MacBóchra with Amano, Rosie McCarthy and Imasha Costa

The Community Hub Cork presents MacBóchra with Amano and special guests Rosie McCarthy and Imasha Costa. All welcome to join us for this afternoon performance celebrating new voices in Irish song and story. The Community Hub is located in The Sexual Violence Centre at 5 Camden Place. Doors half three for a 4 p.m. performance, refreshments provided.

MacBóchra

Is ionann 'seanchas' agus stair ársa, dlithe, traidisiúin, gineallach agus béaloideas na hÉireann. Is as an saibhreas so a fháisceann MacBóchra amhráin, ceol agus rince:

"Is ón seanchaí is sine, an breac, an fiolar agus an fiach dubh, Fintan Mac Bóchra, a thagann ár n-ainm. Tuigeann ár mbanna an traidisiún ina fhórsa beo go gcuimhnítear air i bhfoirmeacha éagsúla... aistear a bhíonn le roinnt ag an lucht féachana."

''We take our name from the shape shifting salmon, eagle, hawk and oldest seanchaí Fintan mac Bóchra. Our band explores tradition as a force living on and remembered in different forms...a shared jouney with our audience''

MacBóchra explore seanchas and story through new bilingual music, poetry, visual arts and dance. Playing music arranged for two bodhráns, tin whistles, tiompán, voices, hammer dulcimer, sean nós dance and electronics, their songs are informed by Irish traditional music yet also their own.

In December 2024 they released their second EP on bandcamp, entitled 'MacBóchra'.

https://macbochra.bandcamp.com/album/macb-chra

''...the only band in the country that mines the deep seams of mythology we have in Ireland...Why is nobody else doing what MacBóchra do?'' John Spillane

Photo credit: Sophia Felumaz Santabarbara

Amano

Amano is a songwriter and performing artist from Killarney, Co. Kerry. She works bilingually in Irish and English to explore themes of changing identities, cultural fluidity, language(s) and animist ecologies across a range of genres including folk, pop, sean-nós, electronic and spoken word.

Amano has performed at festivals and venues across Ireland including Electric Picnic, Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann and Éigse na hAoine. In 2024 she was supported by the Arts Council in developing her practice in the sean-nós singing tradition.

Her latest solo singles Burn ( February 2025) and The Birthing House ( March 2025) were produced by Elise Mollé at The Meadow, Co. Wicklow. Burn has received FM and digital radio time (RTÉ Radio 1, RTÉ 2XM) and online coverage from Hot Press, Nialler9 and Genuine Irish.

THREAD (2024), Amano’s experimental Irish music project with producer Kalabanx was nominated for Album of the Year, with lead single HEART achieving a nomination for Song of the Year at the Gradaim Nós Irish language music awards 2025. Singles from the project including THREAD and SOUTHWIND have achieved airtime on BBC Radio Ulster, RTÉ Radio 1 and Raidió na Gaeltachta.

Amano also employs her songwriting and poetry in a range of creative collaborations including An Chailleach street spectacle (Kerry Homecoming Festival, 2024) and The Mantle (Creative Ireland/ Kerry County Council Arts, 2024). She has previously collaborated with other Irish songwriters including Liam Ó Maonlaí, Rónán Ó Snodaigh and Blue Niall.

Cumadóir, amhránaí, file, agus taibhealaíontóir is ea Amano a bhíonn meascán de bhuillí hip hap, sean-nós, popcheol, ceol turgnamhach agus ceol leictreonach ina cuid saothair. Rugadh Amano in Kyūshū sa tSeapáin agus tógadh i gCill Áirne, Co. Ciarraí í.

Baineann sí inspioráid as na tairseacha ag a scarann nó ag a leánn na cultúrtha. Bíonn sí ag scríobh agus ag canadh i nGaeilge agus i mBéarla.

In 2024, d'eisigh Amano an EP THREAD a thaifid sí in éineacht le Garry McCarthy / Kalabanx, EP a léiríonn Éire in aois a claochlaithe.

Bhunaigh Amano an cheardlann Nós Nua in éineacht le Conchobhar Ruadh chun spás a thabhairt do dhaoine fásta dhul i ngleic le siondróm an phasadóra agus le náire chomhchoiteann maidir leis an nGaeilge. Pléitear leis an gcailliúint teanga, an díchoilíniú, agus an athshealbhú tríd an amhránaíocht sean-nóis agus foghlaim amhrán mar phobal.

Photo credit: Erin Plaice.

Rosie McCarthy

Rosie Mc`Carthy lives near Macroom in Co Cork. She is a Traveller, singer, actor and student. She has been mentored by Cork singer-songwriter Clare Sands and award-winning Irish traveller singer Thomas McCarthy, with whom she participated in the Songlines documentary on RTE One featuring traveller singers around the country. Rosie had the great fortune of singing with some of these women in the Triskel Arts Centre and the National Concert Hall in Dublin. She has appeared at the Misleór Festival in Galway and in the Bell Table in Galway, and most recently supported larla Ó Lionaird at the Cork Folk Festival. Photo credit: Fabian Boros.

Imasha Costa

Imasha Costa is a 24-year-old Sri Lankan-Bangladeshi poet living and working in Cork City. They moved to Ireland five years ago and have been involved in poetry open-mic space. Imasha writes about migration, intergenerational trauma, being an immigrant, sexuality, gender and displaced identity. They work as a journalist.