Celebrating John Hannon and the Song Heritage of South Armagh
The OTO performed at a special event in Crossmaglen on Thursday 26 May 2022 to celebrate local song collector John Hannon, whose collection has been a source for our recent collaboration with Armagh singer and researcher Colleen Savage, ‘Lost Songs of the Border’.
A number of dignitaries were present including the Chair of the Council and BBC Northern Ireland profiled the event.
The event in Crossmaglen was organised by Dr Gearóid Trimble on behalf of Creggan Historical Society for the official unveiling of a commemorative plaque to Seán Ó hAnnáin by the Ulster Archeological and Heritage Society. The plaque is situated on the building adjoining the shop where Ó hAnnáin lived and worked. The request for this plaque has been some years in the making. Trimble has written extensively about Ó hAnnáin and his contribution to the preservation of the song tradition of the greater Crossmaglen area. The event took place on the evening of Thursday 26th May with some speeches by the Chair of the UAHS, Gearóid Trimble, the Chair of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council on the square in Crossmaglen. This was followed by a musical and song performance by the OTO and some of the local singers involved in the song project. Following this attendees walked to the shop on Newry Street for the official plaque unveiling.
On 23 September 2022, the orchestra performed a special concert for Culture Night in St Nicholas’ Green Church, Dundalk, which included a guest performance by singer Gráinne Clarke. An award-winning singer who appeared on BBC in the 1970s, in 1980 she released the album Songs of Rogues and Honest Men with Outlet Records. Now living in Louth, she is a living repository of songs in the Irish and English language from the Oriel region.