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Ceol na Mara are a group of young musicians between the ages of 12 and 20 years, who are dedicated to the performance and promotion of Irish Music and Dance in all forms. They play pure traditional music, reels, jigs etc. and also specialise in singing arrangements of songs by modern Irish composers such as T. C. Kelly, Seamus De Barra and Stanford. They sing Irish Sean-nós songs but also songs and madrigals by classical composers such as Mozart and Grieg.

Ceol na Mara experiment with new ways of performing and presenting Irish Music. They integrate original modal harmonies and vocal backings into their music in such pieces as “The Butterfly”. They are however very careful to preserve all the characteristics and intricacies, which have made Irish Music a globally appreciated and enjoyed genre, And of course, Ceol na Mara have an abundance of pure traditional music in their repertoire. Too much to even begin to name.

The Director of Ceol na Mara, Jim Horgan, has been teaching music in schools for many years now. Indeed some of the senior group are original members of Ceol na Mara and have themselves been studying music for up to 16 years. We are adapting the “Kodaly Method” to Irish Music for use in Irish schools and have published a textbook and tape on Music for Infants in Primary Schools.

Ceol na Mara have made several very successful broadcasts on the National Irish Language Radio Station, Radio na Ghaeltachta and on Lyric FM. They are also involved in an education seminar run every year by the National University of Ireland, Galway, for teachers from the USA. In this role they give a very informative and fun lecture on the origins of Irish Music and how music is being taught in Ireland. Of course these lectures always involve lots of music and dance. Even the primary school infants put their talents on display for this event.

In the Summer of 1998 Ceol na Mara travelled to the region of Reggio Emilia in Italy to play in the “Re Appennino Celtic Folk Festival”. They stayed in Castelnovo ne’ Monti for almost four weeks and played over 20 concerts in the surrounding towns.

Then in the Summer of 2000 they performed in the 6^th European Youth Music Festival in Trondheim, Norway. They also partook in the Pre-festival in the days prior to the EYMF. Over the nine days they spent in Trondheim, they played 13 concerts. Two members of Ceol na Mara also had the privilege of introducing Ireland to the Festival, through Irish, at the Opening Ceremony in the Ski Stadium at Gransen.

And of course, Ceol na Mara have also toured extensively in Ireland, playing in Cork, Dublin and certainly in our own native Galway to name but a few.

Ceol na Mara are:

Ceol na Mara after a  concert in Skaun, Norway with some Members of the Skaun Music School