Described by Irish Music magazine as music to dwell on, drink deeply from… Emer O’Flaherty is a major new Irish songwriting talent. Over the first two weeks of March 2026, and to celebrate Seachtain na Gaeilge, Emer's début album 'Go dtí seo' will be heard live in venues in Nenagh, Listowel, Baile Bhuirne, Galway and Ennis. Emer is a bilingual singer/songwriter/composer and musician (piano, flute, whistles and concertina) from Ennis, who has been performing for close on twenty years. She has performed solo shows at Edinburgh and Prague Fringe Festivals, and most recently Celtic Connections in Glasgow (January 2026).
She has won numerous awards for both traditional and non-traditional singing at Oireachtas na Gaeilge. With Paddy Mulcahy and Angelo Heart she won both the national and international Pan Celtic contests for newly composed songs with the song 'Taibhse'. It went on to become a part of a national touring theatre production and feature in the RTÉ / BBC series 'Cosán an Cheoil'.
Writing and performing in Gaeilge is very important to Emer, as she feels that the most powerful way to show the beauty and intricacies of a language is through art which makes the listener pause, and absorb the words. 'Go dtí seo' is her first release and features Edel Vaughan (voice, flute, whistle), Therese McInerney (fiddle), Gráinne Cotter (fiddle), Philip Fogarty (accordion), Paddy Mulcahy (bass) and Angelo Heart (drums) and is available from www.emeroflaherty.com and https://emeroflahertymusic.bandcamp.com
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The ten tracks represent her musical exploration up to now, hence the title, from her roots in sean nós ('Cúirt Bhaile Nua' and 'Amhrán na Leabhar') with all other tracks self-penned. Her writing heavily features a love of nature and a sense of place – 'Grian Dhubh' celebrating the magic of murmurations, 'Ag gearradh romham' tells of a bird that has to rise earlier to ensure that his song can be heard before the traffic, and 'Stáisiún Traenach', the story of a person who observes passengers in a train station.
The album also features two slow airs 'Neilí Bheag' and 'Suantraí' a child's lullaby. 'Go dtí seo' and previously unheard repertoire can be heard in Conradh na Gaeilge, Nenagh (March 5th); St. John's Theatre, Listowel (March 6th); An tIonad Cultúrtha, Baile Bhuirne (March 7th); Town Hall Theatre Studio, Gaillimh (March 12th) and in glór, Ennis (March 13th). For further information, please contact Emer O'Flaherty on emeroflahertymusic@gmail.com or +353- 87-2359111.
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