Blackthorn is one of the most exciting four piece Irish ceili bands in the South East. The band has been playing weddings, parties,and festivals since 1995. The band performs all of your favourite Irish songs, jigs and reels with talent and passion. The band includes a dance caller and can include organised ceili dancing if required.
“Driving jigs and reels, well-known Irish songs and ceili dancing.”
All band members are multi-instrumentalists and the band creates a rich tapestry of sound to accompany the songs. Flute, fiddle and whistle melodies, backed by guitar concertina and bouzouki form the core of the sound, with female vocals from Mannie and male vocals from Pete.
Look forward to hearing all the well known Irish songs beautifully arranged. Versatile Mannie is also a dance caller, so the band can mix Irish ceili dances such as “The Siege of Ennis” with the songs and tunes, if you wish. The group regularly performs on the folk festival circuit, so you can expect a performance of concert quality. The band is the perfect choice for an Irish event!
- Popular Irish repertoire + jigs and reels
- Regular folk festival performances
- Dance caller for ceili dances
Video
Audio
Repertoire
Irish Songs
- All for me Grog
- Banks of the Sweet Primroses
- Black is the Colour
- Black Velvet Band
- Brown Eyed Girl
- Bonny Lass of Fyvie
- Carrickfergus
- Cliffs of Dooneen
- Cunla
- Cockles & Mussels
- Come All YOu Fishermen Bold
- Curragh of Kildare
- Dirty old Town
- Fields of Athenry
- Galway Bay
- If I Should Fall From Grace With God
- I’ll Tell me Ma
- Irish Rover
- Island of St Helena
- Isle of France
- Jock Stewart
- Johnny Sands
- Jolly Beggarman
- Just as the Tide was Flowing
- Leaving of Liverpool
- Loch Lomond
- Mairis Wedding
- Mermaid
- Moonshiner
- Murshin Durkin
- My Lovely Rose of Clare
- Neat Little Bunch of Rushes
- New York Girls
- Nutting Girl
- Paddy Lay Back
- Peter’s Dream
- Rambling Rover
- Sally Gardens
- Sally MacLennane
- Seven Nights Drunk
- She Moved Through The Fair
- South Australia
- Star of the County Down
- Sweet Nightingale
- Sweet Thames Flow Softly
- What Shall We Do with the Drunken Sailor
- When You Say Nothing at All
- Whiskey in the Jar
- Wild Colonial Boy
- Wild Mountain Thyme
- Wild Rover
- Yarmouth Town
John –
Ceilidh Dance : John
Thank you for entertaining for us! Our guests really enjoyed themselves and we had a brilliant time
Peter –
Charity Fundraiser : Aug 2017
Thank you all so much. It was great to have you there and as you saw, people thoroughly enjoyed themselves.. I am delighted that we seem to have made a good sum as well as raising awareness. I am sure we will do it again. We are having a celebratory debrief at the end of the month. I hope you found us a good crowd.Thanks again and I am sure we will be in touch in the autumn. Best wishes”
Jen –
Wedding : jun 2017
Thank you so much for playing at our wedding and making the party so much fun. Although we had to organise music rather last-minute, we’re so glad that you could play at such short notice and all the way in Bury St Edmunds. It definitely made our evening! Thank you so much”
Emily –
Ceilidh Dance : June 2017
Thank you very much for making all the arrangements on such short notice! We were very happy with how everything went and have had lots of nice comments about the ceilidh in particular, so I think it really made a big difference. :)”
Roger –
80th Birthday Party : Roger
Just to say a big “Thank you” for playing at my party on the 22nd July 2017. Everybody thought you were great and you were. My party was full of love and friendship, dancing and fun!! Can’t believe I’m 80!
Sarah –
Family Party: Feb 2017
Thank you to you and the band for a great night – everybody seemed to enjoy themselves.