Declan O’Rourke

Date: Sunday 27th January

Venue: St. Werburgh’s Church

Time: 8pm
Doors: 7.30pm

The Festival closes with a very special performance from Declan O’Rourke, performing songs from his new album in the unique surroundings of St. Werburgh’s Church.

As a much anticipated side project over the past ten years Declan O’Rourke has researched the history of the Great Irish Famine with his trademark scrupulous eye for the glimmer of universal emotions, the extraordinary humanity at the heart of every wretched story.

Bringing together the passion of his artistry with the patience of a scholar, O’Rourke has composed a series of entirely original songs about the Great Irish Famine, which will make up his fourth studio album, scheduled to be recorded in 2013.

Declan O’Rourke’s famine songs pay homage not only to the centuries-old legacy of Irish balladry, but also to many of his earliest musical influences, doyens of the tradition, Paul Brady, Andy Irvine, Luke Kelly, Planxty, Christy Moore and The Dubliners.

Although there are signs of this musical heritage in his work to date, Declan O’Rourke has established his name with a disparate but more contemporary musical style, such as that of his widely-covered ‘Galileo (Someone Like You.)’

This unique project is a return to his roots and the tradition of serious Irish music, from haunting lamentations to unrelenting protest songs.

On the 27th January, as part of the Temple Bar TradFest, Declan O’Rourke will showcase the complete opus for the very first time accompanied by a body of gifted, hand-picked musicians.

Please be aware that this venue is regrettably not suitable for Wheelchair users.