My Father’s Kind is a collaboration between some of Ireland’s finest contemporary traditional musicians and one of the country’s most beloved literary figures, Dermot Bolger.

Based on a suite of poems by Bolger which depicts many 20th century traditional Irish musicians including Séamus Ennis, Mary Ann Carolan and Johnny Doherty, My Father’s Kind weaves a tapestry of music and words in celebration of a bygone generation of Irish artists, exploring not just their iconic music but the real lives and humanity behind the loved and celebrated figures.

“He survives on tins of steak and kidney pie,
On meals that he cooks at odd hours,
When he tells yarns and truly comes alive.
There is rent to pay, a meter to be fed,
Afternoon visits to the local launderette
Nights of wind rattling the rotting windows,
When he spreads his coat over his bed.
This is the price of making music,
Of living the life for which he was born…”

– excerpt from ’Séamus Ennis in Drumcondra’ by Dermot Bolger

Musicians include; fiddler and composer Danny Diamond whose collaborations range from Irish-Nordic trio Slow Moving Clouds to the poet Tom French; traditional singer and composer Macdara Yeates, whose credits include critically acclaimed folk ensemble Skipper’s Alley and theatre companies Mouth on Fire and THEATREClub; and Síle Friel, renowned piper, flautist and vocalist with The Friel Sisters who shares Donegal and Scottish heritage.

Dermot Bolger is a poet, novelist and playwright. His fourteen novels include The Family on Paradise Pier, The Journey Home, and a book for young adults, New Town Soul, which has been a comparative choice on the Leaving Certificate. His plays include The Lament for Arthur Cleary, which received the Samuel Beckett Award and From These Green Heights which won the Irish Times ESB Award for Best New Irish Play of 2004.

This collaboration marks the 100th birthday year of uilleann piper, collector and broadcaster Séamus Ennis (1919-1982).