

Journal 3163 Links 10635 Articles 87 Notes 7825
Wednesday, July 2nd, 2025

Wednesday session
Tuesday, July 1st, 2025

Tuesday session
Another lovely day in Donegal!
Monday, June 30th, 2025

Monday session
Irish odyssey
I’ve been taking some time off after UX London. That was a big project I was working towards all year and it went great, so I think I’ve earned a reward for myself.
My reward is to head off to Ireland to immerse myself in the language and music. A week at an Irish language school in Donegal followed by a week at an Irish music festival in Clare, with a little weekend in Galway in between.
First I had to get to Donegal. My plan was: fly from Gatwick to Dublin; get the train from Dublin to Sligo; spend the night in Sligo; take a couple of buses to get to my destination in Donegal.
I fell at the first hurdle.
I consider myself a fairly seasoned traveller at this point so I’m kicking myself that I somehow messed up the time of that flight to Dublin. I showed up after the bag check had closed. That’s when I realised I was off by an hour.
The next available flight to Dublin wasn’t until late in the evening. Jessica and I contemplated spending all day waiting for that, then spending the night in Dublin, and then doing all the overland travel the next day.
But we didn’t do that. We went to Belfast instead. As it turned out, we had a great evening there at a lovely piping session that only happens on the last Friday of the month—the very day we were there. It was meant to be.
The next day we got the train to Derry, then a bus to Letterkenny, and then eventually another bus to Donegal town (the first one just didn’t show up—probably because Donegal were playing a semi-final match at the time), and finally the bus from Donegal town to Glencolmcille.
I had never been to Donegal before. Everyone always goes on about how beautiful it is. They are not wrong. The closer we got to Glencolmcille, the more our breath was literally taken away by the stunning landscape.
So here we are. We’re both doing Irish language classes. It’s all very challenging and very rewarding at the same time.
Best of all, we’re doing it in this unbelievably beautiful place.
This is the just the start of my little odyssey on the west coast of Ireland and it’s already absolutely wonderful …apart from that unexpectedly bumpy start.
Gleann Cholm Cille
Sunday, June 29th, 2025

Second Sunday session

Sunday session

Megalithic
Fáilte as Gleann Cholm Cille!
Saturday, June 28th, 2025

Saturday session in Donegal

John Bell!

Checked in at St George’s Market. Belfast breakfast of champions — with Jessica
Friday, June 27th, 2025

Friday session in Belfast
Going to Ireland. brb
Thursday, June 26th, 2025

Thursday session
Illustrated Talk: The Session.org with Jeremy Keith
I’m giving an afternoon talk during Belfast Tradfest—come along if you’re around!
Join Jeremy Keith for an insightful talk about his pioneering work with TheSession.org—the world’s leading online hub for traditional Irish music. Discover how Jeremy helped build this vibrant digital community that connects musicians, shares tunes, and preserves Ireland’s rich musical heritage. Learn about the challenges and triumphs of creating an online space where thousands of players worldwide can collaborate, learn, and celebrate traditional music together.
Wednesday, June 25th, 2025

Wednesday session
Monday, June 23rd, 2025

Monday session
Live
Ever since Salter Cane recorded the songs on Deep Black Water I’ve been itching to play them live. At our album launch gig last Friday, I finally got my chance.
It felt soooo good! It helped that we had the best on-stage sound ever (note to the bands of Brighton, Leon at the Hope and Ruin is fantastic at doing the sound). The band were tight, the songs sounded great live, and I had an absolute blast.
I made a playlist of songs to be played in between bands. It set the tone nicely. As well as some obvious touchstones like 16 Horsepower and Joy Division, I made sure to include some local bands we’re fond of, like The Equitorial Group, Mudlow, Patients, and The Roebucks.