Céad Míle Fáilte
Hello all your intrepid editor Todd here again. In this issue we have a new episode of our own Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. We also have new episodes of Music at Madden’s & Celt in a Twist. We still have ways for you to help fund the Celtic Christmas Podcast. It’s to last chance to back the Come Adventure with Me Vinyl as well. We have included a list of new Celtic albums. The articles highlighted are about Irish names Americans mispronounce, folktales, and an Irish Trad song being used for a health campaign. The festival spotlight this week shines bright on the Scots Fiddle Festival, taking place November 20 – 22, 2026. The festival takes place at The Pleasance in Central Edinburgh. We hope you enjoy this issue. Until next time, Sláinte mhaith!
IRISH & CELTIC MUSIC PODCAST #782: TAN & SOBER GENTLEMEN INTERVIEW
- Clann An Drumma, Jack Houston, Band O'Brothers, Jocelyn Pettit, The Tan and Sober Gentlemen, Seán Heely, Enda Reilly, The Occasionals, Lane to the Glen
- Thanks to our Patrons of the Podcast.
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
- Lifelines – by Maggie's Wake
- So Far so Good – by Talea
- Cape Breton Dawn – by Steve Dafoe
- Wild and Waiting Things – by Alice Dudley
- Antiqua Nova (Spanish) – by Ana Alcaide
- Textures – by Jerry Rockwell
Attn Bands: Go to 4celts.com to submit your band to the podcast.
HELP FUND THE 2026 CELTIC CHRISTMAS SEASON
- For years, the Celtic Christmas Podcast has been the soundtrack to your holidays, a season of beautiful, independent Celtic Christmas music you won't hear anywhere else. No major label funds music like this; listeners like you do. This year we're raising $2,000 to fund the whole season: the new episodes, the mixing, the artwork, and the hosting that carries it all to your ears. When you give, you're not buying something. You're keeping something alive.
- And we'll thank you with a gift. Donate $25 for a Celtic Christmas wooden ornament, $50 for our “A Celtic Christmas” compilation CD, or $100 for the ornament plus three Celtic compilation CDs. Prefer to give monthly? Become a patron for as little as $1 a month and get every episode early and ad-free. Give a gift, get a gift, and help keep the music playing.
celticchristmasmusic.net/donate
COME ADVENTURE WITH ME: CELTIC SCI-FI SONGS ON VINYL KICKSTARTER
- Well, I finally did it. I launched a Kickstarter for Come Adventure With Me on Vinyl. You have 9 days to make a pledge. I'm not doing a long campaign because I don't want to spend all my time trying to sell something that, quite frankly, I don't think will get funded.
- I'm not trying to be a naysayer. But I guess I'm concerned that not enough of you are interested in owning a vinyl record.
- … yes… (yeah, I planted that you have Cdeeess… LOL)
- But not vinyl. And that's okay.
- I priced the album at just $25 so it's a beautiful piece of artwork if you want to own it. But no worries if you don't.
- I will release the album no matter though. If I do a one-off printer, then I will sell them for $65. So you can save 60% if you're interested…
- In the meantime, I need EIGHTY people willing to own a copy of this album on vinyl if I'm gonna print it.
- Are you one of them?
- Oh! And go read why I'm doing this on the Kickstarter page.
- I wrote that with love. Thank you!
Music at Madden's : Tiarnán Ó Duinnchinn & Éamon Curran – 60 Years of the Armagh Pipers Club
- This week on Music at Madden's, Lynette Fay welcomes Tiarnán Ó Duinnchinn and Éamon Curran to the Snug at Madden's Bar in Belfast for a special conversation celebrating 60 years of the Armagh Pipers Club and 31 years of the William Kennedy Piping Festival.
- From humble beginnings in cold classrooms during the Troubles to becoming an internationally recognised centre for traditional music, the Armagh Pipers Club has shaped generations of musicians. Tiarnán and Éamon reflect on their own journeys from young pupils to becoming central figures in the organisation, sharing memories of their earliest piping lessons, the challenges of learning the uilleann pipes, and the extraordinary community built around a shared love of music.
- The conversation explores the remarkable international connections created through the William Kennedy Piping Festival, bringing together piping traditions from Scotland, Europe and beyond. They discuss the importance of passing music between generations, the friendships and opportunities that have emerged from the club, and why learning traditional music has always been about much more than competitions or mastering an instrument.
- The episode also pays a heartfelt tribute to the late Eithne Vallely, whose dedication, vision and tireless work alongside Brian Vallely helped establish the Armagh Pipers Club as a cornerstone of Irish traditional music. Tiarnán and Éamon reflect on her extraordinary legacy, the countless musicians she inspired, and the lasting impact of a lifetime devoted to music, education and community.
- Recorded in the heart of Belfast, Music at Madden's celebrates the musicians, stories and traditions that keep Irish music alive.
10 IRISH NAMES THAT AMERICANS STILL STRUGGLE TO PRONOUNCE
- IRISH names are used around the world, but their traditional spellings can be a bit of a challenge for the uninitiated.
- For Americans in particular, seeing names like Aoife or Tadhg can lead to some creative pronunciations.
- But the reason for all this is that Irish follows its own spelling and pronunciation rules, which are different from those used in English…
To read more, go here!
Celt In A Twist: November 10, 2026
- Samhain has come and gone but we still have 10 treats to hand out. It's the Celt In A Twist Top 10 for October! Join Patricia Fraser as she counts down our favorite tracks from the month past PLUS surpising debuts from Maggie’s Wake new Lifelines album, North Sea diver turned songsmith Pete Davies, pancakes with berries from Denmark’s Marvara and some metal-tinged folk from the forests of Finland. Check out the new chart at your favorite social media and join us!
“ARE FOLKTALES FACT OR FICTION? WHAT'S IMPORTANT IS THAT THE STORIES ARE TOLD”
- Exploring new folklore from the Tholt-y-Will Plantation
- Back in October Culture Vannin uploaded a story to its website detailing how a man, camping out in Tholt-y-Will Plantation, was troubled throughout the night by loud, almost otherworldly music.
- He'd been dropped off by his partner at the crossroads on the Druidale Road, before heading into the woods to find a quiet spot for the night…
To read more, go here!
CAN AN IRISH TRAD SONG SAVE LIVES? NI MUSICIANS LAUNCH UNUSUAL HEALTH CAMPAIGN FOR HAEMOCHROMATOSIS
- An infectious foot-stomping trad song with an unlikely chorus and a potentially lifesaving message is bringing hemochromatosis, the inherited iron overload condition known as the ‘Celtic Curse’, to the airwaves across Northern Ireland.
- A group of leading Northern Ireland musicians is hoping to get people singing a word that could help save lives: hemochromatosis.
- Conceived and created by Belfast-based Genesis Advertising, the song Hey Ho! Hemochromatosis is performed by The Celtic Curse, a specially assembled group of accomplished traditional musicians fronted by Stephen Butler, who himself lives with the condition…
To read more, go here!
SCOTS FIDDLE FESTIVAL
- The Scots Fiddle Festival has been held every November in the city of Edinburgh since 1996.
- Each year, the Festival brings people together from all over the world – both performers and audience members – for a fantastic weekend of traditional music.
- Some of the performers you can see are Gordon Gunn, The Bow Brothers, Lussa, Meallan, John McCusker, Breanna Wilson, Natalie Haas, The Robert Fish Band, & 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
November 12, 2026
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