By Phelim Devane, Dublin Review.
There are times when being a journalist is one of the nicest jobs going.
When your editor emails you to cover the Dublin New Year’s festival, then it doesn’t get much better.
My remit was to cover music at Dublin Castle, National Museum, and Meeting House Square.
It was while covering The Meeting House Square gig that I came across Kilkenny group Sola.
It was my first introduction to this three-piece group and I have to say I was literally blown away by the quality the group oozed. The performance was enhanced by violinist Ali Comerford (also Kilkenny)
Dúthracht is a beautiful and resonant word in Irish culture which I came across recently.
It is a word that encapsulate commitment, whether it’s in the realm of music, where musicians pour their hearts and souls into their craft, or in the monastic sites of old where monks built their lives around unwavering devotion.
In a nutshell, my newly discovered Irish word describes Sola to a tee.
They are well known in Kilkenny and have performed in venues in Waterford, Cork and Galway.
Sola, a three-piece group are recognised for their intricate three-part harmony and folk-inspired finger-style guitar playing.
Comprising of residents from the city area in Kilkenny, the group rang in the New Year of 2024 with a brand new single, “Origins” at a gig in Dublin as part of the capitals New Year Festival (NYF)
Meeting House Square in Dublin was the ideal location, as hundreds gathered over the afternoon on the first day of the year to ring in 2024 with the ‘New Year’s Festival Dublin’, Ireland’s biggest New Year Celebration.
Music lovers gathered together in the heart of Dublin with family and friends as the city came alive over 4 days with a host of spectacular events taking place across the city from 29th December 2023 through to 1 January 2024.
Bringing together some of the country’s best talents, New Year’s Festival Dublin offered a host of entertainment and events for all ages which guaranteed to engage, entertain and excite!
Over the weekend, NYF Dublin was part of the Winter in Dublin Programme, and was an initiative of Fáilte Ireland.
Flying the flag for Kilkenny was Sola, a trio of musicians made up of Bridget Cody, Clare Lynch and Siobhán Cody.
They were joined on the day by Ali Comerford.
The group was formed in 2017 and released their first EP in 2020.
Following that EP entitled “Forgotten Things”, Sola have been writing and recording, experimenting with new sounds, styles and instruments.
They have recently taken part in such festivals as Keep Her Lit (2023) and the Coughlans Folk Festival (2023) with plans to take to some of Ireland’s best loved folk venues over the coming year.
Accompanied by Ali Comerford, Sola performed at Meeting House Square on January 1st where they launched their new single Origins.
Other songs performed by Sola on the day included the groups originals songs:- ‘Where wild things grow’, ‘Finger Painting’, ‘All the while’, and ‘Coffee Cup’.
They also sang a wonderful cover version of Raglan Road made famous by Dubliner Luke Kelly.
Sola shared the Dublin stage alongside such artists as Niamh Bury, Dani Larkin, Rónán O’ Snodaigh and Myles O’Reilly.
They are a group that are going to make waves.
