This being the eightieth anniversary of the birth of Seán Ó Riada and the fortieth anniversary of his untimely death, RTÉ Radio 1 will broadcast, from this Sunday, 20 November, a special fifteen-part series commemorating the life of Ó Riada through one particular piece of his broadcasting work.

In 1963 Seán Ó Riada prepared, scripted and presented Our Musical Heritage for RTÉ Radio, a fourteen-part series of half-hour lectures on traditional Irish music and song. It was the first detailed examination of traditional music presented in this way, using specifically-recorded musical examples from around the country.

In particular, he suggested the existence of regional styles of music-making around the country — Donegal fiddle playing, Conamara sean-nós singing, and so on — a perspective which has coloured much research and commentary on traditional Irish music ever since.

The series has remained in the RTÉ sound archives, but will now be broadcast in its entirety. In addition, The Rolling Wave: Our Musical Heritage will feature commentary and analysis from some living traditional musicians, singers and academics, including contributions from family and people who knew and played music with Ó Riada.

It is produced by RTÉ Radio 1’s Peter Browne, and will go out on Sundays at 10pm.

www.rte.ie/radio1/therollingwave