Donegal singing star Lillis Ó Laoire has been honoured as Singer of the Year at the TG4 Gradam Ceoil Awards 2020.
The awards took place at a televised event in Belfast on Sunday.
Lillis Ó Laoire- Singer of the Year at the TG4 Gradam Ceoil Awards 2020
Ó Laoire, from Gort a’ Choirce, is a talented and multi-award-winning sean-nós singer.
He now lives in Galway, where he lectures in Irish, folklore and Celtic civilisation at NUI Galway.
O’Laoire was raised in a bilingual family and spoke both Irish and English at home. He learned traditional songs in school, but his interest in singing truly began during his time at NUI Galway, where he studied Irish and took classes with celticist Breandán Ó Madagáin. Ó Madagáin taught Irish poetry and texts in relation to music, and O’Laoire became interested in this connection through him.
O’Laoire started publicly singing in competitions at NUI Galway, organised by the Irish language society at the time and in 1986, began competing at the fleadh ceoil.
In 1991 and again in 1994, he won the prestigious Corn Uí Riada singing competition at the Oireachtas na Gaeilge.
Lillis Ó Laoire- Singer of the Year at the TG4 Gradam Ceoil Awards 2020
Lillis Ó Laoire- Singer of the Year at the TG4 Gradam Ceoil Awards 2020
Gradam Ceoil TG4, 23 years in existence, is an awards ceremony that recognises and celebrates the creme de la creme of Irish traditional music.
The full list of TG4 Gradam Ceoil 2020 recipients reads as follows:
Ceoltóir na Bliana/Musician of the Year: Laoise Kelly
Ceoltóir Óg/Young Musician of the Year: Sharon Howley
Gradam Saoil/Lifetime Achievement: Séamus Connolly
Amhránaí na Bliana/Singer of the Year: Lillis Ó Laoire
Gradam Comaoine/Outstanding Contribution: Ned Kelly
Cumadóir na Bliana / Composer of the Year: Josephine Marsh
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