Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh said the upcoming events for Ireland’s Culture Night 2023 will be a “great way of breaking down barriers” and making the arts more “accessible”.
She will present an hour-long Culture Night programme, on Friday at Dun Luiche in the heart of the Donegal Gaeltacht, which will include a musical tribute to the late singer Sinead O’Connor by actress Jessie Buckley.
Speaking about Culture Night, which will involve celebrations from across Ireland, the singer told the PA news agency: “Culture Night is essential for the arts, and for the artistic community, but also for the community at large.
“What it does is it opens up all different disciplines, all different art forms to people who may not get to experience them regularly, and it makes it accessible.
“The events are free, and they happen all through the day and there are all age groups. It’s just a really great way of breaking down barriers…
“I think we’re in a really great space in the arts in Ireland at the moment, certainly in the Republic. We’re being very engaged, we’re being supported as artists.
“Since the pandemic I think there’s a reengagement and an understanding of the importance of the arts and our connection to it and how good it is for our mental health and in terms of community and coming together and all the things that we missed so much during the pandemic, so it’s going to be really exciting.
“I think there’s loads of events that I’m looking forward to, but Jessie Buckley is going to be performing a tribute to Sinead O’Connor, which, you know, we all deeply miss her.
“It was a big shock to us as a nation, losing her, she’s such an iconic figure. So that’s going to be extremely special and people are very proud as well of Jessie Buckley, who is mostly known as a wonderful actress, but she’s also an exceptional singer.”
Amhlaoibh also spoke about the importance of incorporating Ukrainian musicians into Irish art programmes, with many welcomed to Ireland after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Friday’s programme of events includes a guest performance from Ukrainian musician Olesya Zdorovetska, who has been based in Ireland for years and will play alongside the RTÉ Concert Orchestra on RTÉ One.
Other musicians, including Irish post-punk band The Murder Capital and R&B singer Aby Coulibaly, will also perform with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra for Culture Night.
The Culture Night programme will see performances from RTÉ Concert Orchestra and guests and also feature a range of events from across the country, including a spoken word and music event at Hook Head in County Wexford and a Fidget Feet aerial performance at Robert Byrne Park in Limerick.
On the importance of highlighting Ukrainian artists in Ireland, Amhlaoibh said: “All over Ireland we have new Ukrainian neighbours who are now a part of our community and I’ve been lucky enough to meet quite a few of them here…
“All these people that come from other parts and who have other stories, and some of them very, very sad and hard stories, it’s almost like, they can only enrich us.
“We for many years were quite an insular little space… We’ve opened up the doors. I’m very proud of how many Ukrainian people we have welcomed into Ireland…
“I hope doing this, we will be shining a light on these new people that live here, and that they are welcome.”
This year’s celebration is presented in association with the Arts Council, supported by Donegal County Council, and will air on Friday at 7pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
