Droichead Arts Centre is delighted to present the first event in our Night Moves Summer Series, taking place in our gallery on Friday 8 May. This series features three intimate music events across May, June and July, set within our café/bar and gallery space. Opening the series is Peadar Connolly, who brings Songs of Longing to the Droichead Gallery Space.
Music of migration, love, place and memory from around the world. A live performance exploring the many shapes of longing – for home, for love, for the past, and for places we may never return to.
Songs of Longing is an intimate live performance shaped by Peadar Connolly’s background in ethnomusicology and his work as a musician exploring global musical traditions. The programme brings together a curated selection of folk, traditional, and contemporary songs from across cultures, each expressing different forms of longing: for love, for home, for people, and for places left behind.
At its core, the performance explores forms of longing that are often difficult to translate, with regional articulations each reflecting a distinct relationship to memory, absence, and desire. Through these songs, the programme offers a human-centred perspective on migration, considering both those who leave and those who are left behind.
Peadar Connolly is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist performing on voice, autoharp, and global woodwinds. With a background in ethnomusicology, his work draws on folk and pop traditions from Ireland and beyond, exploring the shared musical languages that connect cultures. Alongside his solo performances, Peadar has worked internationally as a musician and producer, collaborating on projects that bring together artists and traditions from different parts of the world. Through his music, he highlights common human experiences of longing, migration, and memory that resonate across traditions.
Night Moves is an innovative night time cultural programme led and produced by Droichead Arts Centre, curated by singer/songwriter, SJ McArdle, in collaboration with Drogheda’s Night-Time Economy Adviser and supported by the Drogheda Purple Flag group. Championing a more diverse night-time offering and helping trial what a more balanced evening economy might look like.
Be sure to check out our collaborators Mayne Stage Events and Deadly Craic Comedy. Follow Instagram @soundtowndrogheda for what’s next.