Steve Cooney | ' Sé Mo Laoch

‘Sé mo Laoch celebrates Australian born guitarist Steve Cooney. Steve moved to Ireland from Melbourne, Australia in 1981, having been advised by his indigenous teacher to ‘travel to the land of his own ancestors and learn the language, music, dance, poetry and magic’.

So he did, but he did an awful lot more than that. Cooney’s musicianship and sensitivity, and his constant search for authenticity informed his wide range of work in the traditional sphere. Through his individual career and many partnerships with other musicians, Stephen Cooney has changed the way the guitar is played in Irish music and left an indelible mark on traditional music in Ireland.

Testament to this are the iconic groups and albums that Cooney has contributed to, from early days with Stockton’s Wing,  Sharon Shannon’s first record, to the solo Ceol Ársa Cláirsí (Tunes of the Irish Harpers for solo guitar) to the seminal 'Meitheal' with Séamus Begley amongst many others. And of course the fact that there isn’t a young guitarist in Ireland that hasn’t tried to emulate his style! Joining him on ‘Sé mo Laoch are Iarla Ó Lionaird, Laoise Kelly, Caoilte Cooney, Dermot Byrne, Odhrán Ó Casaide and Colum & Tommy Sands. 

The ’Sé mo Laoch series tells the story of some of our greatest traditional musicians and singers.  Each programme celebrates the musicianship and creativity of some of our most well known and respected perfomers. Produced for TG4, it showcases the huge diversity of Irish traditional music and musicians. Eachprogramme is as unique as it is intimate and tells the story of these seminal musicians in their own words.

Directed by Ciarán Ó Maonaigh and produced by Dónal O’Connor, Executive Producer is Niamh Ní Bhaoill.

‘Sé mo Laoch is produced by Dingle based production company, Aniar.