FT: So, how are you?
Maíread: Not too bad at all, getting ready for the rest of the summer festivals and running around the world. To be honest with you, we’re heading to America before we go to Belfast, so. Yeah, yeah. I’m in Donegal at the moment, and playing Kilcar on Monday, and then heading off then on Thursday to Dublin, Ohio, near Columbus, Ohio, which has a very big festival, and we come back, and we then play the Fleadh in Belfast, before heading off again.
FT: The Fleadh gig is a double header with Frankie Gavin and De Dannan
Maíread: Looking forward to that, that should be great fun. Great to be able to share the stage with Frankie Gavin and De Dannan; they’re a fantastic band!
FT: This is the gig most people are queuing to see at the Fleadh; I don’t think you can get a ticket for love or money! How unusual is it for you to share the headline with another band?
Maíread: It’s great because it gives us a chance to listen to one of our favourite bands. And we don’t get a chance to do that a lot. It’ll be great fun, and especially when the Fleadh is in Belfast. Belfast is such a welcoming city, and the audiences are always amazing.
FT: And I know you have a rich history with Belfast and the city has taken you to its heart.
Maíread: To me, it’s my second home. With myself and Frankie starting off there, it’ll be really special.
FT: Will there be a chance to play with De Dannan, for the two bands to play together on stage?
Maíread: We have sent a request, but Frankie was saying he has to get back to Galway as soon as they finish, for the following morning. So they’re on first, and then we’re on, so we’ll see if the rest of the band are around, and we’ll see what happens!
FT: And It’s Kieran Dunlop promoting the gig?
Maíread: Yes, it’s Kieran Dunlop and Music Capital. He’s great!
FT: Kieran’s a lovely guy, one of the nicest people in the music business.
Maíread: He’s great, and he works very hard at his job. I love working with him as he understands the whole scene. We’ve done a lot of work with him over the years.
FT: He’s so good with the artists, but also with the punters coming through the door.
Maíread: Oh, he’s very aware of making it a comfortable and enjoyable night for everyone. He’s very, very aware of the fans.
FT: So, the gig is part of the Fleadh Cheoil, the biggest trad using and cultural event in Ireland. Mairéad, you’re such a fantastic ambassador for traditional music, will you get a chance to attend some of the other events and soak up some of the atmosphere?
Maíread: Well, I’m hoping to. I’m playing with Sífiddlers, which is female fiddlers on the 6th August, and then on the 7th, I’ve been very honoured to be asked to the Seán Maguire archive in the Linenhall Library, so I will be around soaking up the music. It’s a wonderful city, because you can walk everywhere, and I think people who haven’t been to Belfast will have their eyes opened, because they won’t have realised what a great city it is!
FT: There’s a wealth of pubs where trad music continues to flourish in the city, as you know: Kelly’s, Madden’s, The Sunflower, Duke of York, White’s, the John Hewitt, and many more.
Mairéad: Oh, Maddens is amazing, The Sunflower, they are all brilliant. I have to say, any time I go into any of the bars, the welcome is always fantastic! And the music is wonderful. Where would you be without the music? Music to me is sustenance. It’s like food or drink; it’s like my water, it’s a daily thing. If I don’t have music, I find it very difficult to keep going.
FT: You mentioned at the beginning of our chat your hectic schedule, over to the States twice, you’re off to Finland and dates in Japan in the pipeline?
Maíread: Japan in December. They wanted us to go in November, but my only child, my daughter Nia, is having her graduation then, so I asked if they could shift the dates so I could go to it. I wouldn’t miss Nia’s graduation
FT: Well, that speaks volumes about you, Maíread.
Maíread: Oh no, I wouldn’t go to Japan if they wouldn’t shift the dates
FT: Family is very important. I remember an interview you gave, quite a few years ago, and you said that only staying away for two ‘sleeps’, as you put it, from your daughter when touring, or your Life wouldn’t be worth living, which I always thought was so sweet.
Maíread: It was just too hard. Like she used to be on the road with me, because I am a primary school teacher, but when she reached 10, she decided she didn’t want to do that, as she was missing out time with her friends. So those were the hard years when she was a teenager, and I had to go on a long tour, and I was very lucky my mum looked after her, or her other granny, Rose, who has since passed, and had very good friends and cousins who all helped. It takes a village to raise a child, to be honest with you.
FT: Maíread, sadly, a few months back, we lost Moya Brennan. I know you were very close to her as a friend as well as a fellow artist, and I wondered if you’d like to reflect on Moya’s passing?
Maíread: Do you know, the more I reflect on Moya, the more I realise how special she was. What a voice she had and how she didn’t realise the effect she had on the world. That’s really special, and she would be so, so chuffed at how people viewed her and respected her. She is still being championed with a special voice, and a lady—a woman of great grace. I really miss her, because we used to have great fun. A great lady. She was at peace with the world; she was losing her voice, which was really sad, but she kept singing to the last—a Great woman.
FT: I was fortunate enough to interview a few times, and she was a woman of great grace, and again a person who gave an awful lot of time to good charities.
Maíread: Oh loads, and always helping out local causes. But if you can’t do that, if you have a platform, you have to use it the best you can. It’s easy to do. When you have a voice and can bring people in, and to better someone else’s life, sure, why not use it?
FT: I think you are cut very much from the same Donegal cloth! Altan have an amazing fan base all over the world. But if you had a fan new to your music, and you could give them one album, and you could say, listen to this, and you’ll know what Altan is all about, which album would you give?
Maíread: (laughs)I have to say, it’s always the latest album.
FT: I knew you were going to say that; that’s a cop out! ( laughs)
Maíread: (laughs), No, it’s not a cop out, because the band is always developing. In retrospect, with Frankie in the band with the flute, I would go for ‘Island Angel’
FT: Ah lovely! Difficult choice from so many great albums!
Maíread: Because I do think it was coming together, there was a lovely sound, and we do really miss that high area where the flute sits with the fiddles.
FT: And you have Clare in the band now, with another fiddle?
Maíread: Yes, we have Clare Friel, a wonderful musician, and it’s great to have another girl on the road! Even though she’s a tomboy! She watches all the football matches with the lads. Every Celtic match that’s happening, she’s on it! She’s a hoot!
FT: Maíread, it’s been an absolute delight talking to you; hopefully I’ll catch up with you again after the gig!
Maíread: Oh, I hope so. Lovely talking to you again; take care.
Music Capital Presents: Altan & Frankie Gavin & De Dannan at Belfast’s Mandela Hall on the 8th of August. Tickets via ticketsource.com