Latest News - Jim wins silver medal at All-Britain fleadh! Read more here.
(key-OHL nah MAH-ra)
Lively, foot-tapping Irish jigs and reels from Sussex-based fiddle and guitar duo, Emma Clarke and Jim Richards.
Emma and Jim are experienced Irish session and ceilidh musicians, noted for their nifty-fingered tunes-playing. Most of their repertoire is Irish traditional music, because they love it. Ceol Na Mara (Irish for Sounds of the Sea) bring you spirited, bright and bouncy tunes played by two highly-regarded musicians.
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Jim was absolutely delighted to receive a gold medal after competing in the London & South regional Fleadh Cheoil, in the accompaniment category, playing guitar.
There are 4 regional fleadhs (festivals), organised by branches of Comhaltas Ceolteoirí Éireann (The Irish Music Society) and the winners from each regional competition go through to compete at the All-Britain, later in the year.
With an overall score of 90%, Jim qualifies for the All-Britain competition. Grateful thanks to Emma for playing the tunes so beautifully :)
Fleadh Cheoil na Breataine - here we come! Stay tuned for the results...
After a successful regional fleadh in London, we found ourselves travelling all the way up to Liverpool for the All-Britain competition.
A tougher contest this time, with the reigning champion in the line-up. But we took a deep breath and somehow managed to pull off a silver medal and perhaps more importantly - a place in the grandaddy of all them all: the All-Ireland!
So, on Friday 9th August, we'll be at Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann, in Wexford. Can't wait to experience all the fun of the fleadh :) The official fleadh website is here.
After earning a place at the coveted Fleadh Cheoil na h'Éireann as a finalist in the Senior Accompaniment competition, I was privileged to compete and had a great time at the fleadh. The competition was tough as expected and the standard was very high - as was the pressure of being filmed for TG4! Interestingly, no guitarists placed this year and the top three awards all went to pianists. So, no medal for me this time but I may be back in 2025... stay tuned :) Thanks to friends and family who came to support me and/or tuned in to the live stream.
In a nutshell, we play lush Irish tunes that we curate from all over the place. We add some special magic, put them together into sets and then we play them for people to enjoy.
We have a broad repertoire of Irish music, plus some tunes from further afield such as Scotland, The Shetlands, a few French-Canadian pieces etc. but the majority of our music is Irish. 'Cos we love it. People enjoy Irish music at:
We can also provide ceilidhs for wedding receptions and a variety of different events. Ceilidhs are great because they:
Here’s some tracks from a live session we recorded professionally. You can hear these and the rest of the tunes from the session on our SoundCloud, here.
A few short video clips to give you a taste of our music.
Here's a list of upcoming gigs. Come and see us!
| April 2025 | |
25 FRI | Liz Overs Album Launch - Nightjar 7pm - 9pm |
| Emma Mason Gallery, 21 Lushington Ln, Eastbourne BN21 4LJ | |
| We're flattered to be invited by the lovely Liz Overs, to play some tunes (and maybe sing a song) at the launch event for her new album, Nightjar. We'll be doing a half-hour set to open the event and then Liz will be performing songs from the new album, with long-time collaborator David Tomlins. She'll also be interviewed by award-winning author, journalist and broadcaster Cole Moreton. £10 to include a drink. Book tickets here on Liz's official website also, you might like to follow her on Instagram. | |
| March '25 | |
16 SUN | St Patrick's Day Tunes 1pm - 3:30pm |
| The Old Oak Inn, Arlington (right by Abbot's Wood) BN26 6SJ | |
| Back at The Old Oak for tunes and creamy pints for St Patrick's! Come on over and see us. The Old Oak website is here. Or follow them on Insta. | |
| March '25 | |
01 SAT | Hastings Fat Tuesday, Acoustic Tour 1pm - 6pm |
| Various venues around Old Town, Hastings / St Leonard's | |
| We're delighted to be selected to play as part of the Saturday Unplugged event for #HFT25! An afternoon of acoustic music sessions with a wide variety of musicians playing across numerous venues, doing a 15-minute set in each venue, before moving on to the next one! FUN! Join us along the way, or follow us from one place to the next if you're a super fan ;o) *whisper - it's basically a pub crawl. Find out more on the official website right here or follow them on Instagram. | |
| January '25 | |
18 SAT | Wassail! 4pm - 7pm |
| Bignose and Beardy Cidery, Framfield TN22 5NS | |
| Come and join us for a traditional wassailing! Help us chase out those pesky evil spirits from the orchard. We'll be playing tunes throughout the evening and leading the wassailing song! Find out more on the official event page right here. | |
| November | |
03 SUN | Tunes at The Old Oak 1pm - 3:30pm |
| The Old Oak Inn, Arlington / Caneheath (right by Abbot's Wood) BN26 6SJ | |
| Back for some Sunday tunes at The Old Oak, Arlington. Pints by the fire... ahhhh yes. Come on over and see us. The Old Oak website is here. Or follow them on Insta. | |
| October | |
14 MON | Croydon Folk Club 8pm |
| Ruskin House, 23 Coombe Road, Croydon CR0 1BD | |
| We’re looking forward to playing at the Croydon Folk Club. Tickets are available right here and you can also have a look at the Croydon Folk Club website if you fancy. | |
| October | |
11 FRI | Session at The Alexandra Arms 8 - 11pm |
| 453 Seaside, Eastbourne BN22 7SA | |
| Tunes Session! Come and listen, have a drink and a healthy serving of craic. Their website is here. Or follow them on Insta. If you want. Or Facebook. We're not telling anyone what to do. Just do what you feel, man. | |
| October | |
5 SAT | Tenterden Folk Festival See website for ticket info |
| Tenterden, Kent TN30 6BD | |
| We’re delighted to be invited back to the Tenterden Folk Festival where we’ll be delivering a concert from 12 noon on Saturday afternoon, and later hosting a trad tunes session in This Ancient Boro' pub from 19:30 on Sataurday evening. Check out the website right here for programme and tickets etc. | |
| September | |
21 SAT | Ropetackle Arts Centre 1pm |
| Little High Street, Shoreham-by-Sea BN43 5EG | |
| We’re looking forward to playing a Saturday Session at the Ropetackle Arts Centre. Entry is The Ropetackle website is here. | |
| September | |
01 SUN | Wick St Festival 14:45 |
| Wick Street Paddocks, Berwick, East Sussex | |
| Super excited to have a place on the bill for the second Wick St Festival. It's an independent, small and friendly festival set in the heart of the Sussex countryside. Very diverse line-up with local talent appearing alongside some big names such as Jazzie B, Don Letts, Dutty Moonshine Big Band, Toploader and Heaven 17! The Wick Street website is here. LOADS of fun - get it in the diary! | |
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“Bursting with energy...
This is real foot-tapping stuff.