Traditional Irish folk musician, sean-nós singer, broadcaster, and podcaster Doireann Ní Ghlacáin has announced her debut solo album, An Tairseach: The Threshold, due for release 15th January 2027. As a preview, she recently shared its first single, the wild traditional song “Madam I’m a Darlin’“, together with a new music video directed by Dónal Glackin.
The video for “Madam I’m a Darlin’” follows an old Dublin woman as she travels around the city. Bríd Neachtain is the lead character. The video also features cameos from John Francis Flynn, Hajime Takahashi, Tomás Mulligan (Ispíní na hÉireann) and Jimmy Clarke. It is a commentary on the rapid decline of community space and culture in Dublin city.
The song was recorded live with no edits. It is a raw portrayal of traditional music at its most primitive and pure. Featured on the track with Ní Ghlacáin are Libby McCrohan, Peadar Tom Mercier (Trá Pháidin) and Pádraig Óg Mac Aodgháin (Ispíní na hÉireann). The track was recorded by Ben Rawlins.
After the sold-out all-Ireland run of her acclaimed debut solo show, Studies on The Cailleach in 2025, Ní Ghlacáin returns with a body of work rooted in folklore. The album presents traditional music and the idea of the liminal, the threshold between this world and the other.
Doireann comes from the renowned Donegal fiddle dynasty, the Glackins. She learnd the fiddle at home from her father, Kevin Glackin, who in turn learned from his father, Tom Glackin. The tradition has been passed down aurally through generations. In Donegal folklore, fiddle players could become lost in the lios (fairy fort), enthralled by the music of the fairies. In the lios, a day can be 100 years, and 100 years can be a day. At the heart of An Tairseach is the idea that music can act as a key into an saol eile, the other world, where time is suspended.
An Tairseach also features songs from the sean-nós tradition. Doireann is a native Irish speaker who developed her love of sean-nós singing through her mother’s family, the Ríadas of the Cúil Aodha Gaeltacht. This eventually led her to pursue a PhD to research sean-nós singing at NUI Galway.
The album has a strong female influence. It features songs Doireann learned from her aunts.
The album will be followed by a tour of Ireland and the UK in 2027.
2027 ‘An Tairseach: The Threshold’ Tour Dates:
12 Feb – Galway, Róisín Dubh
14 Feb – Cork, Cyprus Avenue
19 Feb – Limerick, Dolans
12 March – Belfast, Ulster Sport Club
13 March – Dublin, Academy
(headline image: Doireann Ní Ghlacáin – Photo by Brid O Donovan)
Author: World Music Central News Room
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