Two Mayo artists have so far been selected to participate in Ireland Performs, the Department’s Culture Ireland initiative with Facebook Ireland that supports Irish artists to perform live to a global audience. Over 120,000 people tuned in to the first week of Ireland Performs and the series will continue for several more weeks.

Husband and wife duo, Grainne Hambly and William Jackson, were the first to perform on Day 1.  They performed ancient tunes on the harp and other instruments from their home with a beautiful backdrop of the Mayo countryside visible from their window. All performances can be viewed live or watched back afterwards on the Culture Ireland Facebook page.

The scheme, launched on 3 April, as part of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht’s response to the COVID-19 crisis, has already attracted more than 350 applications. Ireland Performs will continue for several more weeks with a stellar offer of some of Ireland’s finest talents including theatre, visual arts and spoken word as well as music.