Gabrielle Aplin ♫
British singer-songwriter Gabrielle Aplin initially developed a massive online following with videos of her performances. Her debut album English Rain was released on Parlophone in 2013 and went Gold, peaking at #2 on the UK album chart , while her cover of The Power of Love was a #1 single in December 2012 after sound-tracking the iconic John Lewis Christmas ad. Gabrielle’s latest album ‘Light Up the Dark’ is released on 18th September 2015 – gabrielleaplin.co.uk
Hudson Taylor ♫
Harry & Alfie Hudson-Taylor are brothers who honed their brand of captivating folk-pop songs busking relentlessly on the streets of Dublin and built up a loyal following internationally with online videos of their live performances. Their releases have sold over 60,000 copies to date and they’ve just released their debut album Singing For Strangers on Polydor – hudsontaylormusic.com
Sharon Horgan
Award-winning actress, writer and comedian who has just landed a new sitcom with HBO called Divorce, starring Sarah Jessica Parker. Earlier this year, with American comedian Rob Delaney, she co-wrote and starred in Channel 4’s acclaimed new sitcom Catastrophe. With BAFTA nominations and British Comedy Awards for her previous series Pulling, it looks like 2015 is the year Sharon Horgan takes it to the next level.
Giles Duley
A documentary photographer and photojournalist focusing on the humanitarian effect of war. His work has been exhibited and published worldwide in many respected publications including Vogue, GQ, Esquire, Rolling Stone, Sunday Times, The Observer and New Statesman. In 2010 he was nominated for an Amnesty International Media Award and was a winner at the Prix de Paris in 2010 & 2012. gilesduley.com
Andrea Oliver
Owner of Sugarshack restaurant in Hackney, former member of 80’s post punk band Rip Rig & Panic and presenter of countless shows over the years for BBC and Channel 4 including co presents with Neneh Cherry and Ice-T! jackdawandstar.co.uk
Fr. Peter McVerry
Fr. Peter McVerry is a Jesuit priest who has spent the past 40 years working with vulnerable and homeless people. In 1974 he first moved to Summerhill in north inner city Dublin where he witnessed the problems of homelessness and deprivation. In 1983 he founded what became the Peter McVerry Trust. What began with a 3 bedroom flat in Ballymun has grown to over fourteen homeless hostels, over 100 apartments, a residential drugs detox centre and two drug stablisation services working with over 3500 vulnerable young people each year. In 2014, he was awarded Freedom of the City of Dublin which along with a few ancient privileges, now requires him to protect the city from attack using a sword and a longbow made of yew.
www.pmvtrust.ie/fr-peter-mcverry
Rory O’Neill (AKA Panti)
Panti Bliss is the drag queen alter ego of performance artist Rory O’Neill, regarded by many as the High Queen of Ireland! Panti started 2014 as a pub landlady, performer and gender discombobulist and ended the year as a gay rights campaigner, noble caller, St Patrick’s Day parade floater, best selling author, Irish person of the year and a bona fide National treasure.
Áine Lawlor
Áine is presenter of Irish national broadcaster RTE’s News at One radio programme and The Week in Politics television show. With over 20 years experience as a presenter, previously the first voice you’d hear in the day on Morning Ireland – in 2014 she was inducted into the PPI radio hall of fame. Not surprising, she is one of the most recognisable voices on Irish radio, it takes a very particular type of voice to deliver massively dramatic news first thing in the morning, strike fear into politicians sitting opposite her, and at the same time ease all us listeners awake with a calming fuzzy familiarity. In 2011 Aine took a year off the airwaves after being diagnosed with breast cancer, which she successfully overcame, documented the experience in a 2-part documentary called Facing Cancer, and in doing so became an important voice in the fight against a disease which a staggering 1 in 3 people in Ireland will be diagnosed with.
www.rte.ie/radio1/news-at-one/
Paul Noonan ♫
Music guest Paul Noonan is sickeningly prolific. He has released 6 studio albums and two live albums with his band, Bell X1, toured the world, written and performed on the Cake Sale record for Oxfam, recently released an album of duets under the name Printer Clips. Bell X1 have headlined festivals and areas in Ireland and next to U2 have more airplay than any other Irish band. Paul is also disturbingly coordinated in that he can play drums and sing at the same time.
www.billboard.com/artist/281151/bell-x1/biography
Harry Shearer
As well as voicing about a third of the characters in The Simpsons, Harry Shearer is a comedian with his own syndicated radio show – called Le Show based in New Orleans – he’s written some books, he’s directed and acted in many films – probably most famously playing Derek Smalls in This is Spinal Tap and he’s had multiple Grammy nominations as a musician …and yet he still find time to run a nuclear power station…
Harry features in Soundings #5
Tomm Moore
Tomm Moore is co-Founder and Creative director of Academy Award ® and OSCAR ® nominated studio Cartoon Saloon. Based in Kilkenny their recent productions include The Secret of Kells and The Song of The Sea. Over the company’s history, he has worked as Director, Art Director, Storyboarder, Animator and Illustrator.
Andy Irvine
From Sweeney’s Men in the mid 1960s and the enormously successful Planxty in the 1970s, Andy has been a world music pioneer and an icon for traditional music and musicians. As a soloist, he fills the role of the archetypal troubadour with a show and a travelling lifestyle that reflect his lifelong influence, Woody Guthrie.
Willie Duggan
It’s 40 years since Kilkenny business owner Willie Duggan first ran onto the rugby pitch wearing the green number 8 jersey. Capped 45 times for Ireland and the British & Irish Lions, Willie is Hall of Famer in international rugby. He’s also one of the greatest characters the game has known, described as the Scarlet Pimpernel of Irish rugby because he was so hard to find for training!
Jape ♫
Jape is a musical project from Richard Egan, an Irish Musician living in Malmo, Sweden. As well as song writing, Richie does a lot of remixes and bass playing. Jape released his fifth album This Chemical Sea in 2015 and is the only artist to have won the Choice Music Prize twice.