DROGHEDA

SONGWRITING

FESTIVAL

29 September 2024 | 11am - 9pm

THANK YOU!

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

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The First Ever Drogheda Songwriting Festival

Droichead Arts Centre - Sunday 29th September 2024

We have planned a day full of inspiration, creativity and collaboration for all types of songwriters at all stages of their careers, featuring:

a whole morning of workshops!

  • each workshop focuses on a different aspect of the craft

  • run by experienced mentors

  • providing new inspiration and ideas for your songwriting

an afternoon of Q&As with top songwriting talents!

  • Brendan Murphy (the 4 of Us)

  • Emma Langford (renowned Irish folk singer-songwriter)

  • Both Q&As hosted by Charlie McGettigan

spaces provided for songwriting!

  • collaborate & network with other participants

  • create something new and exciting

  • a gala concert to close the festival

  • Q&A guests will give some short performances

  • participants will be encouraged to perform their days’ creations!

So, What will my participation at the festival look like?

  • On the day, make sure you’re there early to ensure prompt commencements of the various events.

  • If you play an instrument and use it as part of your songwriting process, be sure to bring it along!

  • During the times you’re not attending a Q&A or workshop, there will be spaces provided for you to sit and create. We strongly encourage co-writing with others at the festival, both as a way to discover more about songwriting and to build your network.

  • The workshop mentors will circulate throughout the day to act as a sounding board for those who need an external pair of ears.

  • There’ll be opportunities to perform some of the day’s creations at the gala concert at the end of the festival.

fEATURED sONGWRITERS


  • Globe-trotting and award-winning songwriter Emma Langford calls Limerick City in the West of Ireland home. Storytelling and wit sit at the heart of all she does, with intricate narrative interweaving her live performance, and humour shining through her work. Hers is an inimitable, ethereal voice in a new age of Irish folk.

    Emma wrote and independently released her stunning sophomore album, Sowing Acorns at the height of a global pandemic – the gamble of releasing a record amid such a precarious time for her industry paid off, and it received huge international praise. She solidified her place in the hearts and minds of the nation as she climbed the charts with the heart-rending The Winding Way Down to Kells Bay, and epic folk ballad Birdsong, both of which were beautifully reinterpreted by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.

    In 2023, Langford showcased at Folk Alliance International in Kansas City. She went on to Ireland’s National Concert Hall where she premiered new works inspired by pirate queen Gráinne Mhaol with Éimear Noone and the National Symphony Orchestra, toured Germany, and joined the star-studded Irish Women In Harmony on lead vocals on the main stage at Ireland’s premier music festival, Electric Picnic.

    She shows no signs of slowing down in 2024, and can be found touring Ireland and the US with a collaborative body of work celebrating Irish myth, history and folklore.

  • Brendan Murphy is a singer and songwriter, best known for his work with the band THE 4 OF US, which he formed with his brothers in the late 1980s.

    Initially pursuing law studies at Queens University Belfast, Murphy abandoned his academic path to dive into the music industry. His decision proved fruitful as he guided the band to secure an international record deal with CBS/Sony in London.

    Their debut album, Songs for the Tempted, co-written by Brendan, achieved critical and commercial success, reaching the top of the Irish charts and attaining double platinum status. One of the standout tracks from the album, Mary remains a staple on Irish radio to this day.

    Following their initial success, THE 4 OF US released the single "She Hits Me" which made it to the UK Top 30 and was featured on the album Man Alive. This album earned a spot on Q Magazine's Top 50 Albums of the Year.

    After their tenure with CBS/Sony, Brendan and his brother Declan established their own record label, Future Records. Under this label, they continued to release award-winning albums, including their latest, Sugar Island. This album, co-written with Declan and Nashville Hall of Fame songwriter Sharon Vaughn, reflects their experiences growing up on the Irish border during the Troubles and has garnered some of the best reviews of their career.

    Critics have praised Sugar Island:

    - "Tales of growing up that perfectly capture the dark times" **** (Daily Express)

    - "Rather special." **** (Acoustic Magazine UK)

    - "Border boys in troubled times. Pop/folk of the highest order." **** (Irish Times)

    In addition to his work with THE 4 OF US, Brendan Murphy has co-written songs for other Irish artists, contributing to hits such as Brian Kennedy's Christmas Morning and Kieran Goss's Clear Day.

    Expanding his creative endeavors, Murphy also launched a podcast that explores the intersection of creativity and productivity. The podcast has featured notable guests like Paul Brady, Phil Coulter, Moya Brennan, John Spillane and Sharon Vaughn.

    Brendan Murphy's career is marked by his versatility and continued impact on the Irish music scene, both through his band's enduring hits and his collaborations with other artists.

with Q&As moderated by

  • Charlie has worked with artists like Maura O’Connell and Eleanor

    Shanley who both recorded many of his songs including “Feet of a

    Dancer”, “A Bed for the Night” and “If Anything Happened to You”. 

    Charlie joined forces with Paul Harrington and Brendan Graham to win

    the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland with “Rock n Roll Kids”.

    He has released many solo albums including “In Your Old Room”,

    “Family Matters” “ The man from 20” and “Stolen Moments” produced in

    Nashville by legendary producer Bil Vorndick.

    Charlie’s songs have been recorded by many artists including De

    Danann, Mary and Frances Black, Ray Lynam, Daniel O’Donnell, Sandy

    Kelly and Hal Ketchum to name but a few. 

    These days Charlie tours both here in Ireland and abroad. He presents

    “The Saturday Connection” on Shannonside/Northern Sound Radio, a

    two hour programme where he previews live music and theatrical

    events, interviews guests from the world of arts and entertainment and

    plays an eclectic mix of music and song on CD. 

    http://www.facebook.com/CharlieMcGettiganMusic,

    https://www.youtube.com/user/charliemcgettigan

    https://www.charliemcgettigan.ie.

    Phone Contact 086 6037801

    Email charliemcgettigan1@gmail.com

Songwriting Mentors

  • Suzanne Savage is a Belfast-born songwriter, violinist and performer. She is delighted to be back performing in Dublin’s heart of music: Whelan’s.

    From touring Europe and U.S. as Principle Soprano Soloist with Riverdance, to a scholarship at Italian FABRICA MUSICA institute, she has made music internationally, including with Paul Brady (band member since 2011), Elenor McEvoy, Roseanne Cash, Van Morrison, Jimmy Cobb, Ernie Watts Quartet, Gary Husband and emerging talent such as David Lyttle (UK), Markus Strothmann (GER), the Matteo Addabbo Organ Trio (IT), and premiered new music of composers Linda Buckley, Garth McGonaghie, Simon Mawhinney and Oscar and Emmy winner David Shire.

    As a well respected session vocalist for high profile acts across genres, she brings many influences to her writing.

    Suzanne’s new single “True Love” written with ‘Ceithre Cinn’ (with Matt McGinn, Ciaran Lavery and Finnian Kelleher) was released April 25th, and was selected for BBC Radio Ulster’s “Where Music Matters” playlist for May, and is listed in the top ten most played songs on RTE Radio for May 2022, spending three weeks on the ‘RTE Recommends’ list.

    Ceithre Cinn – Matt McGinn, Ciaran Lavery, Finnian Kelleher, Suzanne Savage

    In April 2022 Suzanne was invited soloist performing “The Music Of Leonard Cohen” with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra at two sold out nights at Bord Gais Energy Theatre Dublin, reprising a pre-lockdown role from March 2020 where she sang alongside Lisa Hannigan, Phelim Drew, Mick Flannery and Moncrieff (4th & 5th March 2020). Live with the RTE Concert Orchestra on the Ray D’arcy Show (Oct 2019) here : https://youtu.be/Wq4aXIKVjiM

    With RTE Concert Orchestra “The Music Of Leonard Cohen” (March 2022) Suzanne also appeared on TG4 in March 2022 performing her solo music on the new 12 part music series “Cumasc: Séisiúin Sa Black Gate,” curated by Galway’s Peadar King, the series featuring artists such as Grammy winner Rhiannon Giddons.

    CUMASC: SERIES TRAILER:

    LINK TO EPISODE 2: SUZANNE SAVAGE AND DIATHÍ:  bit.ly/3MfUIww



  • Dublin Songwriter and Skerries native Keith Burke has released three original albums. The Dancer who Stole your Shoes in 2004, No One Wants to Move in 2008 and These Boys in 2016.

    Keith has played concerts in (and been invited back to) Pittsburgh USA, Cairo Egypt and Beirut Lebanon. He has played televised concerts in Italy, dates in the 2005 Guinness Cork Jazz festival and received the Hotpress "Pick of the fortnight". His music has been played on national Irish radio on RTE 1, Radio Na Gaeltachta and NewsTalk, as well as many regional radio stations. He was selected as the late Tony Fenton’s “daily download”. A song of his was used for the credits on a TV show on Setanta Sports. The late great saxophonist John Earle plays on several of his recordings. He’s played support to Irish bands Bagatelle and Aslan and in Bavaria, Germany, touring band Mac C&C Celtic Four regularly close their energetic live shows with Keith’s song “Love and Romans”.

    Keith has written, arranged and with the help of producer Anthony Gibney, recorded his new album in Audioland Studios in Lexlip, which is due out shortly. Singles “I’ll begin this letter” and “Before you go” and “That’s where the bees loved to go” were well received and played on both national and regional radio stations in Ireland and the UK.

  • SJ McArdle is a songwriter, musician and curator, critically-acclaimed at home and abroad.

    He is known for his PORT project and its accompanying RTE Radio 1 Album Of The Week Old Ghosts In The Water, his previous work in award-winning folk band Kern and his career as a singer-songwriter in Nashville and Germany, which produced 2014’s critically- acclaimed Blood and Bones album. SJ’s songs and performances have been featured in radio, film and television and he has toured and recorded extensively in Ireland, Europe and North America.

    “the songs are intriguing and evocative ... rooted in folk but coloured by expansive and imaginative arrangements.” – The Irish Times

    “All the ingredients of great folk songs” – Lynette Fay (BBC)

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