Going Home - music from the Celtic homelands on 2CBD

30/12/2025

PART 3
In the third hour of Sunday's programme, we kept the great Celtic music going, with tracks from Séamus & Caoimhe, Pedair, The Band From Rockall, Niteworks, Elizabeth Davidson-Blythe & Daniel Quayle, Rachel Walker, Doug Lamey, Capercaillie, and Ffynnon. Not only some great songs in the Celtic languages, but music from almost all of the Celtic regions across the three hours!
(Photo: the Donegal coastline 📷 P O'Neill)

30/12/2025

PART 2
In the second hour of Sunday's programme, we played a mix of lovely music including Isla Grant, Mànran, Catrin O'Neill, Duncan Chisholm, Peat & Diesel, Cymbrogi, Margaret Stewart, Alasdair C. Whyte / Alasdair C. Macillebhàin, and Kornog - including a good smattering of the Celtic languages in the mix!
(Photo: near Carinish, North Uist 📷 P O'Neill)

30/12/2025

PART 1
Hope you enjoyed Sunday's programme. Falling between Boxing Day (aka St Stephen's Day) and New Year's Eve (aka Hogmanay), we talked a bit about St Stephen's Day and played Viva La Musica's Good King Wenceslas and The Chieftains/Elvis Costello's St Stephen's Day Murders, then The Hogmanay Boys' (Hebridean Baker and Highland Hutter) Ar Sgàth nan Iomadh Linn and U2's New Year's Day. We rounded out the first hour with music from Èirinn, Men of the Deeps, Ingrid Henderson Musician, Rebecca Wright & Donald McKay, and our usual Runrig.

Christmas in Galway: The Wren Boys 🐦 - Discover old Christmas traditions of Galway. Hunting the Wren on St. Stephen’s Day in Co. Galway

27/12/2025

Had a lot of fun doing a shift of Christmas music on Christmas afternoon, and going back into the studio from 1 to 4pm today, just to prove I do occasionally listen to music that isn't Celtic! I'll be playing some current Aussie music from The Go Twos (Rosie McDonald & Nigel Lever), Emmy Ryan, Matt Scullion Music, Asleep at the Reel, Murphy's Pigs, Rebecca Wright & Donald McKay, and lots more, together with some old favourites.

22/12/2025

PART THREE
On Sunday's programme, we also played Liminality Celtic Trio's Once in Royal David's City and It Came upon a Midnight Clear, Skerryvore's Angel of Christmas, Bruce Guthro's Bound for Bethlehem, Tommy Fleming's Christmas 1915, The Chieftains' Boars Head and The Holly She Bears a Berry, Enya's How Can I keep from Singing, and Sian's Fear a' Bhàta from their Na Trads album of the year, araon.

22/12/2025

PART TWO
On Sunday's programme, we played Celtic-language Christmas songs including Kerydwenn's Nos Nedeleg, Ruth Keggin - Manx Gaelic Singer's Oikan Ayns Bethlehem, Enya's Oiche Ciúin, Rhys Meilyr's Hen Hen Stori, Rachel Walker's Tàladh Chrìosda, The Chieftains' Breton Carol, Arthur Cormack's Leanabh an Aigh, and Mànran's Òran na Cloiche (for the story behind this song, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%92ran_na_Cloiche).

Òran na Cloiche ("Song of the Stone") is a Scottish Gaelic song,[1] written by poet Donald MacIntyre (Scottish Gaelic: Dòmhnall Mac an t-Saoir), also known as the Paisley Bard (Scottish Gaelic: Bàrd Phàislig). It celebrates the return of the Stone of Destiny to Scotland, which was retrieved from...

22/12/2025

PART ONE
Hope you enjoyed yesterday's programme. For Christmas, we played Lúnasa's Mí na Nollag, Brendan Monaghan - singer/songwriter's 100 Days to Christmas and The Snow Fell Down, Murphy's Pigs' Christmas in Killarney, The Carice Singers' Cornish Christmas Carol, Piping Hot Christmas's We Three Kings and Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Libera's Wexford Carol, Celtic Worship and Norrie "Tago" MacIver's Ciùin an Oidhch', The Chieftains' O Holy Night, and some Runrig favourites.
(picture from the Book of Kells)

15/12/2025

PART 3
In Sunday's programme, we added a bit of Christmas spirit with Murphy's Pigs' Christmas in Killarney, Celtic Worship's Ciùin an Oidhch' (Silent Night) featuring Norrie "Tago" MacIver, Runrig's This Time of Year, Arthur Cormack's Leanabh an Aigh (Child of Joy), and Rachel Walker's Tàladh Chrìosda (Christ's Lullaby). Be listening this coming Sunday for a full programme of Christmas music from around the Celtic regions!

Emigration, whether forced or voluntary, by choice or necessity, has resulted in the composition of some of the most beautiful and moving Gaelic songs written over the centuries.

15/12/2025

PART 2
On Sunday's programme we played tracks from finalists and winners of Na Trads, the Scottish Traditional Music Awards. Album of the Year was araon by Sian, and we also played finalists Beth Malcolm, TRIP, Ewen Henderson, and Mànran. Community Project of the Year was won by the Mòd, but we played tracks connected to two other finalists, Duncan Chisholm of Storylands Sessions and the kickstarter for Dick Gaughan: R/evolution 1969-84. We played some of the finalists for Event of the Year, Trail West Fest at the Barrowlands, Skerryvore XX at Floor Castle and Skipinnish at the Hydro. Live Act of the Year was won by Skerryvore, and we also played the other finalists: Malin Lewis Band, Talisk, and Valtos. We just squeezed in a track from Recording Studio of the Year Wee Studio's Face the West and one from Gaelic Singer of the Year, Kim Carnie.

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15/12/2025

PART 1
Hope you enjoyed yesterday's programme. After lots of trouble getting this platform to accept our posts, we'll be breaking posts about programs down into smaller sections, with links to the pages of musicians mentioned, so you can find out more if you're interested. Yesterday, after three weeks away, there was a lot to catch up on. Following the sudden sad loss of musician Nigel Lever, we played The Go Twos' track Kurrawarra (Rosie McDonald & Nigel Lever). Following recent developments concerning changes in the lineup of the band Skipinnish, we played Eagle's Wing by Skipinnish, The Fall by Beinn Lee (whose lead singer James Stewart is joining Skipinnish - fear not, there's no hint of him leaving Beinn Lee!), an Eala Bhàn by Mànran (from the old days when Norrie MacIver sang with them) and a beautiful rendition of Ciùin an Oidhch' by Norrie "Tago" MacIver with Celtic Worship. Norrie will be doing solo gigs and a new record in 2026.

Home page of Rosie and Nigel duo aka The Go Twos, an americana, bluegrass, blues, celtic, folk, songwriter, traditional group from Sydney. The GoTwos blend Folk, Blues, Bluegrass, and Celtic traditions. Rosie McDonald (vocals, guitar, bouzouki, bodhrán)

09/12/2025

I was looking forward to being back in the studio this Sunday past, but alas I was called away urgently. I will definitely be back this coming Sunday, 14 December, with a roundup of music by nominees and awardees at the Scottish Traditional Music Awards 'Na Trads' that took place on the weekend. And a little bit of Celtic Christmas music to get us in the mood for the coming silly season.

Scotland's top Awards celebrating Scottish music