Laois musician performs at Other Voices in Emo Court

RTE’s Other Voices has recorded an episode of its latest series featuring Portlaoise musician Kean Kavanagh at Emo Court House and Estate.

Other Voices and the Office of Public Works (OPW) announced that Other Voices: The Anam Sessions will return to RTÉ2 this September, bringing four unique musical performances from some of Ireland’s most significant heritage sites to audiences across the country.

Other Voices from Emo Court will feature Kean Kavanagh, Sárán Mulligan and Muirine Nic Róibín and SOAK performing Bloodbank by Bon Iver will air on RTE2 on September 17 at 11.05am.

Now in its third year, The Anam Sessions celebrates the connection between music, culture and heritage, bringing a diverse selection of contemporary Irish musicians and performers into some of the country’s most remarkable historic spaces.

The 2026 series was filmed at Barryscourt Castle in Co Cork, Emo Court House and Estate, the Chapel Royal at Dublin Castle and Áras an Uachtaráin in Dublin, with each location providing a unique backdrop and acoustic setting for intimate live performances.

The series features an exceptional line-up of established artists, emerging talent and some of Ireland’s most exciting traditional musicians, including SOAK, Jacob Alon, Damien Dempsey, Cliffords, Aby Coulibaly, The Girl in the Year Above, Aoife Ní Bhriain and Cormac McCarthy, and many more.

The first session, filmed at the newly re-refurbished Barryscourt Castle, features a solo performance by Joshua Burnside.

Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran said: “The Anam Sessions provide a wonderful opportunity to showcase Ireland’s heritage in a fresh and engaging way. These performances bring our historic buildings and places to life, demonstrating that our heritage is not simply something to be preserved, but something that continues to inspire creativity, culture and connection. I am delighted that audiences across Ireland will once again have the opportunity to experience these exceptional performances on RTÉ2, while discovering four very different and remarkable places in the care of the Office of Public Works.”

Founder of Other Voices, Philip King said: “At Other Voices we treasure this opportunity to work in creative partnership with the OPW to bring together the best of today's music with some of Ireland's most beautiful heritage venues and locations. Place, locality, and accent are at the heart of what makes Irish music and culture so potent, distinctive, and magnetic to the ears, eyes, and imaginations of listeners across the world. By bringing contemporary artists into these significant heritage locations, we provide a stimulating and different context for our artists to respond to, while breathing a new kind of spirit into these historic and alluring buildings and spaces. This third series of Other Voices: The Anam Sessions illustrates the scope and potential of the artistic vision and ambitions that we share with the OPW to continue to make these beautiful places better known to the public, and to increase public awareness and appreciation of Ireland's heritage as a living, breathing, and creative part of life in Ireland today and in the future."

Following the global release of this year’s sessions on the Other Voices and OPW’s YouTube channels, the four-part series will now air on RTÉ2, beginning on Thursday, September, September 10 at 11:05pm with the episode from Emo Court going to air a week later on September 17 at 11.05pm.