100 years of Women in Irish Traditional Music

Archivist and renowned musician Niamh Ní Charra explores the women who have contributed to Irish traditional music over the last century or so. Her talk will showcase both well-known and lesser-known musicians, while highlighting the gaps in the list and in our knowledge and will examine some of the complex reasons for these gaps.

Niamh Ní Charra is a multiple award winner on both fiddle and concertina, she toured from 1998 to 2006 as a soloist with Riverdance. Her recently released 5th album “Donnelly’s Arm”, recorded under challenging circumstance during the Covid_19 pandemic and several lockdowns, has none-the-less received much critical and public acclaim.

Niamh is also a professional archivist and is currently project manager and project archivist for Conradh na Gaeilge (The Gaelic League) and Mary Robinson (former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner) collections in the National University of Ireland, Galway. She is a founding member and archivist for the volunteer campaign group FairPlé established in 2018, which aims to achieve gender balance in production, performance, promotion and development of Irish traditional and folk music and is also cohost of the archives podcast series Archive Nation.