NCH celebrating 70 Birthday & the Life & Music of Liam O Flynn

On Tuesday March 17, St Patrick’s Day, at 8pm, the National Concert Hall will be celebrating the 70th Birthday Year and the Life and Music of Master Uilleann Piper Liam O’Flynn. The RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra proudly presents ‘Liam O’Flynn in concert with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and special guests’.

The evening will be presented and conducted by David Brophy. To mark this celebration, The Rolling Wave on RTÉ Radio 1 presents two programmes featuring highlights from Liam’s long and accomplished career in Irish music on Sundays 8 and 15 March at 10pm. These programmes will be repeated on RTÉ Lyric FM on Mondays 9 and 16 March at 7pm.

The evening, featuring musical tributes to Liam’s dear friends, the late broadcaster and music collector Ciarán MacMathúna and Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney, will include Liam’s own An Droichead (The Bridge), composed for the inauguration of Mary McAleese as President of Ireland, ‘Newfoundland’ from Shaun Davey’s The Brendan Voyage, Davey’s The Winter’s End, much-loved traditional tunes such as Mo Ghile Mear and the haunting and beautiful Port na bPúcaí and new arrangements of traditional tunes and airs by Shaun Davey, Neil Martin and Rod McVey.

Among the musical friends who will join Liam are Chieftains fiddle player Seán Keane, the singer Rita Connolly, acclaimed Dublin fiddle player and Bothy Band founder member Paddy Glackin, guitarist Séamie O’Dowd, formerly of the group Dervish, keyboard player and composer/arranger Rod McVey and cellist and composer/arranger for concert hall, stage and screen Neil Martin.

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Liam O Flynn is widely acknowledged as one of Ireland’s leading musicians. Whether with the hugely influential Planxty or as soloist with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, as a solo piper or playing alongside some of the greats of traditional music like Seán Keane, Matt Molloy or Paddy Glackin, Liam is recognised as a true master of his craft. A Kildare native with strong west Clare family links, Liam is steeped in traditional music. Both his parents played music. Liam has the rare distinction of having studied under the three great 20th century piping icons – Leo Rowsome, Willie Clancy and Séamus Ennis. To this day Liam plays instruments that were bequeathed to him by Clancy and Ennis. Liam has issued a number of successful recordings, his most recent release being “The Poet and the Piper” which was made with his good friend the Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney. In 2007, Liam O’Flynn was awarded the 2007 TG4 “Traditional Musician of the Year”.

The ticket prices for the night are €15, €25, €35, €42.50 (concessions €13.50, €24, €31.50, €38). For bookings, you can call 01 417 0000, or book them online on the National Concert Hall website here, or on RTE’s National Symphony Orchestra website here.

For further information, you can contact Assumpta Lawless, Marketing & Communications Manager, at RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra:

[email protected]  | Direct line: 01 208 2769 | Mobile: 087 290 4168,

or Niamh Ryan, Marketing & Communications Co-ordinator, at RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra:

[email protected]  | Direct line: 01 208 2773 | Mobile: 087 410 0516. 

You can check out the National Symphony Orchestra on their Facebook page here, or their Twitter here.

You can check out the National Concert Hall on their Facebook page here, or their Twitter here. 

You can check out Liam O’Flynn on his Facebook here.