Aisling hopes to add Ó Riada medal to her golden haul

AISLING Lyons, a young harpist from Newmarket-on-Fergus will be among those taking to the stage to compete for the Seán Ó Riada gold medal in a concert to be broadcast live on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta this Friday.

 

Aisling will be one of seven harpists in the final, together with eight pipers, who will be performing at the concert final in the Rochestown Park Hotel in Cork.

Aisling is 16 years old and attends St Patrick’s Comprehensive School in Shannon. She plays the harp, concertina and drums with the Tulla Junior Céilí Band and is the current 15 to 18-year All-Ireland harp champion.

This will be the third year musicians will compete for the prestigious Seán Ó Riada gold medal, which is run on RnaG trad programme Cuireadh chun Ceoil.

Presenter Peadar Ó Riada took the idea for the competition from his father, the great Seán Ó Riada, who ran a similar competition on his own radio programme in the 1960s.

The competition aims to bring together the worldwide family of listeners to the radio programme, using modern technology that allows people to easily record and transmit music at little cost.

A spokesperson for the competition said, “It sets itself apart from other competitions in that it rewards musicality and creativity in playing, not just technical proficiency, as can sometimes be the case.

The judges on the night are all respected musicians in their own right – Dublin piper Mick O’Brien, Scottish piper Alan McDonald, and Mayo harpist Laoise Kelly. They will have the unenviable task of picking one musician from each category – a piper and a harpist – each of whom will receive the Seán Ó Riada gold medal, and a cash prize of €1,250”.

Cashel goldsmith Pádraig Ó Mathúna has designed and created the Seán Ó Riada medal, which features a portrait of Seán Ó Riada on one side and an engraving inspired by the Song of Amergin on the other. When the winners have been chosen, Pádraig will then engrave their name on the medal, which will then be coated in gold.

The concert will be broadcast live from 7pm to 9pm this Friday on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta.