Daoirí Farrell is a product of Dublin’s famous club An Góilin Traditional Singers. Since launching his own solo live career at the 2016 Celtic Connections, Daoirí Farrell has gone from strength to strength.

The 2013 All Ireland Champion Singer has achieved numerous other honours from multiple BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards nominations to ALSR Celtic Music accolades.

He has received endorsements from the likes of Christy Moore (“Daoirí has assumed the mantle of Luke [Kelly]”), Mark Radcliffe (“What a voice”) and Dónal Lunny (“Daoirí is one of the most important traditional singers to emerge in the last decade”).

His music and live performances have earned the acclaim of respected publications including MOJO, The Irish Post, Songlines and more.

Achill Island, Basking Shark Fishermen is a musical response to Achill Island’s basking shark fishing industry, preserving this important part of Achill’s heritage for future generations. 

Following the release of their first album Isle of the Eagle in August 2023, The Achill Sound presents its latest project focused on preserving the oral history and stories of the basking shark industry on Achill Island during the 20th century. This unique and immersive performance sensitively imparts Achill’s shark fishing history, combining recordings, archival footage, and original visuals with traditional and newly composed Irish music and song.

Achill-based musician Graham Sweeney and Glasgow-based producer John Michael Berry, whose family also hails from the island, are the duo behind The Achill Sound. Their aim with this project is to continue their shared objective of keeping Achill's history and culture alive. 

Graham Sweeney said,“My family had a large involvement in the industry, which is why I viewed it with a heavy heart and anger. It is only in recent years that I see both sides of the story; on a quiet island with little industry, forcing many people to leave home for work, you cannot blame them for wanting to survive and support their families. There was not a great understanding of damaging a species towards extinction. All that the local people knew was survival. I wanted to shine a light on the days gone by by recording as many first-hand accounts and stories as possible. While some community members recall 'the glory days of the shark fishing', others mourn the loss of these magnificent, harmless giants of the ocean.”

Proudly supported by the Arts Council of Ireland, the live presentation of the Achill Island, Basking Shark Fishermen project includes audio-visuals by producer John Michael Berry, and traditional and newly composed Irish music by Graham Sweeney (guitar and vocals), Lisa Fukuda (fiddle) and Johnny Butler (uilleann pipes). These musicians are part of The Achill Sound and have a personal connection to keeping history and culture alive. 

The story of Achill Island’s basking shark fishing industry is beautifully explored in this unique piece incorporating traditional and visual art forms, to create an immersive live musical performance capturing an important historical chapter of Achill Island’s and Ireland’s marine heritage.

Black Bank Folk are folk music but in it’s broadest sense. It’s not what you might call Irish traditional music but encompasses that tradition, with the use of uileann pipes, whistle and a voice that is clearly aware of and engaged in that style. However, the sound is so much more, drawing elements of indie rock and at times, Americana.

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