970s cassette tape, has enabled Cyril’s final phone recording to be updated to studio broadcast quality by Kieran Concannon whilst maintaining its original magic, simplicity and beauty. Inis Cealtra (Holy Island) is a fitting remembrance of Cyril O’Donoghue’s massive talents.
John O’Regan

ALLY the PIPER
The Session
Own Label, 8 Tracks, 33 Minutes www.piperally.com
Allyson Crowley-Duncan is based in Boston, a city with a long association with Celtic music, a destination for the displaced Diaspora of Ireland, Scotland and Cape Breton.
Ally plays great highland bagpipes, small-pipes and various whistles. She also sings and is joined here by the multi-talented Dominic Marraffa on vocals, drums and bass. There is additional percussion too, from Benny Grotto, who mixed the album at Mad Oak Studios Boston.
Ally leads out playing whistle on North to Palmer, a repeated phrase loops over a rock beat, then slides into a lower register bagpipe melody. Rapid bars of quarter notes are followed by the chanter taking up a drone position against the rock percussion. The track closing when Ally reverts to the whistle and its original riff.
The title track is where we experience Ally’s solid trad credentials, the pipes burl as her fingers cut notes cleanly. She shifts to whistle before revisiting the pipes to round out the track. Ally and Dominic join forces singing on Hoping Hearts, a pop track, where the main backing instrument is the percussive kit, Ally’s pipes only appearing in its last minute, before an unusual and unexpected ending.
The most full-on Celtic Rock track is The Pumpkin’s Fancy with a blast of The Kesh Jig hiding in plain sight in the high energy mayhem; I can see this being a crowd favourite at a live gig.
This is full-on Celtic Rock, something that is more common across the Atlantic than it is here in Ireland (here Highland pipes are usually found in pipe-band settings). For a heavier rock angle, look to the pipes of Scotland, Brittany and Canada for reference. Ally’s The Session, is an album which would not be out of place in a collection that already includes the Red Hot Chilli Pipers, Soldat Louis and Rare Air.
Seán Laffey

WILLOS’
One for the Road
Own label, ASER0002CD, 9 Tracks, 43 Minutes
willos.eu
I introduced them to you, dear readers, a few years ago when their previous album From Now On was released. As I am sure you will recall, the Willos’ adventure began in Siena, Tuscany, in 2000, with a repertoire focused on Irish and Scottish music. Over the years, the band has developed its own unique style, influenced by Irish traditional music and the musicians they have collaborated with, including Liz Carroll, John Doyle and Athena Tergis.
To celebrate their 25th anniversary, they are now offering us One for the Road, their fourth album. A collection of nine tracks that blend Celtic tradition and original arrangements with personal compositions, instrumentals and songs carried by the voice of Canadian Fiona King: Ophelia, Sweet Bonnie Lass From Belfast and Ghost Ship. She is accompanied by a line-up of excellent musicians. Stephanie Martin (Irish fiddle), Massimo Giuntini (uilleann pipes, whistles and bouzouki), Lorenzo Del Grande (flute), Giulio Putti (bodhrán) and Luca Mercurio (guitar).
Nine tracks but nineteen tunes, a number of which were inspired by famous traditional musicians: Liz Carroll, Paddy O’Brien, Niall Vallely, Brian Finnegan, Alan Doherty and Michael McGoldrick.
All the songs are linked by a common thread, where energy, rhythm and emotion are present from the first note to the last. Let’s wish this friendly Italian band many more years of success. A quarter century down the road and their journey has many miles left in the tank.
Philippe Cousin

NINEBARROW
The Hour of the Blackbird
13 Tracks, 55 Minutes
www.ninebarrow.co.uk
This is the new album from Dorset duo Ninebarrow (Jon Whitley and Jay LaBouchardiere), which will be out on October 3rd 2025. This is both a reprise and reimagining of work from their previous albums; the innovation is their reworking of songs with a combined choir of some forty voices from Hampshire’s Hart Voices (based in Fleet) and Surrey’s Chantry Singers (from Guildford). The acoustic equivalent of Monet’s Haystacks, look again and see how your subject appears in today’s light, reflect on its meaning with others and share those insights with your audience.
Hailed early in their 12-year career by the ukulele community, the title track employs the bell-like tome of a finger plucked uke to set up the song, with voices in harmony against a pulsating bass and the rising chorus of the ladies in the choir. They sing two songs that might be familiar to Irish readers, Hey John Barleycorn, the age old tale of ale, and Under The Fence, which we know as Cold Rainy Windy Night.
Ninebarrow are known for their commitment to environmentalism, planting 1000 trees to offset their carbon footprint from touring, and much of this album is lusciously bucolic, most jaunty on The Weeds, a song about nature taking over abandoned small holdings, a reminder that the countryside is a man-made paradise.
Their final song is pure a cappella, the traditional Farewell Shanty, with the duo’s voices mixed clear of the choir, the arrangement’s interlaid choral harmonies, sometimes running against and into the lead melody like water swishing the planks of a slowly moving hull. The Hour of the Blackbird is a gentle album, no angst, no polemics, no hectoring. If you need to chill, Ninebarrow have the prescription ready.
Seán Laffey

RALSGÅRD & TULLBERG
Dialogue
Kap Syd, 14 Tracks, 51 Minutes info@kapsyd.com
Swedish flautists Markus Tullberg and Andreas Ralsgård have created a uniquely personalised body of musical works while revitalising Swedish traditional folk music. Using the wooden flutes as their main attraction, whether solo, duets or in partnership with string players from the classical and traditional fields, the results are always worthwhile. Twenty years on since their first duo album Ralsgard and Tullberg –Traditional Flute Music from Sweden, they have made their collective musical mark.
Dialogue is both a return and a fresh start. It is a return to the format of the intimate flute duo – the passion of which brought the two flute players together more than twenty years ago. It is also a fresh start in that the duo has integrated a hugely varied instrument setup with flutes of various sizes (two D flutes are joined by G, Eb, C, Bb and A flutes). These new settings open possibilities for harmonisation, development of repertoire and interpretation.
Dialogue is their fourth collaboration in a twenty-year career. Featuring eleven tracks on wooden flutes, the material features traditional tunes such as polskas, waltzes and listening tunes, where the focus is on the flutes and the interaction between the two musicians. Musically the tunes mix traditional and Baroque modes and nuances with traditional tunes they chose to delve into. Their own material is also of note.
Dialogue was recorded in two days, but it took about a year and a half to find tunes, get to know these tunes, find the flute settings, arrange them and rehearse them, and it shows in the dedication with which they apply themselves. Dialogue is a rewarding listening experience and a window into new and old Nordic music.
John O’Regan

THE MURPHY SISTERS
Burnt Bridges
Deadeye Productions, Single, 3 Minutes, 20 Seconds
www.themurphysisters.com
Burnt Bridges is the new single from The Murphy Sisters. The girls are a musical trio from the West coast of Ireland and are renowned for their authentic music and enthralling sibling harmonies. They blend their original traditional music with a combination of influences from folk, pop and country. This new single is no exception and it has taken a while to come to its final polished state. Burnt Bridges is the result of six months of songwriting and is representative of their new desire to explore original music and find their unique niche. Described as incorporating “their well-known sibling harmonies with a real folk-like feel. It’s an uplifting, feel-good single and will appeal to all music lovers.”  The single is catchy from beginning to end and makes us all contemplate that we never really know where our life journey is going to take us.
The opening verse is:
I’ve burned all my bridges, left no bag at home
Make a mile down that road, I’m nothin’ but all alone
Don’t know where my journey’s pulling, no point turn around
But I need somewhere to go, and leave all my bags down
For many of us, that sums up adult life, a move away from the familiar environment and routine of family, and a new horizon to walk towards with no looking back. We all have ‘burnt bridges’ which makes it easy to relate to the sisters’ lyrics. Sarah-Jane, Rachel-Rose, and Katie-Alice are renowned for their live performances, and Burnt Bridges follows in that vein of fun. A second single from the sisters is planned for autumn with an album expected next year. But for now, it’s time to enjoy this happy, jovial, folk single.
Gráinne McCool

ROBIN JAMES HURT
Hey Mary (Play a Song for Me)
Own Label, Single, 2 Minutes, 35 Seconds
www.robinjameshurt.com
Robin James Hurt was born in Belfast, raised in Scotland (where he picked up his accent) and lived in Dublin for many years. He is now settled on the coast of County Wexford. His new single is a co-write with Tony Floyd Kenna, who penned the words, and Hurt, who wrote the music.
Robin James Hurt found homage to “Máire Úna Ní Bheaglaoich, trad button accordion player extraordinaire!”
Children leave home, some go overseas, Mary’s daughters moved to Dublin and in 1986 she followed them, leaving Kerry for the nation’s capital. She brought with her her accordion and the rural music she had grown up with. For thirty years and more she has busked in a side alley near Grafton street, playing her Castagnari button box.
Robin James Hurt’s song is a celebration of Mary’s life and her contribution to the free spirits of Dublin’s swankiest shopping street. He sings:
Hey Mary, won’t you play me a tune to keep me dancing by the moon
Hey Mary, won’t you play some notes, to keep me swaying like the ocean’s boats…
So if you go to the Grafton Street, there is one there you need to meet
To hear a tune, to watch her play, to toss a coin and to say
Hey Mary won’t be playing me a tune, to keep me dancing by the moon…
For many of us, Grafton Street is a passage, a place to rush through. However, if you find yourself there, listen out for Mary’s accordion and appreciate the free talent that pops up every day and makes Dublin such a special place any time of the year. The song will be also be available through bandcamp.com/robinjameshurt
Seán Laffey

GRAHAM LINDSEY
Tune Machine
Own Label, 8 Tracks, 27 Minutes www.grahamlindsey.com
I first met Ottawa-based Graham Lindsey at a Celtic Colours gig in Cape Breton. We shared an interest in bouzoukis and mandolas, I was impressed both by his playing and by the quality of his instrument. I discovered he writes and records music and has a fondness for the great white north, so much so that he tours annually January in Sweden, and that will become relevant as we walk into this review.
There are dozens of musicians on this album, the many friends Graham has made through his recording studio work and his tech duties at festivals around Canada. He brings his tenor banjo skills to bear on Light On Time; at 5 minutes, it is one of the longest and most fully developed pieces on the album. Here he is accompanied by: Jesse Périard (guitar), Carole Bestvater (fiddle) and Joe Phillips (double bass). The shortest track at a mere 43 seconds is the Selby Jig, written for a church congregation in Selby, Ontario.
That aforementioned Swedish connection is realised on the track Free, where Lindsey is joined by Skye Consort with Emma Björling singing the lyrics in Swedish. Other musicians here are: Seán Dagher (bouzouki & vocals), Amanda Keesmaat (cello & vocals), and Simon Alexandre (nyckelharpa & vocals). The words encapsulate the life of a travelling troubadour and translate as:
As we travel, together on our journey,
I see the whole world stream past.
Time wanders freely, rushes and stands still,
and from the world’s troubles I become free.
His album closes on a guaranteed earworm: Walking Tune, composed when Lindsey was, well, walking. He starts the tune off on bouzouki and is soon joined by a Nordic fiddle, before the piece is handed over to a choir of 37 people, who sing the recurring riff and it is hypnotic.
An album of new music from the talented fingers and magpie mind of Graham Lindsey.
Seán Laffey

RANDALL STEPHEN HALL
Wake the Blue Sleeper
Own Label RSH0082025, 11 Tracks, 38 Minutes
www.randallstephenhallsongs.com
Singer, songwriter, illustrator and keen observer of Irish life, Randall Stephen Hall records out of his home studio, a space he calls The Moonshed.
This is his most layered album to date with a cast of 9 other musicians who dip in and out on various tracks. The other musicians, too many to name individually, all play important roles on this recording. A bit of name dropping might give you a smidgin of help: Becky Taylor plays Northumbrian pipes on The Boatyard, Tim Edey brings his guitar and melodeon to Banana Banana and One Hand and The Whale.
Stephen looks to the wild, lawless roots of many families on both sides of the community on Reiver and the Gael. Duggie Dubh is a mix of reggae meets an Irish ballad with a fiddle. It wasn’t me, I wasn’t here, I was miles from here.
His most lyrical song is One Hand and The Whale with fiddle and bass; it’s a song written from the viewpoint of wildlife that is threatened by environmental collapses. See You See Me, a bluesy walking talking song, with harmonica, keyboards and bass adding a swamp vibe, recorded at a live gig, the track fading to the incoherent chatter of punters at the bar… Looking for Your Lights, a song about the anticipation of the weekend and the big night, and the chances of romance. The style is Chicago blues meets north Antrim, when he sings: “You can see it in the gutter, you can see in the signs… Looking for your love on Saturday night …”
It wouldn’t be a Stephen Hall album if it wasn’t quirky, and try as you might, you won’t find a title song on the recording. He has a fondness and an ear for the innate acoustic poetry of syllables; check out Banana Banana, Yaheya and Sheepi Sheepi Moo Bah Bah.
Whimsical and wise, wistful and wondrous, there’s no other songwriter in Ireland who has his ear on the grounded sound of ordinary life.
Seán Laffey