TG4 Gradam Ceoil 2023 is in its 26th year and the awards ceremony will air live on TG4 on Sunday the 23rd April at 9.30pm from University Concert Hall in Limerick. The annual Gradam Ceoil Awards, also known as ‘the Oscars of traditional music’, pay homage to musicians who have advanced, strengthened, and preserved traditional music in Ireland.

This year’s Lifetime Achievement 2023 goes to Fintan Vallely. Fintan Vallely is a flute player, author, songwriter and educator, born in rural county Armagh in 1949. He played whistle, flute and uilleann pipes from his teenage years, has recorded several albums, including Fintan Vallely – Traditional Irish Flute Music (1979), The Starry Lane to Monaghan (1992), and Merrijig Creek (2021), in addition to touring across Ireland, in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia.

The full list of TG4 Gradam Ceoil 2023 recipients reads as follows:

Ceoltóir /Musician – Mick O’Brien
Amhránaí /Singer – Síle Denvir
Ceoltóir Óg/Young Musician – Méabh Smyth
Gradam Saoil/Lifetime Achievement – Fintan Vallelly
Cumadóir / Composer – Maurice Lennon
Grúpa Ceoil/Music Group- Mick, Louise, Michelle Mulcahy
Gradam Comaoine/Outstanding Contribution – to be announced