Altan at The Franklin Theatre

“THE HOTTEST BAND IN THE CELTIC REALM” – The Boston Globe
“A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN WITH THE BEST TRADITIONAL IRISH BAND” – Dolly Parton on her collaboration with Altan on two of her albums Heartsongs (1994) and Little
Sparrow (2001)

The spirit and sound of Altan comes from the deep and rich musical tradition of their native Co. Donegal, in the North-West of Ireland.

The band was founded in the mid 80s, by Maire´ad Ní Mhaonaigh and Frankie Kennedy a fiddler and flute player. They soon recruited bouzouki player Ciaran Curran from Fermanagh, whose intricate counterpoint is at the centre of the Altan sound, and guitarist Mark Kelly from Dublin, whose mastery of a wide palette of guitar styles and harmonic vocabulary add a breadth and depth of colour. As a band, Altan played their first concert on June 1st 1985, in St. John’s Church in Listowel, Co. Kerry at the famous Listowel Writers Week.

Their first album, simply titled Altan was released in 1987 and quickly followed by Horse with A Heart, which saw the inclusion of Paul O’Saughnessy on fiddle. Paul had joined the band on its first US tours, lending his stunning virtuosity and in-depth knowledge of the Donegal style. He performed on the subsequent three albums. In 1992, the album Harvest Storm brought with it Da´ithi´ Sproule on guitar, himself one of the pioneers of guitar in Irish traditional and folk music, having played with the wonderful Skara Brae with the O’Domhnaill family and Buncrana native Ciaran Tourish who excelled in fiery counterpoint fiddle.

One of the band’s finest hours came with the release of Island Angel in 1993, which was recognized by Billboard World Music Charts as the second biggest selling world music album globally
in 1994 and in the same year, Altan performed for Bill Clinton at the White House. The band would play for US Presidents over the course of their career as well as accompanying Irish Presidents on
their state visits. Shortly after the release of this album, the legendary accordionist Dermot Byrne joined the band.

Sadly, on September 19th,1994, the band and wider world of music was dealt a devastating blow with the death of founding member Frankie Kennedy. His vision, artistry and sense of fun is still at
the heart of Altan and his legacy is carried and celebrated in every note. A record deal with Virgin Records followed in 1996, which catapulted the band on an extensive touring schedule over the subsequent decade. This period saw them working with many of the great American performers such as Dolly Parton, recording on her album Heartsongs (1994) and its follow up, Little Sparrow 2001; she returned the favour on the band’s record The Blue Idol in 2002 by duetting with Mairéad on the song The Pretty Young Girl.

The band have travelled with President Mary MacAleese and President Michael D. Higgins on state visits abroad to Japan, North Korea and Italy. President Higgins invited them to join him in his residence, A´ras an Uachtara´in in 2018 to celebrate their 30 years as a band. The Donegal County Council held a civic reception in their offices to mark the occasion in May 2018.

In 2006 the Irish Government also honoured Altan by putting them on an official postal stamp to celebrate their contribution to the Irish culture one of the highest honours to be bestowed on an
Irish citizen. Martin Tourish a past TG4 Young Musician of the Year, took the accordion seat in late 2013 and the band recorded their album The Widening Gyre in Nashville with many of the great Bluegrass and American performers, such as Mary Chapin Carpenter, Jerry Douglas and Alison Brown. This album explored the connections between Irish and Bluegrass music, a particularly special moment of which was performing at The Grand Ole Opry with Ricky Skaggs in 2016. In 2017, the band released their first book, Altan: The Tunes, based on a collection of 222 melodies that they collected recorded over their 30 year history. Martin Tourish transcribed the dance music and meticulously interviewed all the band members for additional stories and background information. Containing a detailed commentary on each of the tunes, it is the only collection of Donegal music currently in print.

Maire´ad Ni´ Mhaonaigh was awarded Donegal Person of the Year in 2008 and the coveted TG4-Traditional Musician of the Year Gradaim Ceoil (Music Award) 2017, for her musicianship and singing. The highest accolade which a traditional musician can receive in Ireland. Altan are currently working on a new album which should be launched by 2024. The band will feature the newest member of the band, Clare Friel, fiddler and singer who was awarded ‘Young Traditional Musician of the Year’ by TG4 in 2018.

This Spring the band has a new album called ‘Donegal’ which is on Compass Records, Nashville. The band have toured the world extensively from the USA, UK, Australia , Europe and Asia where
they have a growing audience.