Shona Blake

Shona is a singer songwriter who performs as part of a duo with her husband Paul McCabe. Her songs are hauntingly poetic and the combination of her stunning vocals and Paul's accompaniment produce moving music.. Born in Ennis in Co Clare, she now lives in Miltown Malbay.

Her debut album "Explore", came out in 2016 and she just finished her second, "A Woman Knows".

“If Shona’s voice were a landscape, it brings to my mind, ageless windswept moorlands, that inexorably embrace the incoming sea.The lyric in Shona’ Blake’s soulful songs, is what sounds and words are to the lyric poet” Eleanor Hooker.

Anne Rynne

My name is Anne Rynne and I am a singer of songs.

I am a member of a ‘singing’ family and I was always very shy when asked to sing, so much so that for most of my life I didn’t really sing. That is until my brother Barry, aka Luka Bloom, said to me about singing, one day.....Remember, sis that you are the messenger, that you need to remove yourself personally from the song”….instantly I could feel a huge shift and I could almost feel my nerves flowing out of me and off with them! I do get a tiny bit nervous still but nothing like before. In a way – I got over myself!

Next time he came to my house he was carrying a guitar. He handed it to me saying…..”I’m not giving you this, I’m loaning it to you for fifty years, on condition that you play it every day”. Oh but this was some challenge and one that I grasped with both hands and it has honestly changed my life.

I launched my first album in 2016 on my 68th birthday.

My second album is Oh Life launched in 2019 and I am currently recording my 3rd album.

Katie Theasby

Katie was born in London in 1976 into a very musical family as her father, Paul Theasby, was the fiddle player with Dingle Spike, a London based Irish band.  Her mother, Gloria Pahad, who was involved with the African National Congress, was a great influence on her singing and taste in music. Katie was singing in the South African Xhosa language from an early age. 

A self-taught singer and flute/whistle player, Katie started her performing career in London where she played with Ron Kavana’s band ‘Alias’ for a couple of years around pubs, clubs and festivals including an appearance at the Glastonbury Festival at the age of 14. 

Kilfenora became Katie’s permanent home in 1995 and she has been playing in sessions and festivals around Co. Clare and further afield since then.  During that time she was lucky to have played with incredible musicians such as Tommy Peoples, Kitty Linnane, Paddy Mulllins, Sean Tyrell, JJ Conway and many others.  

Diversity & Equality have always been values close to Katie’s heart since she was a child. She has been part of the Celebration Of Traveller Music nights both in Dublin and Listowel, which are organised by a group of people from both the Traveller and settled community, to celebrate the diversity of Irish music and the contribution Travellers have made and still make to this day. 

In recent years, Katie has performed with artists such as Finbar Furey, Paddy Keenan, Stocktons Wing, and Kinky Friedman among others.
She released a video of the song “I Remember You Singing This Song, Ma” in 2017, which received great praise. The song was written by Finbar Furey who suggested that she should record it.
She performed at the Doolin Folk Festival the following year, with Mike Hanrahan and Ger O’Donnell accompanying her. 

Claire Watts

Claire Watts is an Irish traditional musician and singer songwriter from Galway currently based in West Clare. She plays flute, fiddle, guitar and piano and has released four studio albums of her songs and music. Currently in her third year of a PhD in Arts Practice at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick, Claire’s research focuses on An Arts Practice Exploration of Space, Place, and Identity in her Songwriting Practice. As part of this research Claire has embarked on an exciting new project called “Bean in A Van” where she is setting herself the challenge of travelling around Ireland in her camper van and writing a song about each county she visits.

Nicki Griffin

Nicki Griffin lives in County Clare, Ireland. Her debut collection of poetry, Unbelonging (Salmon Poetry 2013), was shortlisted for the Irish Shine/Strong Award 2014 for best debut collection. Crossing Places (Salmon Poetry 2017) is her second collection of poetry. She is co-editor of poetry newspaper Skylight 47.

Ruth Marshall

Ruth Marshall is a poet, storyteller and crafter living in East Clare.  Her poetry is published in journals and anthologies in Ireland and the UK. Awarded a mentorship by Munster Literature Centre in 2021, she is currently seeking a publisher for her collection, "Unravelling". 

Her work is informed by her love of nature,  folklore, seasonal traditions and personal transformation, and she facilitates creative workshops for all ages and abilities, combining these themes.

Her books include: Celebrating Irish Festivals (Hawthorn Press, 2003 ), Clare Folk Tales (The History Press, 2013), and Limerick Folk Tales (THP, 2016). 

Eavan Brennan

Eavan Brennan is a writer and performer from East Clare. Having studied at École Jacques LeCoq in Paris she became a company member with Footsbarn Travelling Theatre and toured with them throughout Europe with their productions of "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" by William Shakespeare, "L'Homme Qui Rit" by Victor Hugo and "Sorry!" by Pierre Byland as well as various parades and cabaret performances including A Shakespeare Party and Christmas Cracker for Shakespeare's Globe in London. Returning to Clare she founded WayWord Theatre with Siobhan Donnellan and Ruth Smith and authored and performed in their first outing “Get the Boat” which played at the Limerick Fringe ’18 and transferred off Broadway to Soho Playhouse New York. She continues to write and perform while completing her final year of Midwifery studies in University Maternity Hospital Limerick.