This year's RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards offered a lively showcase for the cream of Ireland's thriving folk scene, with the prizes going to an eclectic array of contemporary folk talent.
Big winners on the night were folk duo sibling Ye Vagabonds, who won the Best Folk Group and Best Folk Album prize (for The Hare's Lament), along with Best Traditional Folk Track for The Foggy Dew.
The Best Original Folk Track prize went to Lisa O'Neill for Rock the Machine, while Iarla Ó Lionáird was named Best Folk Singer and sibling duo Saint Sister were popular winners of Best Emerging Folk Act:
Hosted by John Creedon and Ruth Smith, the ceremony played host to memorable performances from the likes of Dervish, Karan Casey, A Lazarus Soul, Niamh Farrell and Martin Hayes & Cormac Begley, with the night opening in a memorable fashion with a pair of folk legends, Christy Moore and Declan Synott, performing a timely version of the classic North And South of the River. Fiddle player Caoimhín Ó'Raghallaigh performed a specially commissioned reflective piece on the natural sounds we are losing from our Irish soundscape.
Elsewhere, UK folk legend Ralph McTell made a special musical appearance, and Clannad's Moya Brennan received the Lifetime Achievement prize, presented by President Michael D. Higgins, before being joined by friends and family for a rousing musical finale.
Watch the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards halftime show below:
We need your consent to load this Facebook contentWe use Facebook to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards 2019 - The Winners
Best Original Folk Track: Rock the Machine – Lisa O'Neill
Best Emerging Folk Act: Saint Sister
Best Folk Instrumentalist: Zoë Conway
Best Traditional Folk Track: The Foggy Dew – Ye Vagabonds
Best Folk Singer: Iarla Ó Lionáird
Best Folk Group: Ye Vagabonds
Best Folk Album: The Hare’s Lament – Ye Vagabonds
Lifetime Achievement: Moya Brennan
Hall of Fame: Margaret Barry
Watch highlights from the RTÉ Radio 1 Irish Folk Awards ceremony on RTÉ 1 this Saturday night (October 26th) at 11.15pm.
