Lúnasa

Lúnasa are Seán Smyth from Co. Mayo (Fiddle and Whistles); Kevin Crawford who was born in Birmingham but now lives in Co Clare (Flutes and Whistles); Trevor Hutchinson from Cookstown but now living in Dublin (Stand-up Bass); Cillian Vallely from Armagh (Uilleann Pipes and Whistles) and Paul Meehan who was born in Manchester but moved to Armagh at an early age (Guitar & Banjo).

Lúnasa are internationally acknowledged as being the finest traditional Irish instrumental band of recent times. In October 1997, this all-star quintet released their début CD Lúnasa. It became an immediate best-seller in Ireland, topping Hot Press’ folk charts and nominated one of the year’s top ten by the Irish Echo in the USA.

Since that auspicious beginning, Lúnasa has become one of the most sought-after bands on the international Celtic music scene, winning many awards including a nomination for Folk Album of The Year in the BBC Radio 2 Awards and Best Traditional Album of 2005 in the Irish Music Magazine.

Lúnasa’s sixth album Sé was released in 2006. One of the highlights of that the year was Lúnasa’s headlining appearance at Dublin’s  National Concert Hall which was recorded by RTE Radio One for national and European broadcast.

2007 celebrated 10 years of Lúnasa. The BBC showed their support by filming their headlining show at Glasgow’s international jamboree, Celtic Connections – making Lúnasa the only band to have been filmed twice by the BBC at the event. The band also published their own book of tunes, Nótaí, compiled by band member Cillian Vallely.

Lúnasa’s most recent CD is “The Story So Far …”. This new CD encapsulates the band's musical journey. It includes remixed and remastered tracks from all 6 Lúnasa albums and expansive liner notes on the band’s history with photographs across the past 11 years.

They have been described by the IRISH ECHO (USA) as “The best Irish instrumental band on the planet”.

Don’t miss the opportunity to see this world class band play live in Portglenone!

For more information please visit their website at: www.lunasa.ie/