Going Home - music from the Celtic homelands on 2CBD

21/07/2025

Online Celtic Book Club
Last Thursday of the Month

Our Celtic Book Club celebrates the stories, voices, and landscapes of the Celtic world. Each month, we read books that are set in Celtic countries, written by Celtic authors, or inspired by Celtic culture, history, or mythology. From contemporary fiction to ancient legends, poetry to historical novels, our selections span genres and time periods — all united by a Celtic thread.
Whether you’re drawn to the windswept coasts of Ireland, the rugged highlands of Scotland, the myths of Wales, or the voices of modern Celtic writers, you’ll find a welcoming space here to explore and discuss. All readers are welcome — no prior knowledge of Celtic culture required, just a curiosity and love for meaningful stories.
All books will be written in English.

Schedule
6:00pm – 7:00pm monthly
Venue
Zoom online meeting – contact us by email to be sent the link
Book of the Month
The Owl Service by Alan Garner

Join us by registering at www.celticlearning.com.au/book-now/

20/07/2025

Hope you enjoyed this morning's programme. As HebCelt Festival was drawing to a close in Stornoway, we were playing music from artists playing the festival: Tide Lines, Lulu Official, Skerryvore, Trail West, Face The West (Keith Morrison), Cassie and Maggie, Cala, Eddi Reader (solo and with Fairground Attraction), Ruairidh Gray Music (with Valtos), TRIP, Josie Duncan, Donnie Dòtaman (as part of Na hÒganaich), LUSA, Norrie "Tago" MacIver (with Mànran), Malin Lewis, Astro Bloc, Ceòl Iona Mairead, and Laura Silverstone. We also had our customary Runrig tracks.
(photo: the backstage precinct at HebCelt last year 📷 P O'Neill)

The lovely Geoffrey Black will be taking care of our timeslot next week; we'll be back on 3 August.

14/07/2025

Hope you enjoyed yesterday's programme. Tiree Music Festival was in full swing when we went to air, so we played music from artists appearing at the festival, including Skipinnish, Skerryvore, Julie Fowlis, The Laurettes, Trail West, Mànran, Scott Wood Band, Cassie and Maggie, Torridon, Kirsteen Harvey, Astro Bloc, Amy Papiransky, Heron Valley, Jarad Rowan, and Kim Carnie. Of course, we also played Runrig. From what we've seen on socials, the festival was absolutely amazing!

TMF

07/07/2025

Hope you enjoyed yesterday's programme. We began by recognising the day before, with tunes from Èirinn and Elizabeth Davidson-Blythe & Daniel Quayle. Then we marked the anniversary of the discovery, on 6 July 1907, that the Irish Crown Jewels had been stolen. We played tunes from Lúnasa, Liminality Celtic Trio, The Fureys, Duncan Chisholm, Feargal Sharkey Private Page , Dougie MacLean, ANÚNA, Capercaillie, The High Kings, Mànran, Mary Black, Paddy Reilly, Jim McCann, Paul Anderson Scottish Fiddler, Wolfe Tones, Session A9, The Band From Rockall, Roddy MacDonald, Janette Geri, Murphy's Pigs, and of course Runrig.

30/06/2025

Hope you enjoyed yesterday's programme. As today is the end of financial year, we played tunes and songs that relate to money (lack of it, mostly!), gold, silver, and markets. We played Runrig, Emmy Ryan, Bill McCue, Niteworks, Donald Macdonald Music , Arty McGlynn & Nollaig Casey, Austral, Mac Talla, The Cassidys, Murphy's Pigs, Celtic Thunder, Anne Martin, Gone Molly, Lawena Trio, Gnoss, Mànran, Cran, Craig Andrew Batty, Borealis, Capercaillie, Skibbereen, Mary Coughlan, The Band From Rockall, Mary Black, The Fureys, Clannad Irish Band, Karen Matheson, Chris Ball, Altan, Jim McCann, and Skipinnish. Best wishes to all those working in finance and accounts today!
(photo: Destitution Road - title and subject of one of the songs we played - source and details at https://www.gairlochmuseum.org/destitution-road)

15/06/2025

Hope you enjoyed this morning's programme. Situated as we are between Yeats Day (13 June) and Bloomsday (16 June), we celebrated the work of William Butler Yeats and James Joyce, including readings from their work. We played music from Runrig, Josef Locke, Edward Reavy, Patricia Spero, Murphy's Pigs, Kevin McDermott Music old, Gerry O'Connor Music, Foster And Allen, Breabach, Duncan Chisholm, Elizabeth Davidson-Blythe & Daniel Quayle, Big Tom, Daniel O'Donnell, Rufus Mueller, Annie Lennox, Mànran, Enya, Rachel Walker, The Band From Rockall, The Dubliners Official, The Fureys, and Archie MacFarlane. In other news, the fabulous Emmy Ryan has three songs in the NT Music Awards finals, and we played two of them.
(picture: the high cross at Drumcliff, where Yeats is buried, with Ben Bulben in the background 📷 P O'Neill)

08/06/2025

Hope you enjoyed the programme this morning. Tomorrow is St Columba's Day, so we played music relating to this saint, his island churches in the Atlantic Ocean, and his way of life, whilst talking about episodes from his life as recorded by St Adamnán around 697AD, 100 years after Columba's death. Columba's principal church was on the island of Iona, and it was wonderful to be able to play tracks from Paul Anderson Scottish Fiddler's album of that name. We also played tracks from Lúnasa, Duncan Chisholm, Rachel Walker, Bruce Guthro, Doug Lamey, Niteworks, The Fureys, Ed Sheeran, Èirinn, Capercaillie, Skipinnish, Tide Lines, Aryeh Frankfurter, Mànran, Dàimh, Clannad Irish Band, Blair Douglas & Arthur Cormack, Mary Black, Nóirín Ní Riain, ANÚNA, Celtic Woman, Sian, and of course Runrig.
(Photo: Iona from Fidden, Mull 📷 P O'Neill)

03/06/2025

Hope you enjoyed Sunday's programme. We showcased the beautiful fiddle music of Duncan Chisholm, who's currently touring village halls in the Scottish Highlands with Hamish Napier Music. As well as music from Chisholm's albums The Black Cuillin, Sandwood, and the Strathglass trilogy, we played music from his band Wolfstone. artists he's shared stages with, including Runrig, Bruce Guthro, Julie Fowlis, Mànran, Capercaillie, tunes from other fiddles Kejafi, Doug Lamey, Chris Duncan and Catherine Strutt, Elizabeth Davidson-Blythe & Daniel Quayle and Gerry O'Connor Music, and a bit of Dàimh, The Band From Rockall, and Skipinnish to round it off.
Chisholm recently wrote and performed the music for BBC podcast 'Pretender Prince', which can be accessed at https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m002c3kj
His website is https://www.duncanchisholm.com/

BBC Radio 4: Pretender PrinceMay 15, 2025/in news, Uncategorized /by admin‘Pretender Prince‘ by Limelight, for BBC Radio 4. Jack Lowden presents a compelling five-part drama-documentary series about the rise and fall of Bonnie Prince Charlie and the 1745 Jacobite rebellion. Written by Colin MacD...

12/05/2025

The University of Sydney will be hosting another Celtic symposium on Friday 23 May for people to attend in person or online.

There is also currently a call for papers for any of our friends or students who would be interested.

All the details can be found in the graphic.

12/05/2025

Hope you enjoyed yesterday's programme. Since it was Mothers' Day, we played music about mothers, from Runrig, Foster And Allen, Liminality Celtic Trio, Saint Andrew, Liam O'Flynn, Julie Fowlis, Dougie MacLean, Graham Rodger, Natalie MacMaster, The Borderers, Robin Huw Bowen, Mrs. Mills, Kejafi, Eric Bogle, Donald WG Lindsay, Dàimh, Kim Carnie, Archie MacFarlane, Humbug, Elephant Sessions, Isla Grant, Saoirse, Arty McGlynn, Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin Music, Flook, The Scotsman Music, John McDermott, Bill McCue, Sinéad O'Connor, Barry O'Dowd, Paul Anderson Scottish Fiddler, Capercaillie,Skerryvore.
(pic: the Book of Kells)

07/05/2025

What a weekend! With the Australian Celtic Festival in town, we did special programmes on Friday night and Saturday afternoon/evening, as well as our regular Sunday morning timeslot. Huge thanks to Limerick MCB, Cymbrogi, Kejafi, and DALLA for coming in to play and/or chat! We played tunes from festival performers The Scotsman Music, Kejafi, Siobhan Owen, Murphy's Pigs, Austral, Asleep at the Reel, Cymbrogi, Matt Scullion Music; previous festival honoured guests Gerry O'Connor Music, Elizabeth Davidson-Blythe & Daniel Quayle, Paul Anderson Scottish Fiddler; music from featured nations Brittany, Cornwall and Wales from The Ragged Band, Senor Cabrales, Robin Huw Bowen, Bagad Kemper, Cerys Matthews, Gwendal, Ceredwen; and just for fun Skipinnish, Beinn Lee, Capercaillie, The Band From Rockall, Skerryvore, Kathleen MacInnes, Lúnasa, and Runrig. Looking forward to our Mothers' Day programme this coming Sunday!

04/05/2025

Cornish ceremony at the Australian Celtic Festival with DALLA.