Admin

Kilkenny Arts Festival

Conductor

David Brophy

Singer

Iarla Ó Lionáird

Voice

Orchestra

RTE Concert Orchestra

Ciarán Hinds

Narrator

Sweeney

Kilkenny

Ireland

St Canice's Cathedral

Sweeney: Sweeney Martin, N.

Public

Simon Samuel

Approved

Seamus Heaney performed at our very first Festival in 1974, and this year, to mark the 10th anniversary of his death, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra presents Sweeney, a song cycle based on his poem Sweeney Astray.

Heaney’s poem is a version of the 7th-century Irish saga, Buile Shuibhne, a poem about the clash between the natural and man-made world, and the role of race, religion and family, that still speaks to us today.

Composed by Neil Martin and conducted by David Brophy, with vocals from Iarla Ó Lionáird and narration by Ciarán Hinds, Sweeney brings Heaney’s words to life in a memorable tribute to one of Ireland’s greatest poets.

Broadcaster John Kelly will interview Neil Martin before the show begins.

English

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Ensemble