About this episode
Hear an interview with Amelia Hogan about her latest album on the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast #706 . Subscribe now ! Amelia Hogan, The Friel Sisters, Flook, Fialla, Robert Zielinski, On The Lash, Brobdingnagian Bards, Joseph Carmichael, The Lilies of the Midwest, Austral, Hounds of Finn GET CELTIC MUSIC NEWS IN YOUR INBOX The Celtic Music Magazine is a quick and easy way to plug yourself into more great Celtic culture. Enjoy seven weekly news items for Celtic music and culture online. Subscribe now and get 34 Celtic MP3s for Free . VOTE IN THE CELTIC TOP 20 FOR 2025 This is our way of finding the best songs and artists each year. You can vote for as many songs and tunes that inspire you in each episode. Your vote helps me create this year's Best Celtic music of 2025 episode. You have just three weeks to vote this year. Vote Now ! You can follow our playlist on YouTube to listen to those top voted tracks as they are added every 2 - 3 weeks. THIS WEEK IN CELTIC MUSIC 0:12 - The Friel Sisters "Sporting Nell/The Black Mare of Fanad/Lough Isle Castle (Reels)" from Northern Sky 5:05 - WELCOME 7:16 - Flook "Where There Is Light / The May Waterway / Ninety Years Young" from Sanju 13:56 - Fialla "Easter Snow" from A Rare Thing 18:26 - Robert Zielinski "Sprig of Shillelagh" from The Day Dawn 19:30 - On The Lash "Dog in the Distance" from Fireside 23:25 - INTERVIEW: INTRO 23:45 - INTERVIEW: INTRODUCING AMELIA HOGAN 28:29 - Amelia Hogan "Home By Bearna" from Burnished 31:02 - INTERVIEW: NEW ALBUM 36:58 - Amelia Hogan "Dh'eirich mi Moch Madainn Cheitein" from Burnished 40:07 - INTERVIEW: RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS 49:54 - Amelia Hogan "Rolling In The Gold" from Burnished 53:42 - THANKS 55:26 - Brobdingnagian Bards "The Irishman Who Doesn't Drink" from Another Faire to Remember 57:58 - Joseph Carmichael "First of Spring" from single 1:02:13 - The Lilies of the Midwest "The Flower of Magherally" from Cat's Ceili 1:06:18 - Austral "Woodford Nights" from Thylacine 1:13:10 - CLOSING 1:13:50 - Hounds of Finn "My Father's Coat" from Gravity Pulls 1:19:07 - CREDITS The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast was produced by Marc Gunn, The Celtfather and our Patrons on Patreon. The show was edited by Mitchell Petersen with Graphics by Miranda Nelson Designs . Visit our website to follow the show. You'll find links to all of the artists played in this episode. Todd Wiley is the editor of the Celtic Music Magazine. Subscribe to get 34 Celtic MP3s for Free. Plus, you'll get 7 weekly news items about what's happening with Celtic music and culture online. Best of all, you will connect with your Celtic heritage. Please tell one friend about this podcast. Word of mouth is the absolute best way to support any creative endeavor. Finally, remember. Climate change is real, and we can fix it. Cutting waste, saving energy, and pushing for clean power all make a difference. A cleaner, safer world benefits everyone. Talk to someone today—our children are counting on you. Promote Celtic culture through music at http://celticmusicpodcast.com/ . WELCOME THE IRISH & CELTIC MUSIC PODCAST * Helping you celebrate Celtic culture through music. I am Marc Gunn. I'm a Celtic musician and host of Folk Songs & Stories. This podcast is for fans of Celtic music. We are here to build a diverse Celtic community and help the incredible artists who so generously share their music with you. If you hear music you love, please email artists to let them know you heard them on the Irish and Celtic Music Podcast. Musicians depend on your generosity to release new music. So please find a way to support them. Buy a CD, Album Pin, Shirt, Digital Download, or join their community on Patreon. You can find a link to all of the artists in the shownotes, along with show times, when you visit our website at celticmusicpodcast.com . Email follow@bestcelticmusic to learn how to subscribe to the podcast and you will get a free music - only episode. You'll also learn how to get your band played on the podcast. Bands don't need to send in music, and You will get a free eBook called Celtic Musicians Guide to Digital Music . It's 100% free. Again email follow@bestcelticmusic Happy Easter! 🌿 Celtic Spring Challenge – Walk, Listen, Give Back! 🌿 This April, embrace the spirit of spring with the Celtic Spring Challenge—a simple way to enjoy music, stay active, and help the planet! Here's the challenge: 🎶 Listen to Celtic Music – Fill your walks with the energy of jigs, reels, and ballads. Let the rhythm guide your steps! Pick your favorite band or listen to the podcast. 🚶♂️ Walk for 30 Minutes – Get outside, breathe in the fresh air, and move your body every day for a month. ♻️ Pick Up 3 Pieces of Trash – Make your surroundings a little cleaner while you're at it. Every small action adds up! Join in and share your experience using #CelticSpringChallenge—let's celebrate spring with great music, healthy habits, and a cleaner world. Are you in? Lace up, press play, and let's make April count! Earth Day is April 22 Arbor Day is April 25 THANK YOU PATRONS OF THE PODCAST! You Make the Music Happen! I'm in awe of your generosity. You're the heartbeat of this podcast—the reason I bring you fresh Celtic tunes every week. Your kindness fuels everything. It covers our brilliant engineer, our talented designer, and the Celtic Music Magazine editor. It spreads this music far and wide. It even lets me buy the music you love and gives me the time to craft each episode just for you. And as a patron, you're more than a supporter—you're part of the music! You get exclusive, ad - free episodes, free downloads, and the power to shape the Celtic Top 20 . All this for as little as $4 a month—less than a pint of Guinness, yet enough to keep the music alive and thriving. Join us today. Let's make this music last forever. A special thanks to our Celtic Legends: Rick Boyce, Bruce, Daniel Ide, Brian McReynolds, Marti Meyers, Alan Schindler, Margreta Silverstone, Emma Bartholomew, Dan mcDade, Gerald F Boyle, Miranda Nelson, Nancie Barnett, Kevin Long, Gary R Hook, Lynda MacNeil, John Sharkey White, II, Kelly Garrod, Mike Schock, Annie Lorkowski, Shawn Cali HERE IS YOUR THREE STEP PLAN TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST Go to our Patreon page. Decide how much you want to pledge every month, $4, $15, $25. Keep listening to the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast to celebrate Celtic culture through music. You can become a generous Patron of the Podcast on Patreon at SongHenge.com . TRAVEL WITH CELTIC INVASION VACATIONS Every year, I take a small group of Celtic music fans on the relaxing adventure of a lifetime. We don't see everything. Instead, we stay in one area. We get to know the region through its culture, history, and legends. You can join us with an auditory and visual adventure through podcasts and videos. In 2026, we're traveling to the Celtic nation of Galicia in Spain. We'll dive deep into the history and legends of the Galician Celts, uncovering their connections to Ireland, Scotland, and beyond. We'll walk the same lands where Celtic warriors once roamed, hear the myths passed down through generations, and experience the magic of authentic Galician Celtic music, alive with passion and history. This isn't just a trip—it's a journey into the heart of a Celtic culture unlike any other. Learn more about the invasion at http://celticinvasion.com/ #celticmusic #irishmusic #celticmusicpodcast I WANT YOUR FEEDBACK What are you doing today while listening to the podcast? I'd love to see a picture of what you're doing while listening. Is there a new Celtic CD or Celtic band that you heard of or saw? Send a picture. Email me at follow@bestcelticmusic. Jeffrey Adelsberger emailed: "I'm part of the Celtic Music Club in Catonsville, Maryland. Each week we meet and learn session tunes. The first half is slow hour where some memorize tunes, while beginners learn the basics of playing jigs, reels, and horn pipes (among other types of Celtic music. We focus on popular tunes in Baltimore area sessions. Later the tempo picks up and individuals call out something they want to work or just play with others. Occasionally some one brings out a song they've been working on. I started attending right after Covid, and it's been an important part of my week since. I feel it connects to my cultural heritage and great fellowship with others. The moto of the club is "Ceol, Cultúr, Craic", music culture and fun." Mike and Linda Albers emailed: "Hi Marc, Hope all is going well with you, Mike says drink whiskey, it takes away the pain 🙂. We will be listening to the podcast as we drive to Charlotte to fly to Ft Lauderdale to get on a Princess cruise. Not that we want to cruise but it is the String Break! Many small bands but the headliners this year are the Gothard Sisters, Scythian and Socks in the Frying Pan. Thanks to you, we know these bands and are looking forward to a week of sun and music, especially after the cold temps of the last 10 days. Take care and we will see you at DragonCon if not before." Daniel Ide emailed from Fallbrook, CA: "Mo Chara Marc - I trust all is well with you on this gorgeous day in February. Well, I have been having a wonderful time this past year or so reconnecting with my ancestral Irish and Celtic roots, in part, through the music I have been enjoying on your podcast; Irish and Celtic Music Podcast. In addition I have been practicing, and playing quite enjoyably, the Bodhran. Only more recently I have joined up with the local Irish Cultural community in San Diego, California: The House of Ireland and Comhaltas San Diego. Between the two I am sufficiently busy with all kinds of opportunity to connect and share with others. I am even taking Irish - Gaeltacht classes and learning the language of my Irish ancestors. Last September 2024 I experienced my first trip to Ireland. I specifically visited Westport, County Mayo as that is the most identifiable leaving off point for most of my Irish ancestors: McCormack, Garvey, Cosgrove, Shanley, and so on. My last name "Ide" is of a more ancient Celtic origin hailing from Suffolk, England and Northern Germania. I will journey throughout those parts in future pilgrimages of reconnecting with my ancestral roots. My trip to Ireland in September 2024 was centered around the land, the people and the music. All of which I enjoyed in abundance, so much so that I am heading back for another visit in the beginning of June 2025. In the meantime I have discovered that a Bodhran Summer School (https://www.craiceann.com/index.php) hosts a week long series of workshops on Inish Oir (Inisheer) in the Aran Islands every year in the beginning of July. Like I said, more opportunity to celebrate Celtic culture through music than I know what to do with. So, as you can see, I am in it "hands and feet" as they say, with a clear horizon for more than I can imagine. I am super grateful to you and your Podcast. I have a good time of regularly practicing my bodhran along with all the wonderful artists you present on your show. You and your Podcast are a delightful part of my celebration of Celtic culture through music, and an essential ingredient in reconnecting with my Irish and Celtic ancestry. Many Blessings to you and yours. Beannacht"