Louth musician Zoë Conway’s presenting debut in Féile na Tána on TG4

The rich traditional music of the Cooley Peninsula takes centre stage in a new TG4 series celebrating Louth’s musical heritage, with Dundalk fiddle player Zoë Conway presenting five programmes of performances and song recorded at Féile na Tána in Carlingford.

The music of the Cooley Peninsula has been passed from one generation to the next for hundreds of years, and is still very much alive. This November, TG4 brings it to the screen in Féile na Tána, a new five-part series recorded at concerts in the Carlingford Heritage Centre and other venues around the area during Féile na Tána 2026. The first programme airs on Friday, 13 November at 10pm.

Fiddle player Zoë Conway is widely regarded as one of the most gifted and expressive fiddle players of her generation. She has spent her career in front of audiences all over the world and now she takes on a new role as presenter, bringing viewers highlights from the festival she organises alongside her husband, John McIntyre.

During the series she chats with friends, old and new, about the musicians, the experiences, and the tunes and songs that helped shape them. She also performs with her husband, guitarist John McIntyre, in the opening and closing programmes.

The series celebrates a region where tunes, songs and stories have been handed down for generations. Many of the songs belong to the Oriel tradition of poets such as Art Mac Cumhaigh, whose verse is still sung in the area today, among them Úrchnoc Chéin Mhic Cáinte, performed by Feilimí O’Connor.

Other songs and singers include Bláithín Mhic Cana performing Maidin Fhómhair and Carn Ally and Piaras Ó Lorcáin accompanied by Micky Fearon. Local musicians and singers from Louth and neighbouring counties perform alongside visiting artists from across Ireland.

Féile na Tána takes its name from the Táin, the epic tale of the great cattle raid of Cooley, set in the landscape around Carlingford Lough. Each year the festival brings musicians, singers, dancers and audiences together in Carlingford, as well as workshops and classes for young musicians and learners of all ages. It has become a meeting place for the music of Louth and for traditional musicians from further afield.

Across the five programmes, viewers will hear some of the finest names in Irish traditional music. Cathal Hayden, Máirtín O’Connor and Seamie O’Dowd share a stage, and Mary Bergin, Tristan Rosenstock, Edel Fox and Caoimhín Ó Fearghail come together for a meeting of master musicians. Andrew Hendy and Finnian O’Connor of The Mary Wallopers appear as well as fiddle player Fergal Scahill joined by pianist Ryan Molloy.

The series also features amongst many others, Aodh Mac Murchaidh, Cormac and Éamonn de Barra and Séamus and Caoimhe Uí Fhlatharta as well as Sárán and Tadhg Ó Maolagáin, Micky Fearon, and Sin É. Sisters Sibéal, Róisín and Niadh Ní Chasaide appear as the band Sona Leí, in their first television appearance.

Young musicians are well represented in the series, with the Nós Nua Youth Orchestra, the Louth Harp Ensemble, St. Mary’s Trad Soc and Down’s and Proud all taking to the stage. Also featured are Donnchadh Mac Aodha and Iarla McMahon, Lauren Ní Néill, Stephanie Keane, Liam O’Connor, Daithí McCann and Jim McKillop, among others.

The final programme closes the series with a world premiere. Gaisce Shuibhne is a newly composed piece for four harps by Bill Whelan, the composer of Riverdance, inspired by the story of Suibhne Gheilt or Mad Sweeney performed for the first time by harpists from the four provinces of Ireland, Aisling Lyons, Cormac de Barra, Gráinne Meyer and Séamus Ó Flatharta. The series is produced by Aniar TV.