Gradam Ceoil TG4
Gradam Ceoil TG4 2025 | Bursary Scheme
For five years, Belfast was host city to the prestigious TG4 Gradam Ceoil Awards. The city of Belfast welcomed the opportunity to acknowledge the talented musicians from across the island and their infectious passion for Irish traditional music. In addition to the positive energy Gradam brought to the local music scene, in November 2021 Belfast became a UNESCO City of Music, celebrating the city’s rich musical heritage and recognising the importance of music to its future.
As a legacy of Gradam’s success in Belfast, the inaugural TG4 Gradam Ceoil Bursary Scheme was created by Belfast City Council in partnership with TG4, the Duncairn Arts Centre and Red Shoe Productions. The scheme is open to three Belfast-based traditional Irish musicians aged 18 – 25, and they receive a bursary of £3000 as well as invaluable support, training and mentoring. The bursaries have had a transformative effect on the careers for the young awardees, as they have been able to build on their musicianship, and opened the door to many new opportunities, such as national television and radio appearances.
Erin Rose Mullan
Erin Rose Ní Mhaolain is a 19 year old multi-instrumentalist from Belfast, Co. Antrim, who plays fiddle, banjo and accordion. She is a fluent Irish speaker who is currently studying for a degree in Irish with Music at Ulster University. She has a family connection to Madden’s Bar in Belfast, where she has encountered some of the best traditional musicians in Ireland form a young age.
Her music has been heavily influenced by musicians such as Ruadhraí O’Kane, Laura and Barry Kerr, Conor Calwell, Mairéad Ford, Shane McAleer and many others. She began learning to play the fiddle with Laura Kerr at the age of seven and soon after took up with banjo with Bronagh Graham and is currently developing her button accordion playing with Damian McKee.
She has performed at numerous venues and festivals for example, Belfast’s Waterfront Hall, St. Georges Market (with Four Men and a Dog), The Black Box, The Duncairn and Electric Picnic. She has previously had orchestral experience when she attended the Meitheal Summer School in 2022. She has recently started teaching music in primary schools across Belfast. She has also hosted traditional music sessions throughout Ireland for festivals such as Belfast Tradfest, Féile an Phobail, Ennis Tradfest and Scoil Gheimhridh Ghaoth Dobhair.
Jude Scott
Jude Scott is a young musician from Belfast, currently studying Music and Audio Production at Queen’s University, Belfast. Specialising in the flute, he is heavily influenced by the playing of Belfast flute players such as Harry Bradley and Desi Wilkinson, along with other northern players such as Gary Hastings and Cathal McConnell.
Jude has been playing music from a young age, learning the tin whistle with Glengormley School of Traditional Music. He performed as part of the GSOTM ensemble at the Gradam Ceoil TG4 in 2021, when the school was awarded the Gradam Comaoine. From there, Jude started to make a name for himself in the Belfast session scene, playing regularly in The Garrick, John Hewitt and Madden’s Bar. He now hosts regular sessions in Madden’s and Seaton’s of Sailortown.
Often performing with his brother Martin, and band Dall, Jude already has an impressive resume when it comes to performing on stage. He has performed at multiple venues and festivals in Belfast such as Flutopia and Festival Club at Belfast Tradfest, the session trail with Feile an Phobail and Feile Na hAbhann, and recently performed as the warm up for Matt Molloy, John Carty and Brian McGrath at The Crescent Arts Centre.
Hoping to push the Belfast flute tradition even further, Jude plans to research and collect local tunes and repertoire, while also playing at various festivals and venues over the next year.
Oisín Murphy
Hailing from the village of Emyvale in Co. Monaghan, Oisín is a highly accomplished and versatile banjo and mandolin player. A recent honours graduate in Music from the University of Ulster, he has performed extensively across Ireland and Europe, USA, as well as the UAE & Ethiopia. Oisín is a fluent Irish speaker having I learned Irish through second level education in Coláiste Oiriall in Monaghan and spending time in various Gaeltacht regions.
From an early age, Oisín achieved great success at various fleadhs, feiseanna, and festivals building his profile as a musician with a unique musical voice who is equally comfortable in ensemble and solo playing. Over the years he has forged a dynamic partnership with guitarist and singer Micky Fearon and has played with previous Gradam Ceoil Bursary recipient Sinéad McKenna.
Now based in Belfast, Oisín is deeply immersed in the city’s vibrant traditional music scene. He is a familiar presence in its lively sessions, collaborating with some of city’s finest musicians in both traditional and folk music scenes. His playing is shaped by influences from across Ireland, with a particular affinity for the rich musical heritage of the Monaghan, Tyrone, and Fermanagh border region.