Young Laois group Fiúntas capped off six months of hard work with a fantastic performance in the finals of Siansa Gael Linn 2017, just losing out on top spot.
In front of a packed National Concert Hall, with a noticeably strong Laois presence, they placed 2nd – just pipped for first place by a very experienced group from Co Clare.
However judging by the reception from the audience Fiúntas were the crowd’s favourite on the night.
The band is comprised of members from Spink Comhaltas and Camross Comhaltas.
Fiúntas had arguably the most innovative performance on the night, opening and closing with a song and the haunting vocals of Molly Donnery on harp supported by the rest of the group. Caoimhe Lowry showed why she is regarded as one of the best young concertina and whistle players in the country, and she will be one of the performers at Consairtín later this month in Ennis.
Brother and sister combination, Naoise and Lily Kettle, are two accomplished fiddle players and their blend of trad and classical kept the harmonies and melodies consistently interesting and exciting. Dara Clooney on uileann pipes and guitar brings his own unique energy and charisma to the group, and the rhythms he drove out on guitar were fantastic.
Conor Thompson on flute, uileann pipes and bodhran showed his versatility on all three instruments, and the breakdown the group performed of their reel reached a crescendo with the pipes stunning the audience.
The group was flanked by brothers Mark and David Vesey, with Mark drawing spontaneous audience reaction to his virtuoso banjo performance in addition to subtle mandolin and powerful button accordion. David on keyboard and flute showed his range of performance, with subtle arrangements where required all the way up to powerful driving accompaniment, and his flute performances showed his mastery of this instrument across all of the performance.
While some of the groups performing rely heavily on their musical mentors to select and arrange their suites of music, Fiúntas have demonstrated their own musical maturity by primarily selecting and arranging their music themselves.
Their musical mentor, Áine McGeeney from top trad group Goitse brings her own experience by challenging them to be imaginative, lending them a constructive and critical viewpoint when required, and bringing her own energy and enthusiasm to consistently help them to achieve the very best of their talents.
The 2017 final of Siansa was of an exceptionally high standard, with one group each from Derry, Sligo, Cork, Limerick, Clare, Dublin, and Laois marking the occasion with two groups – Fiúntas and Lonrach. 2017 was the first visit to the Siansa final by Lonrach, and judging by their performance, they will be a strong candidate for future years if they decide to re-challenge in 2018.
The final was broadcast live on Radio na Gaeltachta, and polished YouTube videos of each of the groups will appear on the Siansa Gael Linn site over the next 3-4 weeks.
Congratulations was extended from the mentors to all of the members in Fiúntas, some of whom needed to get back to reality with Leaving cert exams in music and French immediately this week.
“On the basis of their performance on stage, they won’t have any problems with their music exams!” one of the organisers said.
