Sean-nos Singing

Sean-nos means old style, and it describes unaccompanied solo singing in Irish with a great deal of melodic ornamentation, flexible rhythm that follows the words rather than a beat, and no vibrato or projection of the kind trained Western singing uses. The singer usually sits, often with the eyes shut, and a listener may take the singer's hand and move it in time - a convention called winding. Regional styles differ sharply: Connemara singing is the most heavily ornamented, Munster more melodic, Donegal plainer and closer to Scottish Gaelic practice. The great songs are long narrative and love songs, some of them centuries old, and the tradition is carried within the Gaeltacht communities rather than taught formally. The main annual gathering is Oireachtas na Samhna, where the Corn Ui Riada competition is the highest award in the form. Sessions in Gaeltacht pubs are where most people encounter it.

What you actually see

• The unaccompanied voice - no instruments, no harmony, no vibrato.
• The ornamentation - dense melodic decoration, heaviest in Connemara.
• The winding - a listener holding and moving the singer's hand in time.
• Corn Ui Riada - the top competition award, at Oireachtas na Samhna.

When to go

Any time in the Gaeltacht areas; Oireachtas na Samhna in late October or November is the main gathering. Singing sessions are informal and happen when they happen.

Honest expectations

Sung in Irish - without the language the meaning is inaccessible, and the songs are long. It is quiet and demands silence from the room, which tourist pubs do not always give. It is not performed on demand for visitors.

Nearby

Carna and the Connemara Gaeltacht; the Kerry and Donegal Gaeltachtai keep their own styles.