Altan

This traditional band from Ireland plays the perfect mixture of lively jigs and reels, heart-tackling ballads and Gaelic songs in an irresistible contemporary way. One of the founder members, Mairéad Ni Mhaonaigh, is both, a great singer and a terrific fiddler. She started the band in 1983 together with her husband, Frankie Kennedy, who sadly died of cancer in 1994 at the age of 38.
The band is named after "Loch Altan", which is situated in north-western Donegal on the border of the parishes of Dobhair and Cloughaneely.

Altan are:

- Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (vocals, fiddle)
- Dermot Byrne (accordion, melodeon)
- Ciarán Tourish (fiddle, tin whistle, backing vocals)
- Ciarán Curran (bouzouki)
- Mark Kelly (guitars)
- Dáithí Sproule (guitars, vocals)