Céad Míle Fáilte
Hello Celtic community. In this week’s issue we have a new episode of the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast and a Patron exclusive interview with House of Hamill. The other podcasts we feature are Travelling in Ireland & Folk on Foot. We have included a list of new albums released over the past week. The articles this week are about a new Oral history film, a Cornwall seaside town being named UK’s best, & an Isle of Man Charity marking its anniversary with 12 hours of live music. The spotlight this week shines on a music festival, The Celtic Colours International Festival, taking place October 9 – 17, 2026 across Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. We hope you enjoy this issue. Until next time, Sláinte mhaith!
IRISH & CELTIC MUSIC PODCAST #777: HOUSE OF HAMILL INTERVIEW
- Aaron Dolan, Blazin' Fiddles, Trish Wesevich, Pomplas, McFloosey, House of Hamill, Enter the Haggis, Shooglenifty, Billow Wood, Lo & the High Road, Gaelic Mishap, Rebecca Hill and Charlie Stewart
- Raise a glass to our Celtic Legends who pledge $30 or more month: Fuzzy, Dave and Rosie Donnelly, Rick Boyce, Bruce, Daniel Ide, Brian McReynolds, Marti Meyers, Alan Schindler, Margreta Silverstone, Dan mcDade, Jeff Adelsberger, Gerald F Boyle, Miranda Nelson, Round Rock Image Creators, Lynda MacNeil, Kelly Garrod, Mike Schock, Shawn Cali
IRISH & CELTIC MUSIC PODCAST PATRON BONUS: FULL INTERVIEW: HOUSE OF HAMILL
- House of Hamill joins me for an interview on this week's Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. But as a patron, you get the full interview and you get to hear some of the bands and places that inspire the band.
- House of Hamill owes its existence – almost entirely – to a series of cancelled flights.
- Rose Baldino and Brian Buchanan first found themselves onstage together at the 2014 Folk Alliance International conference in Kansas City…
CAST YOUR VOTE IN THE CELTIC TOP 20
- Every year, I publish the Celtic Top 20. This is your pick of the best, most-popular songs of the year. But to make the show great, I need you to vote for your favorite songs in each episode.
- Just list each of the bands performing those favorite songs to quickly and easily cast your vote.
WHAT'S NEW WITH CELTIC MUSIC
& CULTURE ONLINE?
NEW CELTIC ALBUMS
- Celtic Acoustic: Strings Under the Spring Blossoms – by YUNOKIA
- Where Clear Water Flows (2CD) – by Seamus Sands
- À MARÉE HAUTE – by Baragwin
- Whisky Galore (live from Edinbrugh) – by Kenn Gordon & Raven
- Ballads – by Sammy Horner / The Sweet Sorrows / The Electrics
- The Mystic Muses: Live from New Zealand 2026 – by Celia Farran
- Beneath the Hollow Hills – by Sabrina Woods
- Clarity – by Modea
- PEOPLE TREE (Instrumental) – by Modea
- Standing Stones – by Lo & the High Road
- Siren Songs – by SMTX Bagpiper
- Chez Nous – by Malvenn
- Medieval Fantasy Castle Songs for Folk Guitar & Lute, Celtic Violin and Magic Flute – by Andrei Krylov
- Music for Quadrilles – by Keith Smith and Green Ginger
- Copperhead Colors – by Alex Sturbaum
- Dublinesque – by Dublinesque
Attn Bands: Go to 4celts.com to submit your band to the podcast.
TRAVELING IN IRELAND: HOW MUCH OF IRELAND CAN YOU EXPLORE FROM DUBLIN?
- Dublin is one of the most popular bases for an Ireland vacation. But if you’re staying in Dublin, how far should you travel for a day trip without spending most of your day getting there and back?
- I like to use a 90-minute radius. Three hours of round-trip travel still leaves plenty of time for exploring. And if you create a loop with a few stops along the way, you can easily build a five-, six-, or seven-hour day without feeling like most of your Ireland vacation was spent in the car.
- And a 90-minute radius from Dublin covers far more than you might expect.
‘WE KNEW THERE WAS AN URGENCY’: THE IRISH STORIES SAVED BEFORE IT WAS TOO LATE
- AN ORAL history film has preserved the memories of 17 Irish people who left Ireland for Derby in the 1950s and 1960s.
- Their stories were captured in Our Story: A History of the Irish in Derby, an oral history short film project created by University of Derby Associate Professor of Media and Culture Daithí McMahon in collaboration with the Derby Irish Association.
- The film includes the experiences of 17 first-generation Irish emigrants, covering their childhoods in Ireland, why they emigrated, their journeys to Britain and the lives they built after arriving…
To read more, go here!
FOLK ON FOOT: OFFICIAL FOLK ALBUMS CHART SHOW—6TH OCTOBER 2026
- This month’s show features music from Spell Songs, The Mary Wallopers, Elanor Moss, Rusty Shackle, Gilroy Mere, Colin Stetson and Brighde Chaimbeul, Andy Irvine and Blind Yeo. Lucy Shields previews forthcoming album releases and live music and Matthew Bannister reveals the next episode of Folk on Foot.
A CORNISH SEASIDE TOWN HAS JUST BEEN CROWNED THE UK'S BEST – NOT MOUSEHOLE OR NEWQUAY
- Cornwall is officially home to the best seaside town in the country. A new ranking has placed St Ives in the top spot, with the iconic coastal spot beating Mousehole, Newquay, Falmouth and every other seaside idyll to the number one rank.
- But with popularity can come problems. A summer trip to Cornwall can feel like a battle against the crowds. With thousands of tourists packed into its narrow streets, getting around St Ives at the height of the season can feel like standing in one endless queue, though admittedly one where you can pick up a Cornish pasty roughly every five feet…
To read more, go here!
ISLE OF MAN CHARITY MARKS 10TH ANNIVERSARY WITH 12 HOURS OF LIVE MUSIC
- A Manx charity supporting people with autoimmune conditions is marking its 10th anniversary with 12 hours of live music this weekend.
- Without Wings – The Manx Autoimmune Trust will host its anniversary band-a-thon at Quids Inn this Saturday, October 10, from 1pm until 1am
To read more, go here!
CELTIC COLOURS INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL
- The Celtic Colours International Festival is a unique celebration of Cape Breton Island's living traditional culture. For nine days each October you'll discover hundreds of events and activities taking place in communities all over the Island.
- Some of the entertainers you can see are Abigail MacDonald, Adam Young, Allan Dewar, Beòlach, Bethany June, Bette MacDonald & Maynard Morrison, Beverly MacLean, Brian Doyle, Bumblebees, Cailean MacLean, Còig, Crowdis Bridge, Good Crowd, Joanne MacIntyre & Sons, Liz Carroll & Jake Charron, Marrow Bones, Scottish Fish, The Pellerin Brothers, & many, many more.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING WHILE LISTENING?
You can send a comment or a picture of what you're doing. You can also send a photo from one of your trips to a Celtic nation or anywhere around the globe.
Slainte!
Todd Wiley (he/him) & Marc Gunn (he/him), The Celtfather
October 8, 2026
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