holding ur hand gently as i say this. kneecap isnt the only focain irish language band out there <3. expand ur horizons a chairde there is so much good music as gaeilge around rn
some recommendations:
Súil Amháin is a poet and rapper from Listowel (hon the kingdom!) and I fucking love his music for how it effortlessly positions gaelainn not as a relic of a slowly suffocating culture, but as a language belonging totally to the modern world and to modern Ireland in particular, and at the same time staying true to aspects of traditional Gaelic songs, such as a propensity towards place names lol. the áit dhúchais is as important in Súil Amháin's 'Lá Breá', as it is in any sean-nós song and the leanúnachas between tradition and a bold plunge to the future is inspiring
Róis is an artist from Fermanagh whos album Mo Léan is a beautiful exploration of the tradition of death songs and keening in ireland. its like a mix of sean-nós and electronic music and a bunch else mixed in. personlly i prefer her 2023 album Uisce agus Bean but Mo Léan is the better album without a doubt lol. the attempt to reconcile death in the modern world with irish grieving traditions that span centuries is very affecting and also the songs themselves are absolute tunes 🎶
adding a few other faves!
Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin is my all-time fave young sean nós singer and a housing/Palestine solidarity organiser in Dublin whose music is closely tied to his politics, his album Solas An Lae with Ultan O’Brien is stunning and all as Gaeilge. his voice gives me chills every time.
similar vibes to Huartan, mix of heavy electronica + hard rock + trad influence. they’ve been around about a decade and recently moved more into Irish language tracks.
Zambian-Irish rapper from Limerick, self described ‘too seán nós too griot’, smooth playful sharp R&B vibes. she raps mostly in English but uses Irish throughout in a way that feels v how a lot of younger ppl use the language.
kinda goofy, kinda bops – white boy from Clare doing what he calls ‘Reggaeltón’, dancehall/Afrobeats influenced hip hop mostly as Gaeilge.
While not all his music is as Gaeilge, Padraig Jack is from the Aran Islands so he does have quite a few that are. I saw him live when he opened for The Saw Doctors a few years ago and he was amazing.
























