The winners of the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards were announced in Vicar Street tonight and live on RTÉ Radio 1 in a memorable celebration of the very best in folk music in Ireland from the past twelve months - listen back to the show in full here.
Big winners on the night included John Francis Flynn, winner of the Best Folk Singer and Best Emerging Artist awards, and Ye Vagabonds, who bagged the Best Folk Group and Traditional Folk Track prizes - the latter for their take on much-loved folk standard I'm a Rover.
The incomparable Christy Moore was a popular winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award, presented on the night by Damien Dempsey, while legendary Armagh singer Sarah Makem was posthumously inducted into the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards Hall of Fame.
"When you watch Christy deep into a song," said poet Paula Meehan in her tribute to Moore, "it is hard to know if he's singing the song or if the song is singing him."
Both Christy Moore and Sarah Makem's great granddaughter Stephanie treated a lively Vicar Street crowd to memorable live performances.
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Watch: John Francis Flynn among winners at RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards (via RTÉ News)
Elsewhere, the Best Best Folk Album award went to Solas an Lae by Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin and Ultan O'Brien, while Caoimhin O'Fearghaill was named Best Folk Instrumentalist and Mick Flannery and Susan O'Neill won the Best Original Folk Track prize for the second year running, for Chain Reaction.
Hosted by John Creedon and Ruth Smith in front of a live audience that included President Michael D. Higgins, the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards showcased memorable live performances from the cream of the Irish folk community, with appearances from KÍLA, John Francis Flynn, Allanah Thornburgh, John Spillane, Mick Flannery and Susan O'Neill, among others.
RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards 2021 - the winners in full
Best Emerging Artist: John Francis Flynn
Best Folk Instrumentalist: Caoimhin O'Fearghaill
Best Original Folk Track: Chain Reaction – Mick Flannery and Susan O’Neill
Best Traditional Folk Track: I’m a Rover – Ye Vagabonds
Best Folk Group: Ye Vagabonds
Best Folk Singer: John Francis Flynn
Best Folk Album: Solas an Lae – Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin and Ultan O’Brien
Hall of Fame: Sarah Makem
Lifetime Achievement Award: Christy Moore
A television highlights programme will also be broadcast on RTÉ One on Saturday 20th November.
