Competition Bonn Óir Seán Ó Riada 2024 – Closing date September 25th
Closing date for the 2024 Bonn Óir Seán Ó Riada competition is September 25th.
The Bonn Óir Seán Ó Riada competition was inaugurated by Peadar Ó Riada on his Raidió na Gaeltachta traditional music programme Cuireadh chun Ceoil on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta in 2010 and attracts entries every year from all over the world.
It focuses on a different instrument every year over a four-year cycle:
- fiddle
- flute and whistle
- pipes and harp
- metal reed instruments
The idea for the competition came originally from Peadar Ó Riada’s father, composer and musician Seán Ó Riada, who had a competition on his radio programme Fleadh Cheoil an Raidió on Radio Éireann in the sixties. Inspired by this idea, Peadar also saw the competition as an opportunity to leverage the advances in technology, and increased access to computers and mobile phones, to bring the worldwide family of traditional Gaelic music together.
The competition sets itself apart from others in that it rewards musicality and creativity in playing, not just technical proficiency, as can sometimes be the case.
The winner of the competition receives the unique Bonn Óir Seán Ó Riada gold medal, which was originally designed by Cashel goldsmith Pádraig Ó Mathúna. Ó Mathúna took almost 4 months to design the medal, which is engraved on one side with a portrait of Seán Ó Riada and features a design on the other side inspired by Dán Aimhirgín – Song of Amergin – uttered by the Milesian druid Amergin as he first set foot on Irish soil. This side of the medal is done in the La Tene style to indicate rhythms of music, using repoussé technique. The medal consists of 2 silver plates back to back, and following the competition the winner’s name is engraved on the medal and the year, and it is then coated in gold. Pádraig’s daughter Niamh Utsch has now taken over this work after her father’s death in 2019, RIP.
More information and how it works at: Faoin Comórtas / About the Competition – Cuireadh chun Ceoil
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