John Kelly introduces Neil Martin's Sweeney live from the Kilkenny Arts Festival 2023 - listen above.
Seamus Heaney performed at the very first Kilkenny Arts Festival in 1974, and this year, to mark the 10th anniversary of his death, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra presents Sweeney, a song cycle based on Heaney's Sweeney Astray.
Heaney's poem is a version of Buile Shuibhne, a 7th-century Irish saga about the clash between the natural and man-made world, and the role of race, religion and family, that still speaks to us today.
Conducted by David Brophy, with vocals from Iarla Ó Lionáird and narration by Ciarán Hinds, Sweeney brings Heaney's words to life in a memorable tribute to one of Ireland's greatest poets.
Plus, before we get to hear the work this evening John Kelly chats to composer Neil Martin.
