The Achill Sound

Traditional // Achill Island, Mayo

Music, history and folklore from Achill Island Co. Mayo. Blending oral history with traditional and newly composed Irish music.

Achill Island musician Graham Sweeney and Glasgow-based producer John Michael Berry, whose family also hails from the island, are the duo behind The Achill Sound. Their aim with this project is to continue their shared objective of keeping Achill's history and culture alive.

Following the release of their first album Isle of the Eagle in August 2023, The Achill Sound presents its latest project focused on preserving the oral history and stories of the basking shark industry on Achill Island during the 20th century.

This unique and immersive performance sensitively imparts Achill’s shark fishing history, combining recordings, archival footage, and original visuals with traditional and newly composed Irish music and song.

Proudly supported by the Arts Council of Ireland, the live presentation of the Achill Island, Basking Shark Fishermen project includes audio-visuals by producer John Michael Berry, and traditional and newly composed Irish music by Graham Sweeney (guitar and vocals), Lisa Fukuda (fiddle) and Johnny Butler (uilleann pipes). These musicians are part of The Achill Sound collective and have a personal connection to keeping history and culture alive.

On the Basking shark industry, Graham Sweeney said,“My family had a large involvement in the industry, which is why I viewed it with a heavy heart and anger. It is only in recent years that I see both sides of the story; on a quiet island with little industry, forcing many people to leave home for work, you cannot blame them for wanting to survive and support their families. There was not a great understanding of damaging a species towards extinction. All that the local people knew was survival. I want to shine a light on the days gone by by recording as many first-hand accounts and stories as possible. While some community members recall 'the glory days of the shark fishing', others mourn the loss of these magnificent, harmless giants of the ocean.”