My Irish Radio Music and Culture News

My Irish Radio
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Step into the sound of Ireland with My Irish Radio Music and Culture News — the official podcast of My Irish Radio, your 24/7 home for the best in Irish and Celtic music. Each episode brings you the latest news from Ireland’s vibrant music scene and cultural community — from new artist releases and upcoming festivals to stories celebrating Irish heritage across the globe. Whether you love traditional reels and jigs, rebel ballads, pub favorites, or Irish rock and pop, you’ll find it all here — along with updates on what’s happening in Irish culture today. 🎧 Listen 24/7 at MyIrishRadio.com for nonstop Irish and Celtic music — new and old, from Ireland and beyond. And here’s your chance to take part: 💚 Host your own show! Choose your playlist, share your passion, and make My Irish Radio — Your Irish Radio. Email myirishradio@gmail.com to get started. Keep the spirit of Ireland alive — in every song, every story, every show.

  1. Jun 23

    How Ireland Builds Global Influence From Local Roots

    Ireland has about five million people, yet its music and culture grab an outsized share of the world’s attention. We follow the trail past the stereotypes and into the real machinery that makes that possible, the grants, the community fundraisers, the venues, the crews, and the everyday choices that protect authenticity while still reaching a global audience. We start at the grassroots with a major music education funding push designed to get instruments and lessons into the hands of kids experiencing poverty and disadvantage. From there, we look at what happens when an independent artist faces a health crisis and the local community turns up with real support, and why that kind of safety net changes the sound of a scene. We also explore the release pipeline and the role of platforms like Ireland Music Week in keeping new work moving. Then we tackle a counterintuitive idea in live music: massive stadium tours can actually stabilize the local ecosystem by keeping staging, lighting, rigging, and sound infrastructure alive year-round. But even with world-class events and global showcases like Eurosonic paying attention, a practical problem can choke the whole system: the cost of getting to gigs. We zoom out into heritage as living infrastructure too, from the Abbey Theatre’s deep cultural memory to the restored Four Courts dome in Dublin, and we end with Irish identity traveling globally through diaspora, film, poetry, and streaming while the Brexit anniversary reminds everyone that borders still shape daily life. If you like smart cultural analysis and Irish music news with real stakes, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find us. What part of your own local culture is held up by invisible infrastructure? Your source for Irish music and culture news! Tune in for the latest in Irish and Celtic music, festivals, and heritage. Listen 24/7 at MyIrishRadio.com — and host your own show! Email myirishradio@gmail.com From trad to rock — Ireland’s soundtrack lives here. Listen worldwide at MyIrishRadio.com Script compiled and read with voices from NotebookLM

    26 min
  2. Craig Rich Explains How A Celtic Festival Took Root In Holland Michigan - Festival Preview

    Jun 19

    Craig Rich Explains How A Celtic Festival Took Root In Holland Michigan - Festival Preview

    https://hollandcelticfestival.org/ A “Dutch” town on Lake Michigan builds a Celtic party big enough to need Highland cows, caber tossers, and a Guinness perfect-pint class, and the story is better than you’d expect. We sit down with Craig Rich, one of the organizers behind the Holland Waterfront Celtic Festival, to hear how a love of Celtic music and a post-Covid garage hang turns into a fast-growing event under the Holland Celtic Society.  Craig walks us through the full weekend: a Friday 21+ Kaylee that runs 4 to 11 with a tight footprint, vendors, food trucks, a full bar, and a stacked band lineup including Ironwood, the Creelers, Albanach, and Mud Men. Then Saturday opens wide for families with Highland games all day, a kids area, sheep herding demonstrations with border collies, a chance to see Highland cows up close, and the kind of live music schedule that keeps the tents buzzing from morning through the noise-ordinance cutoff.  We also dig into the cultural heart of it all: a clan village with dozens of Scottish clans and associations, the kirking of the tartan and parade of clans led by a pipe and drum band, Irish and Highland dance performances, plus a session tent where musicians can bring an instrument and jump in. If you want the practical details, we cover ticket pricing, kids-free rules, accessibility, and where to find schedules and updates online. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves summer festivals, and leave a review with your dream Celtic headliner. Your source for Irish music and culture news! Tune in for the latest in Irish and Celtic music, festivals, and heritage. Listen 24/7 at MyIrishRadio.com — and host your own show! Email myirishradio@gmail.com From trad to rock — Ireland’s soundtrack lives here. Listen worldwide at MyIrishRadio.com Script compiled and read with voices from NotebookLM

    34 min

  3. Jun 16

    From Bloomsday To Blood Drives In Dublin

    Dublin can feel like two cities at once: one reciting Joyce in hushed libraries and another shaking the ground under stadium lights. We follow that contrast all the way through, starting with Bloomsday and the wild brilliance of turning James Joyce’s Ulysses into a public, physical ritual, then jumping to Metallica at Aviva Stadium and a detail that changes what a concert can mean: a blood donation drive that routes megafandom into real local need. From there, we zoom out to the Irish diaspora and the cultural feedback loop across the Atlantic. Chicago’s young traditional singers raise funds to travel to Belfast for the 75th Fleadh Cheoil, while musicians like Dan Possumato pull inspiration from early 20th century Irish American recordings that once flowed back to Ireland. Even a Beastie Boys legend headlining a Wicklow arts festival becomes part of the same conversation: tradition as exchange, not a glass case. Then we get honest about the “invisible scaffolding” holding the whole scene up. Volunteer burnout, public liability insurance spikes, and tighter safety rules can choke grassroots festivals even when crowds are eager, and similar labor strain shows up inside major institutions like RTÉ. The good news is the future is being built on purpose, too: TG4’s new online archive, the pipeline from children’s art to global stages, and fresh releases from artists like Loah and Peter Street. If you care about Irish music, Irish culture, and what actually keeps communities alive, hit play, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find us. Your source for Irish music and culture news! Tune in for the latest in Irish and Celtic music, festivals, and heritage. Listen 24/7 at MyIrishRadio.com — and host your own show! Email myirishradio@gmail.com From trad to rock — Ireland’s soundtrack lives here. Listen worldwide at MyIrishRadio.com Script compiled and read with voices from NotebookLM

    21 min
  4. Iowa Irish Fest At 20

    May 26

    Iowa Irish Fest At 20

    Iowa Irish Fest has been running for 20 years, and the wild part is how it started: a small gathering behind an Irish bar in Waterloo that added a band, moved to a park, and then kept growing until it spilled into downtown streets. I’m joined by Greg Tagtow, one of the people helping guide that growth, and he tells the story with the kind of pride you only get from building something the hard way. Greg also shares a detail a lot of listeners will relate to: he didn’t “inherit” Irish music, he discovered it. A long stretch of computer-based work led to Irish playlists, and that sound turned into a mission. We get into what makes a modern Irish festival work for everyone, from die-hard trad fans to people who only know a chorus or two. Expect specifics on the Iowa Irish Fest setup, including six stages, around 32 entertainment acts, and a mix that stretches from traditional sets to Celtic rock and beyond. We also run through what you can do when you’re not parked at a stage: rugby, a 5K, bike ride, workshops, dance, vendors, whiskey tasting, and a family fun area where kids 15 and under get in free. Greg and Jolene are also launching a new show on My Irish Radio to spotlight festival artists, share interviews, and keep Irish culture going year-round through projects like their winter concert series. If you like discovering bands before the crowd does and you want a festival weekend that feels big but still walkable, this one’s for you. Subscribe so you don’t miss the new show, share this with a friend who needs a summer trip, and leave a review to help more listeners find us. Ready to go to the festival, and who are you most excited to see? Your source for Irish music and culture news! Tune in for the latest in Irish and Celtic music, festivals, and heritage. Listen 24/7 at MyIrishRadio.com — and host your own show! Email myirishradio@gmail.com From trad to rock — Ireland’s soundtrack lives here. Listen worldwide at MyIrishRadio.com Script compiled and read with voices from NotebookLM

    12 min

  5. May 26

    The Hidden Machinery Of Irish Culture

    A government budget code and a beer-stained club floor feel like they belong to different universes, but we argue they’re parts of the same engine. When Irish music blows up globally, it isn’t only talent and luck. It’s a cultural ecosystem designed to keep risk alive at the grassroots, then scale what works into something the world can’t ignore. We start with the idea of venues as creative R and D: why small rooms struggle to book unproven artists, how public support helps keep those stages open, and what that means for the pipeline from basement gigs to major Dublin dates. Then we jump into festival season as Ireland hits a historic May heat wave, unpacking the unglamorous logistics and the surprising psychology of shared discomfort, novelty, and collective memory that can make a live event feel legendary. From there, we go global with Culture Ireland grants and the strategy of catalytic funding, the kind of targeted support that turns an overseas invitation into a real tour. We connect that to soft power, showing how Irish arts and culture act like diplomacy through attraction. Finally, we look backward to the Great Famine, the Galway workhouse commemoration, and the diaspora that helped build an international audience ready to buy tickets, read the books, and stream the songs. If you enjoy Irish music news, Irish culture, arts funding, and the stories behind how a small country becomes a cultural heavyweight, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review. Your source for Irish music and culture news! Tune in for the latest in Irish and Celtic music, festivals, and heritage. Listen 24/7 at MyIrishRadio.com — and host your own show! Email myirishradio@gmail.com From trad to rock — Ireland’s soundtrack lives here. Listen worldwide at MyIrishRadio.com Script compiled and read with voices from NotebookLM

    23 min
  6. Ally the Piper - Rock Bagpipes, Real Life

    May 26

    Ally the Piper - Rock Bagpipes, Real Life

    https://piperally.com/ A teenage bagpiper walks into high school wearing a full kilt uniform, disappears midday into a police car for a D.A.R.E. graduation gig, then goes back to class like nothing happened. Years later, the same musician racks up millions of views during COVID, films mini-movie music videos, and finds herself platformed at midfield for an Indianapolis Colts halftime show. That is the real-world arc behind Piper Alley, and we get into the details that most “viral artist” stories skip. We start with the foundation: a childhood where music feels like a first language, a relentless curiosity for instruments, and a life-altering decision to choose music over sports after injuries that later connect to Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. From there, Scottish heritage becomes more than an aesthetic. It is a door into competitive bagpiping, community, and a craft that rewards discipline the way sports do, without the same physical risk. Then we go behind the scenes of modern Celtic rock and rock bagpipes: how she records bagpipes so they sound clean on social media, why she keeps processing minimal for authenticity, and what her transcription workflow looks like when she turns iconic rock solos into something that fits a bagpiping scale. We also cover the business side, including cover licensing for longer releases, what touring actually feels like when travel is mostly work, and the best ways fans can support an independent touring artist. If you love bagpipe music, Celtic rock, and honest creator talk, hit subscribe, share this with a friend who thinks bagpipes “cannot do that,” and leave a review with the rock song you want to hear on pipes next. https://piperally.com/ https://motorcityirishfest.com/ Your source for Irish music and culture news! Tune in for the latest in Irish and Celtic music, festivals, and heritage. Listen 24/7 at MyIrishRadio.com — and host your own show! Email myirishradio@gmail.com From trad to rock — Ireland’s soundtrack lives here. Listen worldwide at MyIrishRadio.com Script compiled and read with voices from NotebookLM

    49 min

  7. May 19

    How Irish Trad Hits Stadiums While Musicians Get Priced Out

    Irish trad is playing sold-out stadiums in Australia and New Zealand, backed by major tours and real momentum, but a different story is unfolding back in Dublin. We dig into the whiplash of modern Irish music and culture: an all-female folk band like BIIRD sharing the stage with Ed Sheeran, while independent artists warn that the capital’s cost of living is squeezing the life out of the very scene that feeds Ireland’s global reputation. We follow the money and the incentives, from Culture Ireland’s international grants and the idea of soft power to the hard mechanics of a huge festival economy. A weekend like Forbidden Fruit can sell out on the grounds of a major museum and still operate in a financial world that barely touches pub gigs, small venues, or the local songwriter trying to pay rent. That gap matters, because exporting culture is only sustainable if the home base still has space to create it. Then we zoom out even further to see how Ireland’s oldest institutions are adapting too: a historic UK state visit, the Catholic Church committing to renewable energy and dedicating 30% of church grounds to biodiversity, and a cross-Atlantic conversation between Irish trad and American bluegrass. We end by coming back to the “factory floor” of culture: the books, songs, and stories made away from the spotlight that keep the whole pipeline alive. Subscribe for weekly Irish music and culture news, share this with a friend who loves Ireland, and leave a review with your answer to the big question: how do you protect grassroots creativity while the global spotlight gets brighter? Your source for Irish music and culture news! Tune in for the latest in Irish and Celtic music, festivals, and heritage. Listen 24/7 at MyIrishRadio.com — and host your own show! Email myirishradio@gmail.com From trad to rock — Ireland’s soundtrack lives here. Listen worldwide at MyIrishRadio.com Script compiled and read with voices from NotebookLM

    20 min

  8. May 15

    How Irish Artists Are Building Their Own Streaming Future

    Ireland can turn a sitcom rerun into a global statement, and that’s where we start. When the Eurovision spotlight hits, the story isn’t only the contest. It’s what Ireland chooses to broadcast instead, and what that choice reveals about power, identity, and cultural confidence. We connect that headline moment to the on-the-ground reality in Dublin, where the rent crisis and rising cost of living threaten the physical ecosystem that makes a music scene possible. It’s not just about recording songs; it’s the venues, pub sessions, and collisions between artists that only happen when people can afford to stay. From there, we dig into Subvert Alternative, an artist-owned co-op designed to bypass traditional streaming platforms and their “digital landlord” economics, with a focus on sustainability, direct patronage, and owning the relationship with listeners. Then we widen the lens to Irish music releases, gigs, and festivals that span traditional tunes and fearless experimentation, and we ask why the old and the new can coexist without tearing the scene apart. We also map Ireland’s outsized cultural exchange, from bringing global stars into intimate rural settings to exporting artists through deliberate soft power and cultural diplomacy. Finally, we tie it to heritage and diaspora, including renewed interest in the 1926 Irish census and famine commemoration abroad, showing how memory stays active in the present. If you like Irish music news, culture analysis, and real talk about how artists survive, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find us. Your source for Irish music and culture news! Tune in for the latest in Irish and Celtic music, festivals, and heritage. Listen 24/7 at MyIrishRadio.com — and host your own show! Email myirishradio@gmail.com From trad to rock — Ireland’s soundtrack lives here. Listen worldwide at MyIrishRadio.com Script compiled and read with voices from NotebookLM

    20 min
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About

Step into the sound of Ireland with My Irish Radio Music and Culture News — the official podcast of My Irish Radio, your 24/7 home for the best in Irish and Celtic music. Each episode brings you the latest news from Ireland’s vibrant music scene and cultural community — from new artist releases and upcoming festivals to stories celebrating Irish heritage across the globe. Whether you love traditional reels and jigs, rebel ballads, pub favorites, or Irish rock and pop, you’ll find it all here — along with updates on what’s happening in Irish culture today. 🎧 Listen 24/7 at MyIrishRadio.com for nonstop Irish and Celtic music — new and old, from Ireland and beyond. And here’s your chance to take part: 💚 Host your own show! Choose your playlist, share your passion, and make My Irish Radio — Your Irish Radio. Email myirishradio@gmail.com to get started. Keep the spirit of Ireland alive — in every song, every story, every show.

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