Arts Week with Judy Murphy

Music Network, the organisation that promotes national tours of top-class musicians and groups will mark its 40th anniversary in 2026, with Clifden, Castlebar and Ennis featuring large in its plans for the year.

First up is a collaboration featuring four extraordinary Irish artists who have shared their music with audiences over four decades of Music Network’s national touring programme.

Accordion player Dermot Byrne (Altan), fiddler and member of the iconic Bothy Band, Kevin Burke, Galway singer-songwriter Noriana Kennedy (The Whileaways), and guitarist Jim Murray (Sharon Shannon Band) will come together for an exceptional 14-date nationwide tour beginning on February 10.

They are in Clifden’s Station House Theatre on Thursday, February, 26, at 8pm, and will be in Glór, Ennis, on February 11, and the Linenhall Arts Centre, Castlebar, on February 27.

Their Irish tour will be followed by performances in London and Paris.

From March 25 to April 2, Music Network will present another new collaboration with two rising stars of the classical world; accordionist Théo Ould and soprano Alison Langer. Their fascinating programme, entitled Confessions from Dusk till Dawn, will explore the night as a space of poetry, intimacy and mystery, as they perform works from Schubert Poulenc, Dvořák and Kurt Weill.

There will also be a new Music Network commission by Grammy-nominated composer Donnacha Dennehy, whose work regularly features in productions at Galway International Arts Festival.

That will be in Clifden on March 25.

From April 8 to 19, young European chamber group Trio Bohémo, will make their Irish debut with Music Network. The ensemble will perform work from Schubert, Ravel and Beethoven.  A new large-scale work by Irish composer Rhona Clarke, co-commissioned by Music Network and Music Generation to mark Music Network’s 40th anniversary and celebrate the long-standing relationship between these two organisations will premiere during the tour.

It will be followed by The Séamus Egan Project, led by the celebrated multi-instrumentalist, composer and co-founder of Irish-American supergroup Solas. Hailed as a major creative force in traditional music, Séamus will be joined by a quality ensemble of collaborators for his tour, running from May 7-16.

That tour will kick off in Clifden on Thursday, May 7, at 8pm.

From June 19-27, Music Network will present the Shuteen Erdenebaatar Quartet, an ensemble that’s led by award-winning pianist and composer Shuteen. Described by Jazzwise as ‘one of the most exciting young talents in jazz’, she blends classical precision with jazz to create highly distinctive music, full of melodic beauty.

Music Network will continue its anniversary celebrations in September with a new collaboration featuring four of Ireland’s top traditional musicians.

This ensemble is made up of vocalists Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh and Pauline Scanlon –  renowned for their interpretations of traditional and contemporary songs – alongside Dervish fiddle player, Tom Morrow, and guitarist, singer and songwriter John Doyle.

They will perform in Clifden on September 20, as part of the area’s annual Arts Festival.

Grammy-winning pianist and composer Bill Laurance will tour in October. A founding member of five-time Grammy Award-winning group Snarky Puppy, Bill has wowed audiences worldwide with his genre-defying performances and compositions.

Music Network will bring 2026 to a close in November with the Cheng² Duo, siblings Silvie and Bryan Cheng. Cellist Bryan and pianist Silvie, who have a deep musical connection, will perform a programme entitled A Hero’s Welcome. This will include interpretations of sonatas by Brahms and Poulenc, a fairytale by Janáček and a Music Network commission. Full details of these tours have yet to be announced.

In addition to its tours, Music Network will hold one-off events and projects to mark its anniversary, including one with Glór in Ennis.

Tickets, and details to date are available on Music Network’s website, www.musicnetwork.ie.

Pictured: Tom Morrow, Pauline Scanlon, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh and John Doyle who will play Clifden in September.