![](http://d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/693041/c7bdac92417524c61ee8282312e00ce6bc20061b/original/white-background-4-facing.png/!!/b%3AW1sicmVzaXplIiwxODAwXSxbIm1heCJdLFsid2UiXV0%3D/meta%3AeyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ%3D%3D.png)
Onóir are a modern Irish male folk group, who sing harmony-focused songs and musical arrangements. Formed in August of 2020, when four individual, Donegal-based musicians; Tom McHugh, Declan Gaughan, Deane Connaghan, and Diarmaid McGee, joined forces to create a contemporary version of the famous Irish folk ballad; “The Auld Triangle”.
Onóir are currently touring their brand new theatre show across Ireland, the UK, and Europe, and are also on tour in The USA during the month of August 2024. Their self-titled, debut album was released on March 3rd 2024 and is available to purchase via their Bandcamp page.
Believe it or not our whole journey began out of sheer boredom! It was during the Covid-19 pandemic, on the verge of lockdown and we were fed up. No gigs, no music, no fun. So, to pass the time we decided to get together to make a music video and things just sort of took off from there. Well, to say that things took off is a bit of an exaggeration because in spite of the “The Auld Triangle” going viral and creating lots of excitement, we didn’t get around to another video for another twelve months.
The Parting Glass was our next offering. Filmed at night in an abandoned castle near Pettigo, County Donegal. Again, we were shocked at the fabulous reviews and feedback we received. And by now it was beginning to dawn on us that perhaps we had something worth pursuing as a group. That conviction was solidified with the release of our third video “Wayfaring Stranger.” Back to Murvagh in the dark, this time armed with a smoke machine.
Making our videos is great fun but in truth nothing compares to standing on a stage in front of a live audience. Our first official gig as Onoir was in a local intimate theatre called The Balor, in Ballybofey. It was electric. We were hooked. And although we had individually performed for many years, from pubs, to clubs, to weddings. THIS WAS IMMENSE. That initial buzz continues to grow as we connect with a larger and more diverse audience.
The definition of synergy is… “the interaction of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.” Onoir definitely created synergy. As individuals we all have our own unique talents and capabilities, but when we sing together it just sounds different. Hopefully, different in a positive, melodic way. Through those early videos we stumbled upon our own sound and with every performance, every show and every rehearsal we are working to perfect that sound.
We are by now getting well into our journey. Our diary is filling to bursting point and we are connecting with music lovers from all over the globe. And on that point, we’d like to sign off by saying an almighty thank you to every person who has supported us along the way. We are blessed with the most amazing fans. We are eternally grateful.