Iarla Ó Lionáird is one the many talented young people performing at the three day Slógadh finals in Galway.
Slógadh is a national youth festival covering music, drama, song, comedy, puppets and dancing. Organised by Aer Lingus, Gael Linn and the Bank of Ireland, the 1977 event is one of the most successful of the eight held to date.
Some 35,000 young people took part in preliminary rounds and then five regional competitions. From there 5,000 were selected to take part in the Slógadh finals staged at Leisureland in Salthill, County Galway in March 1977.
The standard of competition is high and the audience enthusiastic. Winner of the Under-13 sean-nós singing is Iarla Ó Lionáird, from the Gaeltacht village Cúil Aodha in the west Cork Gaeltacht.
A pupil of Scoil Naisiunta Baile Mhúirne, Iarla Ó Lionáird won the sean-nós singing (7-12) competition in Slógadh 1976. He first sang publicly at the age of five and was seven years old when he made his first radio broadcast.
Following Iarla Ó Lionáird's performance, a traditional band in competition plays the popular reel 'The Gravel Walk’.
‘Slógadh 77’ was broadcast on 12 September 1977.
