Thursday 15th October 2026
Location: Cleeres Bar and Theatre, 28 Parliament Street, Kilkenny
In stock
Noel Hill was born in Caherea in West County Clare, Ireland and has been a professional musician from a very early age. In County Clare the concertina tradition is so strong the instruments was nicknamed “the Clareman’s Trumpet” and legend has it there was once a concertina in every second house. It was into one of these households that Noel Hill and his 7 siblings was born. His parents, grandparents and grandaunts were all concertina players. He was particularly influenced by his uncle, Padraig A Chnoic (Paddy Hill), who also played the concertina. Noel lived in a house which was the last in the area to hold the traditional House dances, where musicians were always welcomed; particularly towards the end of the year when farm work was done. It was at these events he learned his early music. He started playing at the age of 8. Noel was lucky to have heard endless hours of Willie Clancy, Paddy Canny, Peter O’Loughlin and Paddy Murphy and much of the music in his repertoire today comes from the music learned as a child from these great players. Noel always said he wanted to be a uilleann piper but pipes were not readily available.
Noel has taken the humble concertina from the house dances of County Clare to the big stages throughout the world. He has single handedly elevated the instrument’s popularity, which now has enjoyed tremendous development for the past four decades. This popularity is not only because of Noel’s awe-inspiring performances, along with being a highly respected authority on Ireland’s Traditional Music, but also because of his many years as a committed teacher.
In 1975 Noel Hill formed the group “Inchiquin”. They recorded one album. Soon afterwards Inchiquin split up and 2 members went on to form the band Stockton’s Wing while Noel took off in a different musical direction. He then recorded one of his most iconic and celebrated albums “Noel Hill and Tony Linnane” (1978) with Tony Linnane (fiddle), Matt Molloy (flute), Alec Finn (bouzouki and mando-cello) and Micheal O’Domhnaill (harmonium). Inchiquin continued for a time and toured Ireland and Europe with Noel, Tony and Barry Moore (now Luka Bloom).
“He is to Irish traditional music what WB Yeats was to a generation of Irish poets, a one-in-a-generation player who casts a long shadow”
–-Brian O’Connell, The Irish Times
“Noel rises fully to his audience’s expectations and gives them all that energy he is famous for, and more in terms of variety of tunes, variety of moods, subtlety of interpretation and drive of playing.”
–-Journal of Music
CÁIT NÍ RIAIN
Cáit Ní Riain is a singer and multi-instrumentalist from Upperchurch in Co.Tipperary. She is deeply rooted in Irish traditional music and song, and has been influenced by the great depth and beauty of the songs and tunes of Ireland, and of folk musics the world over; the music, songs, and rhythms that have grown from the ground up, from the human’s relationship with land. She is particularly passionate about the traditiona
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