RTÉ Folk Awards nominations and debut album for Mayo musician

RTÉ has announced the nominations for the seventh RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards, which will celebrate the very best in Irish folk music from the past year on February 26.

Nominees include Swinford musician Alannah Thornburgh.

Alannah features in the Best Original Folk Track category for 'Chasing the Hare', and she is also a nominee for Best Folk Instrumentalist.

The awards take place in Vicar Street, Dublin, on February 26, and will be live on RTÉ Radio 1 from 8 p.m., hosted by John Creedon. A television highlights programme will be broadcast on RTÉ One on March 1.

This is a landmark year for Alannah as she releases her debut solo album, Shapeshifter, in 2025 - a volume of compositions inspired by fairy folklore and mythology in rural Ireland, specifically her native Co. Mayo.

In April, local audiences can look forward to an evening with Alannah and guests when she appears at the Linenhall Arts Centre in Castlebar. The concert is on Friday, April 4.

Alannah's focus is on traditional Irish harp and her music explores her family heritage, reimagining melodies from the Irish harping and American folk and jazz traditions. This cross-genre interaction and juxtaposition of old melodies with contemporary harmonies and technique is interwoven throughout her music, described as being ‘unforced, fluid and utterly at home in her own sound’ (The Irish Times).

Tickets for the Linenhall concert are available at https://www.thelinenhall.com/.