Clare Sands is a sixth generation
fiddle player and bilingual singer from Cork, Ireland. Drawing deeply from the
music of her ancestors, she weaves Traditional Irish roots with Contemporary
sounds and influences. Her songs are deeply connected to place and where
folklore, language, and activism rise in song. Known for her raw and infectious
energy, she embodies a fearless warrior-like spirit that inspires and unites
audiences around the world.
Her eponymous album secured a
place among the Irish Times’ Top 5 Folk Albums of 2022, and earned Sands a Best
Folk Singer nomination at the Irish Folk Awards. Other notable projects include
the ‘hypnotic and tribal’ (BBC Radio 2) Tírdhreacha agus Fuaimdhreacha
(Landscapes & Soundscapes) EP, written and recorded across the four seasons
in the four provinces of Ireland and Gormacha, a musical odyssey that
treads a path between ancient Ireland and our natural world. Sands' passion for
collaboration has led her to perform with some of Ireland’s finest folk and
traditional musicians, including Hothouse Flowers, Paul Brady, Susan O’Neill,
and Sharon Shannon.
Her innovative musical creations
are matched by electrifying live performances – Clare brings her audiences on
an exhilarating journey full of hope, celebration and heart. Recent festival
appearances include Glastonbury, Cambridge Folk Festival (UK), Fête De la
Musique (FR), Festival Cervantino (MEX) and Port Fairy Folk Festival (AUS).
With a new album being released in Autumn 2026, Clare is showing no signs of
slowing down. She stands as a testament to the enduring power of music to unite
and inspire – a troubadour for the modern age, whose melodies resonate across
generations and cultures alike.
‘They Tried To Bury Us,’ released October 2026, is a collection of
original songs that gives voice to the silenced: the endangered curlew; Lí Ban
of Lough Neagh; lost words of our native tongue; the Rostrevor oak; those
seeking refuge on our shores and the Palestinian poets whose words embody
defiance and inspire generations. All songs have a deep connection to the North
of Ireland – the album was written across Ulster with an incredible array of
musicians based in the Northern counties, alongside producer Seán Óg Graham
(Beoga). It is an album that rises from the earth against oppression and
insists that love and hope will never be buried.
**RTÉ Album of the Week**
Best Folk Singer and Best Original Folk Track
Nominee – RTÉ Folk Awards 2026
Aedín Gormley, RTE Lyric FM:
"A brilliant new album from Clare
Sands, filled with haunting melodies and spirited songs of hope and resilience,
nodding to our Irish tradition, culture and language with a fresh personal
twist, performed by a wonderful group of hugely talented musicians."
Pauline Scanlon:
"Beautifully sung, written,
produced and played, Clare and a constellation of incredible artists, including
two of Armagh’s finest, Ríoghnach Connolly and Barry Kerr, have created a world
of vulnerability, strength, truth and extraordinary beauty. A world where
nature reigns supreme, where Lí Ban is called upon to reclaim her beautiful
Lough Neagh, where the curlew thrives, and where oak and olive intertwine,
their roots strengthening one another in resistance. There is such tenderness
in this work, and such defiance. An understanding of all that has been lost,
all that is worth protecting and all that is still possible. It is a beautiful
thing to hear an artist so completely connected to the world around her, who
can hold both its cruelty and its wonder in the same breath, and somehow leave
us feeling more hopeful. Clare Sands lights a fire in our bellies. Long may she
reign. She’s magnificent."
Moglaí Bap (Kneecap):
"Rinne siad iarracht anam agus
samhlaíocht na nGael a bhaint dínn, ach trí cheol Clare Sands, táimid ag filleadh
ar an dúchas, le neart, grá agus dóchas.
Le gach nóta, tugann sí muid ar
aistear inmheánach nach gcaillfimid go deo.
Is ansin atá ceol agus scéalta na
cosmhuintire."
Irish
Language bio
Is fidléir den tséú glúin agus amhránaí
dátheangach í Clare Sands ó Chorcaigh, Éire. Tarraingíonn sí go domhain ó cheol
a sinsear, agus fíonn sí fréamhacha traidisiúnta Gaelacha le fuaimeanna agus
tionchair chomhaimseartha. Tá baint dhomhain ag a hamhráin le háit, agus an
teagmháil idir béaloideas, teanga agus gníomhaíochas le fonn ceoil. Tá cáil
uirthi as a fuinneamh amh tógálach, agus tá spiorad neamheaglach mar a bheadh
ag gaiscíoch aici, a spreagann agus a aontaíonn lucht féachana timpeall an
domhain.
Chomh maith lena saothair nuálacha cheoil
tá taibhithe spleodracha. Tugann Clare a lucht féachana léi ar aistear
spreagúil lán dóchais, amhránaíochta, ceiliúrtha agus croí.
Le halbam nua á eisiúint san fhómhar in
2026, níl aon chuma ar Clare go bhfuil sí ag moilliú. Is léiriú í ar chumhacht
bhuan an cheoil daoine a aontú agus a spreagadh, trúbadóir don lá atá inniu
ann, a théann i bhfeidhm i nglúiní agus cultúir éagsúla.
