Claddagh Records

25/07/2025

Order* ‘Against All Certainty’ the album on any format below for early access to tickets to ‘Against All Certainty: A Celebration of Michael D. Higgins’ live at the National Concert Hall, Dublin
Order here: https://claddagh.lnk.to/MDHNCH

Order before 12pm Irish Time on Tuesday July 29th to receive a presale link. Presale link and information will be sent by 5pm Tuesday July 29th. Presale opens at 10am Wednesday July 30th. Tickets go on general sale Thursday July 31st

24/07/2025

'Against All Certainty' (Official Music Video) is OUT NOW - starring Ciarán Hinds, Eanna Hardwicke, Olwen Fouéré. Directed by Ellius Grace

Words by President of Ireland / Uachtarán na hÉireann Michael D. Higgins
Music by Myles O'Reilly

Watch Now :

Against All Certainty - Order now : https://Claddagh.lnk.to/MichaelD.HigginsWords by Michael D. HigginsMusic by Myles O'ReillyCreditsDirector - Ellius GraceP...

23/07/2025

We’re giving away a copy of Cruel Mother - The Remixes () to one lucky person today.

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17/07/2025

We are so thrilled and honoured to finally announce that Michael D. Higgins (President of Ireland / Uachtarán na hÉireann Michael D. Higgins) has signed to Claddagh Records and will release his debut Spoken Word album 'Against All Certainty', with music from the incredible Myles O'Reilly on September 5th. Available to Pre-Order now on Vinyl, CD and Hardback CD Book!

The debut title track from the album, 'Against All Certainty' is OUT NOW on all streaming platforms.

We are so excited for you to hear this album and share what's to come. In the words of writer Sebastian Barry : ‘These are truly prodigious poems by Michael D Higgins — not just a milestone in his own work but in Irish poetry.'

Pre-Order now : https://Claddagh.lnk.to/MichaelD.HigginsFP

07/07/2025

‘Beehive’ .bury first ever single is officially 2 years old! How the time flies 🐝🐝

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