Micheál Ó Confhaola Wins Corn Uí Riada

Micheál Ó Confhaola

Micheál Ó Confhaola Wins Corn Uí Riada

This year’s Corn Uí Riada, the main sean nós singing competition in Ireland, was won by Mícheál Ó Confhaola of Casla, County Galway. Ó Conghaile’s winning performance of the song ‘Peigín Audley’ took place at the Oireachtas na Gaeilge, the annual festival of Irish language and culture, which was held in Killarney last week.

The whole competition can be listened to online here, but we’ve posted an edit of Ó Confhaola’s performance below.

Previous winners of the Corn Uí Riada, which is named after the composer and founder of Cór Chúil Aodha, Seán Ó Riada, include Lills Ó Laoire, Ciarán Ó Con Cheanainn (the youngest ever winner, who died suddenly in the same year) and last year’s winner, Pól Ó Ceannabháin.

An album of prizewinning performances from the competition’s inception in 1972 to 2007 was released in 2009 by Cló Iar-Chonnachta and RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta. Writing in The Journal of Music at the time, Pádraig Ó Cearbhaill wrote that nearly all of the competition’s winners had been from Conamara, thought the proportion of male to female singers was roughly equal.

Ó Confhaola took away a gold medal and a prize of €1,250. The second prize of €500 was won by Caitríona Ní Cheannabháin of nearby Carna, and the third prize of €300 was won by Máire Ní Choilm from Dunleer, County Louth.

Published on 7 November 2013

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