AS a musician who is from the same part of Co Derry as Cara Dillon, harpist Lauren O’Neill is delighted to be a part of the Derry International Irish Music Festival (DIIMF), which kicks off this weekend.
Having already supported the likes of Eddi Reader, the Alan Kelly Gang and Seamus Begley on stage, this All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil finalist can’t wait to be a part of the festival – which will see more than 250 musicians taking part in 60 events over eight days and whose patron is Dungiven singer Dillon.
There will be artists from America (including Rhiannon Giddens, seen last month on Jools Holland’s New Year’s Eve Hootenanny, and Milk Carton Kids), Scotland (Karen Matheson of Capercaillie) and Canada (Cape Breton step-dancers Troy and Sabra MacGillivray), but a host of Irish acts include O’Neill – who was brought up in Glenullin in Co Derry and is currently studying Irish and Music at the University of Ulster’s Magee campus in Derry city.
As well as hosting a harp workshop at the Culturlann on February 6 as part of DIIMF, the 21-year-old will also take part in live sessions and act as the support act at concerts – including the closing event 100 Fiddles (at the Glassworks venue).
“I’m the chairwoman of the Irish Traditional Music Society in university, so we have close links to the Culturlann venue and we’d have done support slots at concerts there, so it’s great to be involved in the festival.
“Last year I got to support the Alan Kelly Gang and Eddi Reader. And I’ve supported Seamus Begley and the Scottish harpist Catriona McKay, so it’s been a privilege to be able to do all of that.”
O’Neill has been playing the harp since she was 10 and was involved in Derry’s City of Culture events and the All Ireland Fleadh Cheoil in 2013.
“I did radio sessions and a lot of gigs and took part in the competitions as well. It really was a year to remember – it was unbelievable," she says.
“The Fleadh had never been held up in the north before that and it was such a success and I’ve never seen Derry as busy. People still talk about it; if I’m bringing the harp into a taxi the driver will say to me, 'Were you in the Fleadh? That was such a great year.’”
She says she’s looking forward to the Flook and Transatlantic Sessions concerts, the latter of which features Cara Dillon – who is from the same part of Co Derry as O’Neill and who the harpist counts as a real inspiration.
“Because Cara is local and to see her being so globally recognised, it’s just something else. It’s fantastic that she’s the patron of the festival. Last year when she was playing the Millennium Forum she came over to a session we were playing, so I’ll hopefully get to meet her again and have a good chat with her this time.”
O’Neill has always loved playing the harp.
“I didn’t have a real family background of traditional music. My grandparents would have played but my mother and father didn’t. So I just started doing harp lessons when I was 10 and I really took to it and loved it. I never wanted to miss a lesson and I wanted to practise all the time – even before school.”
And she has always found Derry to be an incredibly musical city.
“Whether it’s jazz or pop or rock or traditional – you’re bound to find music somewhere in Derry on any night of the week. It just has a great buzz about it.”
:: The Derry International Irish Music Festival, January 31 to February 7 (www.diimf.com)
FIVE OF THE BEST AT DERRY MUSIC FEST
:: Transatlantic Sessions – Millennium Forum, February 5: The festival’s headline event brings together international folk, trad and Americana acts, fresh from their appearance at Celtic Connections in Glasgow. Acts include Cara Dillon, Rhiannon Giddens, Jerry Douglas, Karen Matheson and Phil Cunningham
:: Flook – The Glassworks, February 6: The Anglo-Irish trad act return to Derry for the first time since their sold-out performance at Fleadh Cheoil in 2013
:: Sasquatch – Culturlann, Sunday January 31: Experimental musical theatre bringing together the talents of poet Gabriel Rosenstock, musician-composer Eugene Skeef and dancer/choreographer Bridget Madden in a new multi-lingual production featuring live music, spoken voice, dance and film
:: 100 Fiddles at 55° North – The Glassworks, February 7: The final concert of the festival with performances by youth groups from Ireland and Scotland. The 20-minute musical piece will be conducted by Belfast composer Neil Martin, who wrote it in 2012. Musical guests include Nollaig Ní Cathasaigh, Seamus McGuire and Bríd Harper
:: A huge variety of music workshops will take place over the course of the festival, including Bodhran: Advanced (with Eamon Murray), Harp: Improver (with Lauren O’Neill), Whistle: Advanced (with Brian Finnegan), Scots Gaelic Singing (with Kathleen MacInnes, Irish Traditional Singing (with Mary Dillon) and Traditional Cape Breton & Irish Step Dancing (with Troy and Sabra MacGillivray and Michael Tubridy)
