In its first round of funding decisions for 2017, Culture Ireland has awarded €392,850 to over 40 artists, groups and music organisations for Irish music performances abroad this year.

Among them are First Music Contact, which will receive €120,000 to showcase Irish bands and artists at eight events worldwide; the Irish Chamber Orchestra, which will receive €50,000 to tour to Germany and Austria in March; Paul Kelly and Camille O’Sullivan’s Ancient Rain, which has been awarded €15,000 for performances in Australia; and the Royal Irish Academy of Music, which will receive funding of €14,000 for performances in New York in May. 

Other recipients include Camerata Ireland and Barry Douglas; The Gloaming; Mundy; Deirdre Brenner, Tara Erraught and Rita Manning; Matt Cranitch and Jackie Daly; Caitlín Nic Gabhann, Ciarán Ó Maonaigh and Cathal Ó Curráin, and more.

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First Music Contact, under the ‘Music from Ireland’ brand, has traditionally showcased Irish talent at five international events. In the last two years, the organisation has increased its showcases to seven and this year it will expand to eight. 

The events include: Eurosonic Noorderslag, which has just taken place in Groningen in the Netherlands; SXSW in Austin, Texas, in March; Canadian Music Week in April; The Great Escape in Brighton, UK, in May; Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg in September; Mondo in New York in October; and Iceland Airwaves and M for Montreal in November.

Music from Ireland has also added two showcases at the London Irish Centre to directly target the UK industry and audiences.

At SXSW this year, Music from Ireland will, for the first time, be able to fund the engineers that work with acts as well as the musicians themselves.

Angela Dorgan, CEO of First Music Contact, commented:

Increased funding will mean the Music from Ireland showcasing at SXSW in 2017 will gather more attention and enhanced opportunities for those in attendance and the wider music community in Ireland. Through showcases and targeted network meetings, Music from Ireland ensures a comprehensive inroad into the US and other markets for the artists attending and those who work with them. 

For more, visit www.firstmusiccontact.com

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For full details of all other music awards, see below.

CULTURE IRELAND AWARDS: ANNOUNCED DECEMBER 2016

Performances by the Irish Chamber Orchestra at Konzerthaus, Vienna, and Heidelberg, Germany, 23–28 March 2017. 
€50,000

Presentation of Ancient Rain, an Australia-Ireland collaboration at the Sydney Opera House, Queensland Cabaret Festival and Adelaide Cabaret Festival, 29–31 May and 1–16 June 2017.
€15,000

RIAM performing at Metropolitan Club of New York and The American Irish Historical Society, New York, March and May 2017.
€14,000

The Young Folk undertaking an Australian Tour, 22 February–21 March 2017 
€12,000

Sharon Shannon Band performing at the Woodford Folk Festival, Queensland, Australia, from 30 December to 1 January and a series of other venues in Australia in January 2017.
€10,000

Camerata Ireland and Barry Douglas touring five cities in China, 8–12 December 2016.
€9,000

Goitse ‘Inspired by Chance’ tour of the south-west of USA and the west coast of Canada on 1–20 March 2017.
€8,000

Irish bands performing at the Contemporary Irish Music Festival, Moscow, Russia, 15–26 March 2017.
€8,000

The Outside Track undertaking an Australian tour including headline performances at Woodford Folk Festival, Cygnet Folk Festival and Illawara Folk Festival from 26 December 2016 to16 January 2017.
€7,500

ALDOC and Mundy touring New Zealand, 23 Feb–15 April 2017.
€7,500

We Banjo 3, US Tour, 18 January–20 March 2017.
€7,000

The Gloaming undertaking a European Tour, 24 February–6 March 2017.
€7,000

Caitlín Nic Gabhann, Ciarán Ó Maonaigh and Cathal Ó Curráin tour of Australia and New Zealand, 4–17 April 2017.
€7,000

Avant Music Group Association of Hong Kong presenting Concorde as part of a focus on contemporary Irish music in Hong Kong, 16–19 April 2017.
€6,500

Performance by the Seamus Begley Trio at the Port Fairy Folk Festival and the Blue Mountains Folk Festival, Australia, 1–19 March 2017.
€6,000

Dervish undertaking a tour of the US, 2–26 March 2017.
€6,000

The Máirtín O’Connor Trio undertaking a US tour, 1–9 April 2017.
€6,000

The Outside Track undertaking a 23-day US tour, 3–26 March 2017.
€6,000

Camerata Ireland, conducted by Barry Douglas, performING in Théâtre de Caen’s 2016–2017 season, March 2017.
€6,000

The Gloaming undertaking US Tour, 16–26 April 2017.
€5,500

Performance by The Niamh Ní Charra Band as part of the official St Patrick’s Day events in India in New Dehli, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Calcutta, 12–19 March 2017.
€5,500

Téada undertaking a US tour, 3–19 March 2017.
€5,000

McPEAKE undertaking a tour of the US, 17–24 March 2017.
€5,000

Aoife Scott Band – ‘Carry the Day’ Tour of Australia, 8–20 March 2017.
€5,000

Performance by The Heathers at the 15th Harare International Festival of the Arts,  Zimbabwe, 25–30 April 2017.
€5,000

Irish bands performing at Les Semaines Irlandaises en Artois-Gohelle, Lens, France, 16–25 March 2017
€5,000

Yurodny Haivka performing at 14th Annual L’viv Festival, Kiev, Ukraine, 29 April 2017.
€4,500

Cian Nugent undertaking European Tour, 25 January–18 February 2017.
€4,500

Magnetic Music GmbH presenting the Irish Heartbeat Tour in Germany, 8–26 March 2017.
€3,500

Breaking Trad performing at North Texas Irish Festival, Dallas, Texas, 3–5 March 2017.
€3,000

Mundy performing at the Port Fairy Folk Festival and the Blue Mountains Folk Festival in Australia, 1–19 March 2017.
€3,000

Performances by Kevin Crawford, Colin Farrell and Patrick Doocey at Ceol Aneas, New Zealand’s Irish Music Festival in Nelson, 2–5 June 2017.
€3,000

Goitse undertaking a tour of Germany, 20 January–19 February 2017.
€3,000

Concerts by Máire Ní Chathasaigh and Chris Newman at the 41st Whare Flat Folk Festival, Dunedin, New Zealand, 1–2 January 2017.
€3,000

Concert performances by Matt Cranitch and Jackie Daly in Montreal, Quebec City and Sherbrook, Canada, 12–18 March 2017.
€2,000

Irish musicians performing Songs from Ireland: Old and New across Switzerland, 26–28 January 2017.
€2,000

Brian Finnegan and Sean Óg Graham participating in ‘The Secret North’, a 12-day residency and tour in Scotland, 12–23 June 2017.
€2,000

Deirdre Brenner, Tara Erraught and Rita Manning performing in New American Colony Concert Series, East Jerusalem, 17–20 March 2017.
€1,850

World premiere of a newly-written piece by Irish composer Ann Cleare performed by Swiss musician Samuel Stoll in the Gard du Nord concert series, Basel, Switzerland, 9 January 2017.
€1,000

Comhaltas na Breataine hosting their annual convention with performances from Irish musicians to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Comhaltas in Britain in the Holiday Inn, Glasgow, 17–18 February 2017.
€1,000

Premiere of Stephen Gardner composition performed by Te Deum Adoramus Choir, Sofia, Bulgaria, 22 April 2017.
€1,000 

For more on the Culture Ireland announcement across all art forms, visit https://goo.gl/p9gm6a