VIDEO: Athlone musicians star in new online performance series
Three talented musicians from Athlone, who relocated to West Cork a number of years ago, are having their work spotlighted in a new online series of filmed performances.
Aoife Doolan, Bean Dolan, and Irene Dunne are appearing in West Cork Music's Resound programme of original music by locally-based artists.
A total of more than a dozen musicians took part in the series, which was filmed in Bantry House over four days in early December.
Aoife Doolan's first Resound performance, 'All The King's Horses' was released last week:
Aoife said she appreciated the chance to record for this series at the end of 2020, an unsettling year for communities all over Ireland.
"For us in the music community, it wasn't just the shutdown of live gigs and loss of livelihood that affected us, we lost our voice and means of connecting with each other," Aoife told the Westmeath Independent.
"The opportunity to take part in Resound was a beautiful turning point because it gave local music a platform again, and it gave me a real sense of hope.
"The music will live on, and soon we'll be back to playing by the firesides together."
In the last few days, Resound released a video of Bean Dolan performing his song 'Peppermint Tea' with Irene Dunne.
They are accompanied by musicians Dolce Ross Keogh and Alan Brooks:
Aoife, Bean, and Irene are based in Bantry, having moved there from Athlone in 2013.
Discussing the motivation behind the Resound series, West Cork Music's Clodagh Whelan said: "I think everyone has felt the void of not being able to connect with people, sit around and share songs and stories.
"Resound attempts in some small way to hold that space, to reassure that this is a temporary situation - that we're still here, behind the mask, beyond the closed door, and that we will be back together soon."
In addition to the videos posted here, the series will feature another performance by Aoife, and one more by Bean and Irene, with these being released in the coming weeks.
New performances will be made available on westcorkmusic.ie/resound, and on social media, every Monday and Friday.