There are performances that present repertoire, and there are performances that reveal a conversation. This collaboration belongs firmly to the latter.
Bringing together musicians of extraordinary distinction from Irish and Scottish traditions, this tour offers an encounter with artists deeply rooted in local musical cultures yet open to dialogue, invention and contemporary possibility. Running through the project is a strong thread of storytelling. For Máirtín O’Connor, tunes can function as “picture pieces” — musical narratives shaped by drama, humour and character — a sensibility that resonates naturally with Kathleen MacInnes’s song tradition.
Unlike the long-established musical understanding within the Máirtín O’Connor Trio, O’Connor and MacInnes meet artistically here for the first time. The collaboration embraces openness and discovery — what O’Connor hopes may “produce good fruit.” For O’Connor, music-making is grounded less in display than in shared immersion: “I want to help people get away from the madness in the world and bring joy… it’s about creating an atmosphere where people are immersing themselves in the music.”
This project brings together artists whose voices are remarkably complementary through their experience of globally focused productions such as Celtic Connections, Riverdance and Outlander. O’Connor’s C#/D accordion playing is renowned for its rhythmic drive, virtuosity and compositional flair. While he has helped redefine the expressive possibilities of the instrument, he remains deeply rooted in the tradition that formed him. His influences stretch from Joe Burke and Tony MacMahon to the profound impact of Joe Cooley: “I was floored when I first heard Cooley because of the complete earthiness of his music, the total conviction in his playing. It was otherworldly. What I remember most was the spirit in the room in which he played, it was extraordinary. He created an atmosphere and the whole
room was engrossed in the music. I have always wanted to emulate that.”
Alongside this grounding runs a broader curiosity. O’Connor’s engagement with French musette, including his Perpetual Motion recording and contributions to the Paris Musette series, reveals a musician attentive to wider accordion worlds while remaining unmistakably Irish in idiom. His response to questions of harmonic sophistication is
characteristically modest: “ I have more of an instinctive harmonic understanding I'm not a studied musician in any sense, but I have a very adept ear. I wouldn't think too deeply about it, I'd be afraid it'll be like the old centipede. You know where someone asked a centipede when you walk, which leg do you put forward first? And it never walked again.“
Cathal Hayden brings the power and nuance of the Ulster fiddle tradition, combining drive, elegance and rhythmic precision with remarkable fluency across fiddle and banjo. In the first part of the tour, Patrick Doocey brings subtle harmonic colour and a finely tuned sense of texture. In the second, Seamie O’Dowd contributes a more textural and improvisatory dimension. Joining them throughout is Kathleen MacInnes, one of the leading voices in Scottish Gaelic song. Celebrated for the warmth of her voice and emotional depth, she carries the richness of Hebridean tradition while moving easily between intimate song settings and larger ensemble worlds.
The repertoire for this tour draws from traditional Irish and Scottish material as well as original compositions by members of the ensemble. As noted MacInnes’s song repertoire is rooted in Gaelic tradition and includes puirt à beul (mouth music), walking songs, laments, boating songs, and hymnody from the Hebrides. O’Dowd alternatively selects
songs from the folk tradition that deal with contemporary themes such as work, migration, memory and belonging. He places particular emphasis on the songs of Thom Moore, whose connections run through the ensemble’s own histories as both family friend to the O’Dowd’s and fellow “Midnight Well” band member to O’Connor.
Original composition is equally central. O’Connor speaks of the accordion as an instrument of enormous expressive possibility: “It has its own unique voice. And you can express a lot of humour and development in music on the button box.” His view of composition resists rigid categories of innovation or orthodoxy: “I compose a lot of stuff that's pretty much down the centre of the fairway in terms of traditional music. If someone says, that tune is like everything I've ever heard; that’s a compliment. And if someone say it's like nothing I've ever heard, and it could be very traditional tune; that’s alright also. It’s not meant to be either, my compositions are about letting the expression flow, not being curtailed.”
That emphasis on expression over prescription extends to questions of regional style. Asked about affinities with Sliabh Luachra, O’Connor responded: “I love playing polkas and slides. They talk about regional styles as identifiers of whether you come from East or North Galway, and so forth. But we'll say a person from Donegal might have a different musical spirit, you know, and maybe moving to Sliabh Luachra might be the best thing they could do for their musical being. While I respect the idea of localities and regional styles your musical spirit should be freer.”
That freedom is heard in his “picture tunes,” instrumental music which tells a story. He explains: “I have a tune called “The Goat Jig”. I added ornamentation, one or two of the notes, to sound like a goat bleating. Parts become very dramatic. There are rhythmical hits added to imagine two goats fighting on a cliff edge to the death. One night, while playing in Inishturk, a local Sean Nós dancer, John Francis Heanue, hopped out on the floor and enacted the whole scene and the whole crowd got behind him.” Such stories reveal that these tunes are not merely to be played, but worlds we are invited into.
The Trio formed over twenty-six years, though through musical encounters that simply “stuck,” and O’Connor attributes its longevity to friendship, trust and shared generosity in music-making. That trust shapes their creative approach. Rather than treating tunes and songs as separate items, they build sets with a sense of shape and flow, often creating larger narrative arcs. As O’Connor puts it “We are not bound to those ideas in performance. There’s a bit of both going on.”
Some arrangements are settled, while others remain open in performance. Spontaneity here grows out of preparation and trust. The same openness shapes the collaboration with MacInnes: songs will continue to develop across the tour itself, with arrangements and instrumental responses emerging in the moment. Listening is central to that process. At its best, this music creates a shared flow, drawing musicians and audience into the same momentum.
There is something especially resonant in presenting this collaboration through a national touring framework. For 40 years Music Network has fostered encounters between artists and audiences across Ireland, particularly beyond metropolitan centres. For an ensemble so attuned to place, this matters. Each venue will bring its own character, and O’Connor speaks of particular affection for places on the route. Clifden, he says, is “always a joy… an epic place to play. The last gig in the courthouse, Tinahely brings back fond memories of fun in the pub afterwards where a local woman showed little empathy to beaten Mayo football supporters! I’ve also had some great times in Waterford recording over the years.” There is no doubt that the tour will revive these great memories and create new connections. The band is also adamant to make Kathleen feel part of the group as they travel between venues. As O’Connor notes “Kathleen said to me, by the way, I don't drive. I can't drive. I said, don't worry, I'll teach you during the tour.” Lets hope this part of collaboration proves successful!