Cormac Begley's 'To War' goes viral with over 4million views

A clip of virtuosic West Kerry concertina player Cormac Begley's has blown up across social media with over 4million views worldwide

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Legendary concertina player Cormac Begley has taken TikTok and Instagram by storm with a staggering performance 'To War'.

Filmed at The Blasket Centre – Ionad an Bhlascaoid in West Kerry last month, the 36 second clip of "To War" has garnered over 1.5 million views on TikTok and 2.6 million on Instagram in just a matter of days, making it the most popular Other Voices clip of all time.

Set against the picturesque backdrop of the Blasket Islands, the powerful performance was filmed as part of the new Anam series, produced in partnership with the Office of Public Works. You can stream the full livestream for a limited time here and the full performance of 'To War' below.

An extended version of the performance with never-before-seen interviews will air on RTÉ later this summer.

About Cormac Begley

Cormac Begley is a concertina player from West Kerry and plays 13 concertinas that range from bass to piccolo register.

His debut solo album and his new bass concertina album have received critical acclaim, accumulating twelve combined 5-star reviews. These albums are a central feature of the award-winning show Mám (directed by Micheal Keegan Dolan) and Pat Collin's film, 'The Dance'. Cormac was nominated for four awards at the RTE Folk Awards including 'Best Folk Album', 'Best Folk Track' and 'Best Original Folk Track' and he was awarded 'Folk Instrumentalist of the Year 2022.' He plays in a number of groups with musicians including Liam O Connor, Caoimhín O Raghallaigh, Martin Hayes and Liam Ó Maonlaí, Rushad Eggleston (cello), Lisa O Neill and Ye Vagabonds. He is also the founder of Airt, a residential school in West Kerry, and the award-winning Tunes in the Church live concert series in Galway, and more recently, a new outdoor concert series from his campervan, the ‘Beauty’.

You can find Cormac's music on Bandcamp here.

About The Blasket Centre – Ionad an Bhlascaoid

The Blasket Centre – Ionad an Bhlascaoid is a unique heritage centre and museum in Dunquin, the most westerly parish on the Dingle Peninsula. It tells the story of the Blasket Islands and the tiny Irish speaking community who lived there until the mid-20th century. The Centre is also a stunning piece of architecture in itself, having undergone a complete upgrade in 2022 with its totally renewed and interactive exhibitions. It is a Wild Atlantic Way Signature Discovery Point and a highlight of any visit to the Dingle Peninsula. The site incorporates a fully accessible clifftop viewing platform that offers dramatic views of the Blasket archipelago and the Atlantic coastline. The Great Blasket population left a massive cultural footprint, having documented the life of their community in a series of books that are invaluable social records and classics of Irish literature.

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