The line up of performers at the TG4 Gradam Ceoil 2012 (Traditional Music Awards) concert on next Saturday, 24 March in the University of Limerick Concert Hall has been announced.

The TG4 Gradam Ceoil 2012 winners are Brian Rooney (musician of the year), Danny Meehan (lifetime achievement), Paddy O’Brien (composer), Nell Ní Chróinín (singer), Eithne and Brian Vallely (special contribution), and Caoimhín Ó Fearghail (

A new generation of musicians and singers is pulling the English folk scene alongside its Irish and Scottish neighbours, pointing to a new era of collaboration – and perhaps even the healing of old wounds, writes Toner Quinn