Cé hí a diva seo? The acts redefining the Gaelic Revival.
We are on the precipice of a second Gaelic Revival within our culture. In the late 19th and early 20th century we saw the birth of Conradh na Gaelige (the Gaelic league), the GAA and the formation of a Literary revival that would lead to the establishment of the Abbey Theatre. These organisations had one incentive, to keep the Irish language, our sports, and our folklore alive after colonisation. Now one hundred years later we are on the brink of our second revival, off the back of acts like Kneecap, designers like Róisín Pierce, and films such as Colm Bairéad’s An Cailín Ciúin; the cultural output of our tiny Island is heaving with potential.
And while the Irish government still fails to adequately provide for the language (Budget 2025 saw only 0.16% of resources going to language supports, only rising to 0.17% in Budget 2026), despite the demand, communities and musicians alike have taken matters into their own hands. More and more pop-up Gaeltachts are showing up in almost every town in the country, alongside that, we have also seen many more acts plunging into their national identity as a form of expression.
One such act is keening cailín Róis. Róis made her debut in 2023 with the gorgeous album Uisce Agus Bean following an effort to learn Irish and integrate the language into her own work, it wasn’t until the release of her second album Mo Léan that Róis fully blossomed. The composer / vocalist / multi-instrumentalist found a way to blend the ancient tradition of sean-nós and keening with electronics to create a work of art that represents our forgotten folklore and our future of technology together. Taking influence from artists such as Björk, Róis blends her ancient ethereal voicings of keening with samples of those who have come before her, such as on track Cití, where Róis keens alongside a sample of a 1950s recording of a keening song sung by Cití Ní Ghallchóir from the gaeltacht area of Donegal, Gaoth Dobhair. Róis creates beautiful soundscapes where the ancient meets the modern world in a melding pot of synth and myth.
Much like Róis, Ava Brogan takes much of her inspiration from Irish Folklore, where she uses her music to merge ancient cultural roots with futuristic electronic elements. Emerging in 2024 with a background of Trad punctuating her childhood, Brogan is paving the way to becoming our Hyper-pop pagan princess. On tracks such as Leannán Sidhe (just can’t stay away), Brogan uses her music to explore her connection to nature, folklore, femininity & queerness through the lens of ancient beliefs and stories, creating a new genre within the Irish music scene in general, hyper-folk pagan-pop.
Following the triumphant debut EP SEXY in 2024, SexyTadgh has become a cornerstone of all things Trad and Sexy in the last couple of years. Following the release of single The Slag of Carlow Town in April, SexyTadgh has announced the Slut Trad tour this October - December, reimagining the traditional session into a night of inclusion and queerness like we have yet to see before. In all the seriousness of Irish Trad and the ideals behind it, it is incredibly refreshing to see an act like SexyTadgh, redefining our expectations of what trad should be, and bringing it back to what it is, a big dirty session, where everyone is invited. SexyTadgh does an incredible job of mixing politics and pleasure throughout their music, such as on tracks like My Parade, they highlight the obvious political problems of our country - no homes, no culture, no nightlife, while also embodying a resistance to this way of living. While on tracks such as The Slag of Carlow Town, they evoke a tongue in cheek approach to our language too, casually name dropping Lady Gaga in a Gaeilge anthem about tearing up the town. Artists like SexyTadgh are essential in our latest cultural revival, they break down barriers of traditional uses of our tools to create a new and inclusive community of artists.
While we experience the joys of our cultural revival, level of caution is to be taken in the attitude towards this also, as we see tricolours and Irish culture weaponised in the name of far right extremism, it’s imperative that we do not lose sight of the origins of this culture we want to provide and protect; a culture that was almost exterminated by colonial forces, our music, our stories, take roots in a desperate fight for survival, not exclusion. Artists such as SexyTadgh, Ava Brogan, and Róis are redefining our perception of both the Irish Language and Irish Traditional music by clawing our cultural expression back from the grasps of right wing extremists and class gatekeepers to ensure everyone; women, queer people, and working class people alike can engage with our culture in an authentic and revolutionary way.
Written by: Shar Dullaghan
Edited by: Jules Nat
