Author: Press Officer

In 1996, two years before the 1998, Good Friday Agreement, Eimear Quinn, as ‘the voice’ of Ireland sang the following words to Europe and the world:

‘I am the voice of the past that will always be,
Filled with my sorrows and blood in my fields;
I am the voice of the future…bring me your peace…
Bring me your peace…and my wounds they will heal.’

This year of 2023, being the 25th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, the song – Peace Upon This Land – celebrates and commemorates the answer to that earlier calling which the Good Friday Agreement brought to the island of Ireland.

Now Eimear Quinn, with Gavan Ring and the Dublin Brass Ensemble, sings:

‘There is peace upon this land,
When we in silence stand
When you take my hand…
There’s peace upon this land.’

Peace Upon This Land is a collaboration between composer Siúbhán Ní Ghríofa and lyricist Brendan Graham, who famously co-wrote the world-wide smash hit ‘You Raise Me Up’.

While the song has a personal intimacy as in…’when you take my hand’, it also references the bigger picture of people who, once not at peace, by taking each other’s hands…now finally come together…in peace.

Eimear is one of the pre-eminent Irish voices of her generation. She made her international debut in 1996 winning the Eurovision song contest with the ballad ‘The Voice’ by Brendan Graham who has also penned the lyrics to ‘Peace Upon This Land’. Her career has taken her around the world with repertoire that encompasses all of her musical loves and interests. Fusing Irish folk, classical, sacred, and medieval music Eimear has become a highly respected interpreter of Irish folk/traditional song in a classical context. Quinn’s soaring and emotive vocal style combines her classical training with her love of spiritual and Irish folk music, resulting in many invitations to sing Irish music in a classical setting for illustrious national occasions. These include the visit of HRH Elizabeth II to Ireland, the visit of Pope Frances to Dublin, at the Royal Albert Hall during President Higgins state visit to Britain, and for HRH Prince Charles for St Patrick’s day celebrations in London. Her unique sound has been the subject of an RTE documentary film The Living Bridge.

Joining Eimear and the ensemble for the single is Irish acclaimed tenor Gavan Ring. Hailing from County Kerry, Gavan is the youngest graduate to complete doctoral studies at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Concert highlights include performances with the London Symphony Orchestra at the BBC Proms and Lucerne Festival under Sir Simon Rattle, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment at the Royal Festival Hall under Sir Mark Elder. Opera highlights include leading roles at Opera Royal de Versailles, Glyndebourne, Scottish Opera, Opera North, Garsington Opera, Wexford Opera. Discography included Gerald Barry’s ‘Alices’ Adventures Underground’, Larchet ‘The Complete Songs and Airs’, Rossini ‘Sigismondo’ (Bayerischen Rundfunks 2019).

The ensemble comprises some of Ireland’s leading brass, string, and percussion musicians and includes members of both the National Symphony and the RTE Concert Orchestra (RTECO). Members of the ensemble have worked with many orchestras and ensembles including the Irish Chamber orchestra, the BBC Symphony & Philharmonic Orchestras, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Wexford Festival Opera, the Irish Film Orchestra. Artists the group members have worked with include Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Westlife, The Corrs, Kodaline, Sinead O’ Connor, Enrique Iglesias to name a few.

Dimple Discs (who have released ground-breaking Irish music from Telefis, Cathal Coughlan, Keeley, Eileen Gogan with Sean O’Hagan, and more) have just released a new single from revered Irish composer/musician Ger Eaton.

A multi-Instrumentalist, songwriter, hair stylist and retro-vintage aficionado, this iconic and stylish gentleman is most recently known as keyboardist/guitarist for Dublin alt-rock heroes The Pale. Indeed, Ger has been a mainstay of the Irish music scene for many years as a member of Premonition (EMI), Las Vegas Basement (Columbia), Les Marionettes, Pugwash, The Carnival Brothers and many solo and collaborative recordings. Throughout this time he also recorded and toured extensively with, among others, Mundy, Duke Special, Jack L and Fionn Regan, playing everywhere from Glastonbury Festival to the ‘Later With Jools Holland’ TV Show.

“Home Again” continues to explore Ger’s fascination with and mastery of retro-60s influenced chamber pop styles, first illustrated on his debut EP “Three By Ger Eaton” in November 2021. On the creation of the new single Ger notes…

“Hal David once wrote the words A House is Not a Home…well “Home Again” came from that same feeling, when you don’t feel at home in the house and life in which you’re living. It’s a song about the breakdown of a relationship, the changing dynamics and impact that has on a friendship, and ultimately the acceptance of facing a new journey to feel ‘Home Again’.

It was originally written in early 2021, before the release of “Hollow”, and my demo from that time took it in a very Eastern musical direction. When “Hollow” was received so well on its release, and certain musical influences and references were aligned with it, I felt that the direction “Home Again” had taken would have been too big a change in direction. So I decided to park it for a while longer. But I always felt it was a strong song, with an honest and raw lyric. So when I revisited it after the releases of “Phoenix (Reborn)” in 2022, I began work on the orchestral arrangement and it took on a new and exciting direction for me. I had been listening to a lot of John Barry at the time, and decided to try to infuse some of his spirit amongst the original eastern palate created by my Tablas, Sitar, Saz & Ra-ba-ba….

As always, the song was crafted with my musical collaborators Sean Coleman & Duncan Maitland, in Sean’s  workshop/studio. Duncan brought his skills on 12 and 6 string guitars, as well as Baritone and Bass, with some Mellotron thrown in for good measure. I added to my Eastern Sonics with my newly acquired Xylophone and Timpani Drums, as well as various Percussion Toys, Mellotron and Solinas Organ. Sean chose the perfect cocktail from his collection of Vintage Microphones, Compressors & Tape Delays, to formulate that authentic sound we were going for. This time we were joined by the following family and friends…Graham Hopkins (Therapy?, Dolores O’Riordan, The Frames) on Drums, Ronan Dooney (The Corrs, Paul Brady) on Trumpets & Flugelhorn, my classically trained sister Maura Eaton, on backing vocals, and a great friend & solo artist Marie Thérèse, adding a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ with some French spoken word.

The video was filmed using two continuous shots, captured simultaneously by myself and Graham, on Dublin’s Georges Street. I’m very proud of this one. The one thing ‘Home Again’ certainly is…? Straight from the heart.”

“A beautiful slice of Scott Walker-esque pop” – Mike Scott (The Waterboys)

“Ger’s music serves both as a fillip on dark mornings and a lustrous affirmation that the acceptance of the onward passage of time need not be a distressing feeling” – Cathal Coughlan

“Hollow could be one of those ‘undiscovered’ Beach Boys tracks that seem to surface every 6 months or so, trust me here, this song is going to make your day” – Pat Carty (Hot Press)

“Hollow takes you to a very special place…there’s shades of Jimmy Webb, a taste of Prefab Sprout, but still distinctively Ger Eaton, a beautiful piece of music” – Martin Bridgeman (KCLR Radio)    

“Hollow is beautiful…The world will be hearing a lot more from him” – Fiachna Ó Braonáin (RTE Radio1)

“Virtually everything at play here is top notch. The mix is rich, and considering how many elements there are, surprisingly clean” – Two Story Melody (USA)

~Follow Ger Eaton on social media~

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ELBIRA is a one-hour, TV documentary, produced by Baleuko Produciones SL, which tells the story of iconic Basque feminist and pioneering educationist, Elbira Zipitria. Shortly due its premiere on Basque TV, it is already being shown throughout the Basque Country’s Ikastolas (cultural schools).

The soundtrack songs are Basque language versions of songs by Ireland’s Brendan Graham, in collaboration with Basque singer, harpist and composer, Olatz Zugasti.

The Story of Elbira

Elbira Zipitria, was an “andereño” (teacher) who, despite opposition from both Spanish and French Governments, fought for and revived teaching of Basque culture and history in the Basque language. Her pioneering work – initially conducted in hiding – much like the ‘hedge schools’ of Ireland – led to the creation of a teaching network throughout the Basque Country, today known as the Ikastolas.

The documentary commemorates the 40^th Anniversary of Elbira’s death.

As Olatz Zugasti describes her, ‘’Elbira was a woman who knew what the Basque Country needed – that, apart from Maths, Spanish and English, Basque children had to learn about their own history, language and culture.  She knew how to instil in Basque society a spirit that yearned for freedom and to express itself to the world in its own way’’.

The Soundtrack Songs.

“Mezularia”/ ‘’Messenger’’, music by Graham with lyrics in Euskera (a language isolate) by Zugasti is used in the scene where Elbira returns to Donostia (San Sebastian) with the passion to begin her pioneering work. The song has lines which translate back to English as:

‘’I hear that you hold the seed of wholeness,

That the Stars, the South and the Midday all dwell in you:

You become a dream, an eaglet’s flight,

Painting my blank canvas with the flow of life’’.

‘’Bizirik Gaudelako’’/ ‘’As We Are Alive’’

Olatz Zugasti describes how she first discovered the Irish songwriter:

‘’I first heard Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears by the wonderful Seán and Dolores Keane. It had a feeling of nostalgia but also of hope and freedom. I started singing it with lyrics I had already written. It seemed to work so I continued, and I loved how the marriage of my new lyric to Brendan’s existing melody, worked. I thought then that I should see if this song was owned by any living composer. So, eventually I got in touch with Brendan”.

The Basque singer/composer continues:

‘’Bizirik Gaudelako is a reminder that the Ikastola movement was created by all sectors of the Basque people. This reminder is important because the Ikastolas had been ‘legalized’ by the Spanish Government) to become only schools in the Basque language. It did not give the right to the schools to teach about our own history and culture. The documentary shows how Elbira was against that ‘legalization’. She saw beyond it, unlike the Basque politicians at the time.

I am very happy that the director caught the meaning of the song…seeming it to be written for Elbira’’.

‘I offer now this song to you,

My country’s faith to keep,

Like water fresh that pours from you,

From fountains old and deep’.

 Bizirik Gaudelako is sung by Zugasti and schoolchildren at the closing of the documentary to thank the creators of the Ikastolas for their work.

Across the Basque Country, Graham’s and Zugasti’s song has become a rallying call from the Ikastolas to the Basque people to continue to keep their ancient culture alive. It is also widely performed by the legendary Benito Lertxundi Band and, in sheet music format has been distributed to the Ikastolas throughout the Basque Country’.

Brendan Graham described his reaction to the inclusion of his songs in ELBIRA.

‘’Normally, I like translations to reflect, at least generally, the theme of my original lyric. What I received from Olatz in relation to Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears, had nothing to do with what I had written about the story of Annie Moore…but it was beautiful and with an important message for the Basque people – that ‘while we are alive’, we must carry on the cultural flame of those who went before’’.

The songwriter added:

 ‘’It is a great privilege that, something written and composed in Ireland, where we suffered similar colonizing attempts to subvert our language and culture, should be used to extol the work of this extraordinary Basque woman. Elbira Zipitria fought, not alone for the survival of her language, history and culture but also for the rights of women’s voices to be heard’. Her voice certainly was heard…and continues to be heard’’.

Photo Credit: Thomas Conneally

To celebrate the new St. Brigid’s Day bank holiday, Eimear Quinn will premiere “The Mouth of Winter Dead” (Brigid’s Song) as part of a special concert by the singer in St. Brigid’s Cathedral, Kildare, on Sunday, 5^th February.

The Mouth of Winter Dead – music by Quinn to lyrics by Brendan Graham sees the lyricist return to the elemental themes which, with Quinn’s ethereal singing, made The Voice such a powerful force in Ireland’s last victory at Eurovision.

The writer of such classics as Rock ‘n’ Roll Kids, Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears, and lyricist of You Raise Me Up, says of this new song,

‘’It is such a delight to be reunited again, in song with Eimear, who came up with such an atmospheric and elemental melody to my words’’.

‘‘While Brigid is a transitional figure in Irish life, I was intrigued by her as a pagan goddess before she was Christianised. The ancient festival of Imbolc/Imbolg – ‘in the belly’ – of the First of February/Brigid’s Day – celebrated fertility and growth. So too is the seed of new life nourished within Brigid. She is the ‘Kiss of Spring to the Mouth of Dead Winter’.’’

As the song, in the voice of Brigid, tells:

‘’And I will warm your winter lips with kisses I will bring…

Breathe into your winter mouth, with the breath of Spring –

With hair unbound, will lay you down and wake your winter sleep,

And gently grow the seed you sow, within my body deep’’.

Eimear Quinn, speaking of her new song says,

 “The miraculous cycle of life and death, is the origin of all things. It not only predates, but actually provokes religious understanding. The symbolism of Brigid, both Goddess and Saint, allows us to pause with wonder at the kindling of dead winter into the new life of spring.” 

 In advance of her performance on Sunday, the singer says,

“When I first performed in St Brigid’s Cathedral 15 years ago, I felt held in the loving safety of that sacred place, and every single time since. I’ve also gotten to know the extraordinary Brigidine Sisters, who hold a dear place in my heart with their journey from a small house in the town, to the incredible Solas Bhride Centre, where Brigid’s light burns .

Returning to Brigid’s Cathedral for her festival this February will be joyful and magical, and I can’t wait to perform this new song “The Mouth of Winter Dead” co-composed with Brendan and honouring our own magnificent and sensual Brigid”

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/a-concert-for-brigid-1500-featuring-renowned-irish-soprano-eimear-quinn-tickets-518638831707?aff=ebdssbdestsearch