Singing Session: The Windmill (4.30pm FREE) - venue may change

Singing Session: Windmill Hotel (4.30pm FREE tickets can be reserved in advance)

Chan Reid with guests: John Faulkner, Méabh Ní Bheaghlaoich (Cuas) and Niamh Varian-Barry (Cuas)

Chan Reid

Chan was born into a musical family in Dublin, she was taught classical piano and singing from a young age by her grandmother Joan Kelly. Chan started to immerse herself in sean nós singing and Irish fiddle when she was at university in Dublin. She attended the Royal Academy of Irish Music and Royal College of Music. She has sung in choirs all her life, she has been leading singing for choirs, unaccompanied and harmony workshops for almost 20 years. Chan is an active folk and traditional singer, song collector and musician as part of the Irish diaspora in England, where she chairs a Comhaltas branch in the South East and teaches Irish fiddle and singing to adults and children. She has toured extensively as a solo artist and guest performer (including with The London Lasses) and has participated in a number of TG4 Irish language series and music documentaries as a sean nós singer.

Chan is a member of Celtic folk duo Bold Reilly and enjoys a full and varied folk festival tour schedule each year playing songs she has written, as well as songs from her ever expanding Irish repertoire. Chan has recently formed a new close harmony folk duo The Fox In The Reeds with her partner.

Chan was ITMA’s Saothar Composer in December 2024.

Méabh Ní Bheaglaoich

Accordionist and singer Méabh ní Bheaglaoich was born into the renowned Begley family of Baile na bPoc in West Kerry. Their influence has unequivocally shaped her energetic instrumental playing, emotive and sensitive singing style and have supported her transition into a passionate composer and songwriter. Méabh has enjoyed a full time career in traditional Irish music since the age of 21 and has performed extensively at home and across the world in countries such as Japan, Taiwan, America, Canada, Russia and throughout Europe. As a recording artist, Méabh released her debut album Cuisle with Matt Griffin in 2015 and in 2021 released Mise le Meas, her first solo effort, to high critical acclaim. She will be releasing a new album in 2024 with the group CUAS. She has been a tutor and has delivered workshops in accordion and song at various international festivals including the Brittany Winter School in France, the Minnesota Irish Music Weekend, the Timmy McCarthy set dancing festival in Tonder, Denmark, as well as at Féile Séamus Creagh in Newfoundland. Méabh has been a regular fixture on radio and television including appearances on RTÉ’s The Late Late Show, BBC Alba’s Port, TG4’s Fleadh 2020 & 2023 and Slán le 2020, Fáilte 2024, Ceol na nGael and Bláth na hÓige. 

Niamh Varian-Barry

Former lead singer of American supergroup ‘Solas’ and multi-instrumentalist Niamh Varian-Barry is a musician and composer from Cork City with a unique and individual style. She has a reputation as an exceptional communicator of the arts. Her powerful vocals have been praised world-wide and she is a trained viola and fiddle player, holding a Masters in Music Performance from the Royal Irish Academy of Music. She is a founding member and leader of Dave Flynn’s Irish Memory Orchestra and the Kerry Scotia Ensemble. She has performed with and alongside Martin Hayes, Máirtín O’Connor, Rhiannon Giddens, Béla Fleck, Dick Gaughan, Lúnasa, Altan, Natalie Haas, Dirk Powell, Josh Ritter, Katherine Jenkins and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. Niamh has performed at prestigious venues, including New York’s Carnegie Hall. Festival and TV appearances include; The Late Late Show, Celtic Connections, Féile na Bealtaine, West Cork Chamber Music Festival and Other Voices. She is also featured soloist in the groundbreaking dance music project SuperCéilí with Peter Staunton. Drawing from her background and experience spanning numerous genres, she has written, “songs and tunes that effortlessly bridge trad Irish, classical music and contemporary songwriting” - FolkWorld.eu. Her debut solo album, “Wings”, released to critical acclaim in 2018, showcases her wide variety of skills, from intimate vocals to cinematic orchestral arrangements in self-composed songs and tunes. It is a marriage of her heart-felt passion, creative imagination, and technical skill. Niamh now resides in Dingle, Co. Kerry where she is an active member of the vibrant musical community. She is in demand as an orchestrator and arranger to artists such as Walking On Cars and Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh.