Sharon Howley is a cellist and multi-instrumentalist from Kilfenora Co. Clare. She performs with the renowned Kilfenora Céilí Band and has recently started to arrange music for them.
In 2016 Sharon arranged Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal for the band, which was one of the big hits from the Fleadh that year, and broadcast on Fleadh TV. She is the first ever full time cellist in a céilí band.
With two Masters degrees in music, including MA in Irish Traditional Music Performance at the University of Limerick, Howley tutors, writes and arranges music for a number of organisations and projects, and has appeared on many albums for a wide variety of artists.
She was named Young Musician of the Year at the TG4 Gradam Ceoil Awards in 2020 and is currently working as a Primary School Teacher, in Fanore, Co. Clare.
Ahead of her performance with the Kilfenora Céilí Band at the National Concert Hall on Sunday 19th March, we asked Sharon for her choice cultural picks.
FILM
There has been some fantastic new Irish language films recently like An Cailín Ciúin and Arracht, and it makes me so proud to see our native language being celebrated on the big screen and winning awards worldwide. Out of all of them, Róise & Frank is probably my favourite. It’s a feel good comedy type drama about a widow and the arrival of a stray dog into her life. Though, any film with a dog as a main character automatically receives extra stars in my book.
MUSIC
I go through cycles of repeated listening of tracks - I have a playlist where I collect tracks from albums and will happily listen to one over and over before moving on - much to the annoyance of everyone else! I have been listening to Glentrasna by Lúnasa for the past hour; there is something very relaxing about a song on repeat. Mike Vass and Ryan Molloy feature heavily in said playlist also. For a whole album: The Bank of Turf by Tommy Fitzharris and Donal McCague is a masterclass in duet albums. I love The West Wind on Clare FM as well- it's a great show to listen to new music.
BOOK
Audiobooks are my go-to, they're great for company on long car journeys after gigs when you need a break from music - usually a mystery/thriller to keep me awake. I listen every night as well, though a story I have read previously - you don’t want any surprises as you fall asleep!
It's not available as an audiobook, but North Clare’s Fight for Irish Freedom by Colm Hayes has taken up permanent residency on the coffee table in the sitting room - it is a dense read but a fascinating book to dip in and out of - especially with family connections and local history.
THEATRE
I went to see The Cursed Child in London in August - a play based on the next generation of Harry Potter characters. I have always been a big Harry Potter fan - as a child, nothing rivalled the excitement of waiting for each new book to be released, rereading all the books in the series in advance, reading the new book in a day or two and then rereading all the books in order again. Seeing the play live was a step back into that excitement and magic.
TV
Similar to books, I have always been a fan of suspense/mystery series - Criminal Minds has been a firm favourite since I was a teenager and this year I have started watching The Americans on Disney+, which is about two Russian agents posing as an average American couple during the Cold War.
GIG
Sheku Kanneh-Mason is playing at the National Concert Hall in March, and I am very much looking forward to hearing him play live - I remember watching when he won BBC Young Musician in 2016 and was just in awe of his cello playing. He is playing a few days before us (Kilfenora Céilí Band) at the NCH and when I spotted his name next to ours on a promo my year was made!
ART
I think Victor Vasarely and Yaacov Agam, artists in the op art and kinetic art movements, are fascinating. I hope to travel to see their work in real life - there is only so much you can observe in a video or a picture when their art is so experiential.
TECH
Lichess - an online website where you can play chess with people from all over the world who are of similar rank to you. I am by no means a grandmaster, or a master of any sort, but it is an amazing game - the more you play the more you realise how much you have to learn!
Game of the day, month, year or even more? 😱 #chessgame pic.twitter.com/QjDLVVa4y2
— Lichess.org (@lichess) February 26, 2023
THE NEXT BIG THING...
Oisín Marsh. He is part of a family of very talented musicians from Lisdoonvarna Co. Clare - not just a fantastic player himself, but also an instrument maker who is still only in secondary school. He started when he was just twelve years old and has already made many different instruments of incredible quality - guitars, bouzoukis, mandolins, a mandola, bouzouki-guitar and even a hurdy gurdy. I was fortunate enough to receive a bursary though Music Network’s Musical Capital scheme last year for a cello - without a doubt, in a few years musicians will be applying to the same scheme to purchase instruments made by Oisín!
Sharon Howley will be performing as part of the Kilfenora Céilí Band at the National Concert Hall on Sunday 19th March 7.30 pm, when they will be joined by guest singers Fiona Ryan and Don Stiffe, as well as champion dancers for an evening of Irish traditional music - find out more here.
