A tribute to the late fiddle player Tommy Peoples (1948–2018) will take place at the National Concert Hall on 28 October.

‘Drawing From The Well: Tommy Peoples’ is presented in association with the Irish Traditional Music Archive (ITMA) and is the fourth in their acclaimed series of concerts that bring material from its collections to life.

Featured in the October concert are a range of artists all connected with, or who drew inspiration from, the great Donegal fiddle player who was a member of the Bothy Band and was also a hugely influential solo performer, teacher and composer. The artists involved will be led by Peoples’ daughter Siobhán Peoples, and include original Bothy Band members Matt Molloy, Dónal Lunny, Paddy Glackin, Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill and Paddy Keenan as well singer and guitarist Paul Brady who recorded The High Part of the Road with Peoples in 1975 and the trio album Molloy, Brady, Peoples in 1977.

The concert will also include spoken word from Cork poet and writer Theo Dorgan and sean-nós dancing from Seosamh Ó Neachtain. 

Among the other guests are Donegal fiddle player Bríd Harper, singer Maighréad Ní Dhomhnaill, emerging Donegal fiddle players Megan Nic Fhionnghaile and Nia Byrne, and uilleann piper Seán Potts who recorded with Peoples on the album Waiting for a Call (2003). 

The concert will also mark the launch of a range of new Peoples material on the ITMA website.

Commenting on the event, ITMA Director and fiddle player Liam O’Connor said:

Tommy Peoples holds a very special place in Irish traditional music. An outstanding fiddle player and composer, his unique style and sensitive artistry inspired generations of musicians. We are honoured in ITMA, in association with our partners in the National Concert Hall, to be able to celebrate Tommy’s legacy on October 28th, not only by assembling wonderful musicians, singers and dancers connected with Tommy but also to launch our new website which will give the public unfettered access to an incredible collection of Tommy’s recordings and associated material.

Tickets from €20 are available from www.nch.ie. For more, visit www.itma.ie