National Concert Hall announce 1916 centenary celebration line-up

The National Concert Hall will celebrate the 1916 centenary with a week-long series of concerts, gathering some of Ireland’s best musicians, writers and thinkers

The National Concert Hall will celebrate the 1916 centenary with a week-long series of concerts, gathering some of Ireland’s best musicians, writers and thinkers.

The seven concerts will take place from March 28 to April 3rd, taking their inspiration from the 1916 Proclamation. The first three performances will celebrate Ireland's musical connections with the US, England and Europe, and will feature Rosanne Cash, Paul Brady, Maura O'Connell, Rodney Crowell, Camille O'Sullivan, Cait O'Riordan, Lisa Dwan and many more. Joseph O'Neill will collaborate on an evening on revolution with Ahdaf Soueif, Hisham Matar and Colm Tóibín, including the première of a new commission 'Casement/Conrad' by Tóibín with composer Donnacha Dennehy and Crash Ensemble.

Many of Ireland's leading writers will collaborate on the Literary Imagination concert, including Anne Enright, Eavan Boland, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, John Banville, John Montague, Marina Carr, Kevin Barry, and Paul Muldoon. Glen Hansard is programming a This Is Ireland concert, and the week's events will culminate with an Out of the Tradition celebration, featuring Martin Hayes, Dennis Cahill, Usher's Island, the Tulla Céilí Band, Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh and Iarla Ó Lionáird. Later in April, an Imagining Ireland concert will also take place in London's Royal Festival Hall.

Imagining Ireland is one of four programmes at the NCH to mark the 1916 centenary. The others are Composing the Island, an event in September that will celebrate a century of music in Ireland; a Song for '16 competition, with Disney; and a new commissions project with Dublin Port that will culminate in a performance in June.

Tickets for Imagining Home go on sale on Monday from 10am. See nch.ie for details.