National Folk Orchestra of Ireland: Macalla 1916

Macalla 1916: An echo of the past – A vision of the future

Comhaltas National Folk Orchestra of Ireland will perform in the UK for the first time on 4 March, marking the centenary of the Easter Rising with the premiere of Michael Rooney's 'Macalla 1916' at the Barbican.

Founded by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (Association of Traditional Irish Musicians) in the late 1980’s, the Orchestra comprises over sixty of the finest young traditional and classical musicians and singers from 20 different counties in Ireland, as well as from Great Britain.

The orchestra unites classical and traditional instruments, including the harp, fiddle, accordion, concertina, bodhrán, banjo and Uilleann pipes. Conducted by Rooney, the musicians will play Macalla 1916 entirely from memory, in keeping with the way traditional music is learnt and performed. Their performance will be accompanied by images and video footage from the national archive.

The National Folk Orchestra of Ireland’s performance of Macalla 1916 forms part of the ‘Ireland 2016’ year-long programme of creative, community and commemorative world-wide events, supported by the Embassy of Ireland and Culture Ireland.