Éamonn de Barra - Whistle Lessons

Éamonn de Barra was born in Dublin where he now lives, and began to play music at a young age under the instruction of his uncle Seán Ó Tuama. He comes from one of the most musical homes in Dublin, where his family has a long tradition of music par excellence. Éamonn won the Young Traditional Musician of The Year Award in 2000 and is a member of the critically acclaimed traditional band Slide who have received a number of awards for their work. He has toured Europe, North America, Australia and Japan extensively.

Listen to Éamonn

Éamonn joined the Damien Dempsey Band in 2003 and has been creatively involved with the recording of four of his albums, one of which (Shots) went straight in to the Irish charts at number one. Éamonn has worked on Television Productions including Flosc, a show specializing in traditional Irish Music, and Imeall an arts orientated show that has an avant garde feel to it.

Artists Éamonn has recorded with or collaborated include Slide, Damien Dempsey, Moya Brennan, John Reynolds, Brian Eno, Sinead O'Connor, Marcia Howard, Geraldine MacGowan, Hazel O'Connor and many more...

Visit Éamonn's Website

Choose a tune to learn

Compass Ceoil, produced by Éamonn de Barra for RTÉ Lyric FM

Compass Ceoil is a four-part documentary series on the history of Irish music. The program is hosted by Moya Brennan of Clannad. She is joined by a star-studded lineup of guests including Paddy Moloney (Chieftains), John Sheahan (Dubliners), Donal Lunny (Planxty/Bothy Band), Nicholas Carolan (ITMA), and Colin Dunne (Riverdance). Produced by Éamonn de Barra at Digital Audio Productions for RTÉ Lyric FM - Lyric FM Producer Eoin Brady - made with the support of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland's Sound and Vision Broadcasting Funding Scheme. RTÉ Libraries and Archives provided archive material.

Compass Ceoil Episode 1

Director of the Irish Traditional Music Archive, Nicholas Carolan, explains how traditional music in Ireland dates back to the middle Stone-Age and talks about the crucial work done by collectors such as Bunting, O'Neill and Breathnach in preserving the music. Cormac de Barra talks about the history of some of the instruments central to traditional music including our national emblem, the Irish harp.

Compass Ceoil Episode 2

In programme two Fintan Vallely talks about the Folk Revival in the 1960s and how its roots can be traced back to the 19th century. Moya Brennan talks to some of the major figures in the tradition, including Paddy Moloney (Chieftains), John Sheahan (Dubliners) and Donal Lunny (Planxty) and explores how the Catholic Church lobbied the first Fianna Fáil Government to create the Dance Hall Act of 1935 which changed the way Céilí music was to be performed forever.

Compass Ceoil Episode 3

We'll hear about some of the great composers of tunes in the tradition, including how Carolan was heavily influenced by baroque music and why we often hear the same melodies being used for a number of different songs. Professor Micheál Ó Súilleabháin explains how Tommy Potts changed the ground-plan of the tradition and paved the way for a new wave of interpreters.

Compass Ceoil Episode 4

Moya concludes the series with a present day view of Irish traditional music. She explores how the growing global appetite for traditional music has grown over the past 30 years with Barry Stapleton of the Milwaukee Irish Fest. Commercialism in the tradition is discussed by Professor David Cooper of Leeds University and Colin Dunne explains how everything changed after Riverdance in 1994.

MadForTrad & TIM
These tutorials are brought to you by TIM in cooperation with Mad For Trad.

Trad Irish Music Ltd.

Georgian Business Centre,
20 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Ph:+35314427719.
© Trad Irish Music Ltd. 2012.
All Rights Reserved.
Design: OCS Webdesign & Graphics

Trad Irish Music Newsletter

SUBSCRIBE ➲