Edinburgh Tradfest: Cathal McConnell and Allan MacDonald

Join us for a very special show put together especially for Edinburgh Tradfest by two of traditional music’s most renowned musicians and singers: Allan Macdonald and Cathal McConnell.

The concert will celebrate the many and various links between the Scottish and Irish traditions. Over the centuries the close links between the two countries has facilitated multiple crossings of the Irish sea by tunes and songs, each stop on the journey adding to the richness of the track. While some may argue about the origin of well-kent titles, you won’t find Cathal and Allan engaged in such disputes. Their delight is in the beauty of the music and the stories behind each tune.

Cathal McConnell was born in Bellinaleck, County Fermanagh, N. Ireland in 1944, and traces flute playing back through four generations in his family. Encouraged by his father, he was playing tin whistle at age eleven and at age fifteen took up the flute. McConnell’s early mentors were the great roots musicians of his home county – men such as Peter Flanagan, John Joe Maguire, Big John McManus, Tommy Maguire, Tommy Gunn, Eddie Duffy and Mick Hoy. He was exposed to other playing styles by listening to 78s and by traveling the length and breadth of Ireland, collecting rare tunes from old musicians in out-of-the way places.

A true character in every sense of the word, McConnell’s free spirit and mercurial stage presence have helped make The Boys of the Lough one of the most popular and longest-running acts on the folk circuit.
As a musician, McConnell defies easy categorisation. He is equal parts modern virtuoso and old-time roots musician. On the one hand, McConnell is capable of stopping a show with dazzling displays of technical virtuosity. On the other hand, he can render an old ballad or tune with a poignancy reminiscent of the great fireside musicians of the past. Sometimes serious and sometimes zany, McConnell is always full of surprises. Whether deconstructing an old tune or composing a new one, he has a flair for the unusual. Yet his experimental side is balanced by a deep love for and commitment to the tradition.

Allan MacDonald is a mere whippersnapper, born 12 years after Cathal in Glenuig, Moidart. He started learning pipes aged 9 and followed the usual competitive route in Scotland winning all the major awards. However, he decided not to compete all his life and retains a healthy antipathy to the competitive scene.

Allan became increasingly aware of the divorce of his music from its Gaelic language and historical context and wrote an MLitt. Thesis at Edinburgh University. This work places the performance style of Piobaireachd, [Eng. Pibroch] the Gaelic court music, back into its socio-linguistic context. It has met with antipathy and opposition from those in the mainstream of piping.
Of his many commissions for stage and screen, Battle Lines to Bar Lines found him awarded the journalists’ choice Herald Angels Award for best concert series at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2004.

He recorded two CDs of Gaelic song and Piping with Gaelic singer Margaret Stewart as well as a solo Piobaireachd CD called ‘Dastirum’ that highlights his different perception of pibroch performance style as he believes it would have been played pre-19th century. His two tune books – Moidart I and II – are comprised of his own compositions and traditional tunes.
His most recent performances for Piping Live in 2022 and Celtic Connections in 2023 have celebrated his own compositions and his huge contribution to the Scottish piping canon.

NB this show replaces the previously advertised concert featuring Rona Lightfoot who has had to cancel due to injury.

Explore more Tradfest events.

The Traverse Theatre is funded by Creative Scotland and The City of Edinburgh Council, and has received additional support from the Scottish Government's Performing Arts Venues Relief Fund and Creative Scotland’s Recovery Fund for Cultural Organisations.

If you have access requirements, please contact our Sales and Welcome Team on boxoffice@traverse.co.uk or 0131 228 1404 so we can arrange reserved seating for you and discuss how else we can best support your visit.