http://www.claddaghrecords.com/

Claddagh Records, 2 Cecilia Street, Dublin (2025)

18/04/2025

support at Cork Opera House on May 2 💛

18/04/2025

Don’t miss bring the house down at this year’s this weekend!

02/04/2025

𝐵𝑅𝐸𝒜𝒯𝐻𝐿𝐸𝒮𝒮 - cover of is OUT NOW !! 🌼

Written by
Arranged by Lemoncello
Recorded by Peter Broderick
Produced by Lemoncello & Peter Broderick
Mastered by
Artwork by with photo by

12/03/2025

Guess Who?!

Some BTS shots of Christy Moore after receiving his #1 album award for ‘A Terrible Beauty’ last November. 🥇

08/03/2025

Behind the Cover : ØXN - CYRM

On October 27th 2023, Claddagh Records released the stunning debut album from , then a new musical project composed of 4 incredible artists : & . The record was recorded in , mixed by and mastered by Harvey Birell.

The cover and physical formats for this release were designed by

In Oscars words:

With themes of blood sacrifice woven into some of the hauntingly beautiful songs, including The Wife of Michael Cleary which recounts the tragic story of Bridget Cleary from Tipperary who, in 1895, was burned to death by her husband under the belief that she was a fairy. I explored the concept of blood sacrifice in Ireland. During my research, I came across references to the practice of rubbing blood into the earth. This gave me the idea of the blood seeping deep into the bedrock, merging the spirit with the stone, and giving rise to a figure who emerges for vengeance.

In my exploration, I also looked into ancient Irish stone heads and discovered an Iron Age stone-carved head that is privately owned and not displayed in a museum. I found the idea of bringing this carving into the public space compelling, allowing the public to engage with it in a new context

28/02/2025

What a special moment from the RTÉ Folk Awards. Christy Moore presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award 2025.

“Dónal was the man who brought it all together”

Dónal also performed with his new band Darkhorse. ❤️

27/02/2025

Behind the Cover : Niamh Bury - Yellow Roses

On March 29th 2024, .bury released her debut record, ‘Yellow Roses’ on Claddagh Records.

The album artwork features an oil painting by sligo-based visual artist and musician, . Inspired by the tradition of still life painting, Niamh and Ruth chose objects that would help to tell the story of the album – yellow roses from Ruth’s garden for the title track; a honey pot for “Beehive”; a Russian doll for the mention of a Moscow train trip in “Pianos In The Snow”; a shiny red apple for the autumn fruit in “Discovery”; a painted horse Niamh’s mom brought home from a trip to Sweden for “Bite the Bridle”.

The stunning package design for the vinyl and CD was done by the amazing

26/02/2025

Congratulations to all our incredible artists who have been nominated for an RTÉ Folk Award tonight 🎉

19/02/2025

Behind the Cover: The Chieftains : The Foxhunt | San Francisco 1973 & 1976

In September 2022 Claddagh Records and released the last ever project by the legendary member of The Chieftains, Paddy Moloney.
The Chieftain’s The Foxhunt (San Francisco 1975 & 1973) was recorded live by legendary soundman Owsley “Bear” Stanley, at Boarding House on 1st October 1973, where The Chieftains appeared at the personal invitation of The Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia. Owsley Stanley, known as Bear to his friends, was a diversely talented, iconic figure of the 1960s. While perhaps most widely known as the “Acid King” for his early role manufacturing the highest quality L*D to help fuel the psychedelic revolution of the 1960s.

We agreed there was no better artist to design the artwork for this record than painter Conor Campbell who’s paintings have been used on many stunning contemporary folk covers such as .brother .fennell and more

Conor comments on the cover:

“They wanted artwork that blended two visual worlds: 1960s psychedelic culture and medieval Irish Christian art, referencing The Book of Kells and historic hunting scenes. This aligned closely with my artistic style, so the collaboration felt natural.

I began by studying medieval hunting depictions, first Irish and then broader European examples. I loved the rich colours, dynamic figures, and intricate landscapes with a deliberate patterned abstraction to them. Using Photoshop, I sketched a composition featuring huntsmen on horseback, initially pursuing a fox. However, following Paddy Moloney’s passing—and his known disapproval of hunting—I was asked to alter the scene so that the fox escaped. The huntsmen were now given instruments instead of weapons, transforming the chase into a medieval trad session. Once the digital sketch was finalized, I printed it, mounted it on canvas, and painted over it by hand. Many layers were added to the physical piece to give it a more organic feel. I added details like mushrooms and ancient standing stones in the landscape as well as a bear to honour Owsley ‘Bear’ Stanley.”

17/02/2025

Behind the Cover : Lemoncello

On May 3rd 2024, Claddagh Records released Lemoncello’s stunning self-titled debut album. With an album cover photographed by , directed by and designed by

In words :

“From the beginning, it was about how both of them are integral to the music, showing their collaboration and friendship while also giving a sense of the music itself. It was important for them that we turned away from the more expected folk aesthetic, that it was something that felt more modern and colourful. In their words: “Something that feels modern with influences of 60s, 70s - Nico, Kate Bush, Joni Mitchell Heijra, Velvet Underground, Jean Luc Godard, Ingrid Bergman, Anna Karina.” You can see more stylised and surreal influences coming in, and adding to the sound they were going for for this album too. I think it’s a really nice mix, showing them up front, and then giving a sense of their world too.

Taking from this, I shot the images with film lights rather than flash, giving the images more of a theatrical, stylised feel. Eilis worked on set design along with Laura and Claire, building up layers of material and textures which put them in the world of the album. It all came together on the day with styling by Sarah Austin and hair and makeup by Tomasz Welkier. We played around with how they were posed and positioned, always playing off of their friendship and the two of them as the creators of this music. For some of the shots we took inspiration from performance art and dance along with some vintage LP covers, to create more dramatic poses. For the cover shot, we had Laura and Claire sitting together on the carpet, and we were playing with a lens attachment on one of our lights that can make precise shapes. We loved when it cut across both their faces equally, and that became one of our favourite setups from the shoot. From there, we experimented with distorting their faces, and that became the gatefold image for the vinyl. “

17/02/2025

.bury has been announced for this June in Barcelona 🌞

12/02/2025

Behind the Cover: Patrick Kavanagh ‘Almost Everything’

In 2022 we decided to remaster and reimagine this iconic 1964 spoken word album by making it a new two-part album featuring the original remastered recordings and Kavanagh’s poetry read by artists such as and many more

The 1964 sleeve, designed by John S. Perrett features a portrait of Kavanagh by Iconic Irish painter Edward McGuire. This 1961 watercolour of Kavanagh was the first of the many perceptive portraits of literary figures for which McGuire would become especially noted for. In 1974, he married Sara Browne (divorced sister-in-law of Garech Browne.)

The 2022 version was designed by . We wanted Kavanagh to appear in the center of a portrait collage of all the new collaborators on the record. On the front cover, only Kavanagh is visible, through a die-cut, gold-foiled square. When you pull the new record out of the pocket, all the contributors are revealed.

The grainy look and feel of the physical products are designed to look and feel like old literature. The vinyl remaster of the original 1964 record is housed in a printed inner that is an exact replica of the original sleeve. The vinyl labels for this vinyl are also replicated with the typical purple ceiríní cladaig labels.

When we began this project we were against a deadline that was tighter than usual due to the complex nature of the package. As a result, in anticipation, Morgan began working on some famous faces who never ended up on the project in the end … but he also completed portraits of some incredible artists we never dreamed of being on this project, that were.

Kavanagh’s sister, a teacher, used to tell her students that her brother was adamant that he would find a way to return one day from the dead, to let his siblings and others know if there really was an afterlife, and with the 2022 reissue of ‘Almost Everything…’ becoming the first-ever spoken word album to reach the top of the Irish charts, the poet and Garech were indeed reunited once more, to weave their magic “on a quiet street where old ghosts meet”.

10/02/2025

Behind the Cover: Rebel Irishwomen

To mark the 100 year anniversary of the Irish Free State, Claddagh Records released Rebel Irishwomen on December 2, 2022

Originally released in 1966, the original 7 inch vinyl brought listeners into the personal experiences, recollections and songs of three women who were particularly associated with the 1916 Rising; Helena Molony, Maud Gonne McBride and Kathleen Behan. This new version demonstrates how fresh and vibrant the songs remain in the twenty-first century in the hands of outstanding artists of the stature of Niamh Bury and Landless.

The new cover comes courtesy of Old Ireland In Colour (John Breslin) and is a colourisation of the amazing Keogh Brothers photograph of members of the Irish Women Workers’ Union on the steps of Liberty Hall in 1914.

Seated in the front row (middle of seated) is Delia Larkin, first secretary of the Union and sister of Jim Larkin.

Unfortunately Larkin is the only person in this photo who has been officially identified to date. It has been suggested that on Larkin’s left is Hanna Sheehy Skeffington and in the second row, second from right may be Constance Marckievicz.

The workers aren’t wearing badges but several ladies are. This suggests they may be the leaders of the Suffragist and Revival Movement in Ireland, particularly in Dublin, at that time.

The original 7inch artwork for Rebel Irishwomen featured a portrait of Maud Gonne MacBride and sleeve notes by Cathal O Seanain.

The new 12 inch re-release was Designed by Eszter Lane for Blacklight Studios and features updated sleevenotes by James Morrissey and Ríonach uí Ógáin.

08/02/2025

Behind the Cover : Chronicles: 60 years of The Chieftains.

In celebration of their 60th anniversary, Claddagh Records & The Chieftains, the world’s most celebrated traditional Irish band, released Chronicles on October 29th, 2021.

Every single element of this stunning cover collage by Martin O’Neill is a constant discovery, with details spanning across the band’s 60 year career. From the nods to several previous album covers, iconic venues the band sold-out such as the Royal Albert Hall, just one of the band’s 6 Grammys (21 nominations) to the Great Wall of China, where the band became the first western outfit allowed to perform.

In the top left hand corner of the cover, above Claddagh Records founder Garech Brown, we see a satellite in space, symbolising the time Irish-American astronaut Cady Coleman recorded three songs with The Chieftains’ for their 50th anniversary album — the first time anyone has ever recorded an album in space!

In the bottom left hand corner is a copy of poet John Montague’s book “Death of A Chieftain”, where the band got their name, having previously gone by The Quare Fellows.

Every previous member of the band surrounds Paddy Mooney, enveloped in an iconic Claddagh Ring, a nod to the label.

The sleeve design across all physical formats of the album was created and directed by Stan Roche and Gary Baker of Blacklight & Bakervale studios. It includes a comprehensive timeline of the band’s career.

04/02/2025

Not long now until .bury embarks on her Australian tour 🇦🇺🐨🦘

Tickets at www.niamhbury.com

27/01/2025

We’re delighted to hear today that two of our artists have been nominated for the 2025 Ticketmaster Ireland awards!

Irish Rising Star of the Year – NIAMH BURY
Irish Artist of the Year – CHRISTY MOORE

The Awards are public vote, please take 2 minutes out of your day to vote for both of our artists! Voting link in stories 🔗💚

.bury

23/01/2025

Don’t miss .bury and at Celtic Connections in Glasgow this week on Thursday and Friday evening.

Lemoncello play tonight at 7.30 in Saint Luke’s with &
Niamh will play at 8pm on Friday in The Old Fruitmarket with

22/01/2025

join on the road on his UK and Ireland tour in March and April.

What an incredible pairing that is! 🔥

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