Flute Player, teacher, archivist, champion of the Irish language and historian, Marcas Ó Murchú was presented with the Ard– Ollamh award the Comhaltas Music Laureate at the Fleadh Cheoil 2013, Derry in August.

Marcas has made his name not only as an exceptional flute player but as a collector of material, associated with the tradition. He has been presenting traditional music programmes on Radio since his early twenties. Marcas has recently donated over 700 hours of recorded material, much of it recorded from players he has met over the years. This gift is thought to be the largest ever donation to the archive.

We met Marcas at the Fleadh Derry and he was very modest regarding the honour, indeed he told the local paper he was “honoured and delighted with the award and that he was accepting it on behalf of his family and all the unsung heroes of the tradition, musicians, tea makers and good listeners.”