Sean-nós singing and Irish traditional music in dialogue with Arabic songs of exile and resistance from Palestine and Lebanon.
Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin and Niamh Keady-Tabbal play The Duncairn on Saturday 5 December, with support from Annalise Whyte and Simon Crehan. It's a pairing that brings sean-nós singing and Irish traditional music into dialogue with Arabic songs from Palestine and Lebanon, threaded together through themes of exile, emigration, love and resistance. The performance moves between traditions shaped by histories of displacement and colonialism.
Ó Ceannabháin is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Dublin rooted in the Conamara sean-nós tradition, drawing on lilting and throat singing, concertina and a lifting flute style. Keady-Tabbal is an Irish-Lebanese singer and researcher from Kinvara, Co. Galway; her work documenting border violence in the Mediterranean has gathered Arabic songs of exile and resistance from Lebanon, Palestine and Syria, which she sings alongside sean-nós songs gathered from Irish singers. The two traditions sit side by side here, linked by those shared histories of displacement.
The Duncairn is an arts centre, concert venue, theatre space and art gallery in North Belfast that has specialised in live folk, acoustic and traditional Irish music since 2014. It's a good fit for a night that leans on traditional singing from two different parts of the world. Annalise Whyte and Simon Crehan open the bill, so you'll get a full evening of music rather than just the headliners.
Every week we pick 🏆 the 5 best 🏆 things to do in Belfast and send them to your inbox. Just one weekly email, no spam.
By submitting your email, you accept our Privacy Policy
Doors open at 7pm and the music runs from 7:00 to 9:30pm. The night is strictly 18+ and BYO, so bring along whatever you'd like to drink.
