Mary MacNamara Announced as Recipient of MÓRglór Award 2019

Mary MacNamara (Photo: John Kelly)

Mary MacNamara Announced as Recipient of MÓRglór Award 2019

Award will be presented at a concert in Glór in Ennis on 16 November.

Concertina player Mary MacNamara has been announced as the 2019 recipient of  the MÓRglór Award. The award, presented by Glór in Ennis, celebrates outstanding contributions to the musical culture of County Clare. On Saturday 16 November, a concert will take place at the arts centre, held to mark the occasion, featuring performances from McNamara, Seosaimhín Ní Bheaglaoich, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Catherine McEvoy, Mairín Fahy, Patsy Broderick, Peadar Ó Riada and Pat O’Connor. 

Commenting on the award, Glór’s Interim Director Patricia Callaly said:

Glór is thrilled to recognise and celebrate Mary MacNamara’s significant contribution to the development and promotion of traditional music in Clare as well as nationally and internationally. We look forward to a concert which will celebrate Mary’s lifelong commitment to sharing her considerable expertise along with her enduring passion for the music of East Clare.

From Tulla in East Clare, MacNamara was born into a house of musicians and learned to play music from a young age. She won all-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil titles in 1979, both solo and with fiddle-player Martin Hayes. She was subsequently a member of Ireland’s first all-female traditional music band Macalla, and later became a member of Seana Choirce.

McNamara taught at St Joseph’s School for the visually impaired in Drumcondra, and also taught concertina at Na Piobairí Uilleann. Since returning to Clare in 1995, she has taught music widely to a new generation of Clare musicians. She released her first album Traditional Music from East Clare in 1994 and has recorded several albums since, including The Lady’s Cup of Tea, Note for Note and The Blackberry Blossom

The MÓRglór Award is named after Muiris Ó Rocháin, the late director of the Willie Clancy Summer School. Previous recipients include the Corofin Traditional Music Festival (2014), Eoin O’Neill (2015), Frank Custy (2016), Geraldine Cotter (2017), and Chris Droney (2018).

For more information and booking for the concert on 16 November, visit: glor.ie

Published on 10 September 2019

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