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from Compositions by Michelle Mulcahy
In November 2025 I was awarded the Ciarán Mac Mathúna commission by Limerick City & County Council to compose a musical work to commemorate the centenary of the birth of the legendary RTÉ music broadcaster and collector Ciarán Mac Mathúna. The work was an original piece of music composed for harp, concertina, uilleann pipes and accordion titled “Mo Chuimhne Thú”, a phrase meaning ‘You Are My Memory’, a reflection on memory, legacy and tradition. The work featured a collection of original compositions ranging from an air, a march, jigs and reels and celebrates his immense contribution to the preservation and promotion of Irish traditional music, language, and culture through his broadcasting and archival work. I called this reel the Bloom Reel as the experience of researching the archival footage and recordings of Ciarán’s life work was such an enriching and enjoyable experience that the very nature of it only allowed for ideas and music to bloom!
